The mix-and-match format of the Great Southern Badminton Association’s annual tournament allows organisers to allocate competitors into teams — so entrants often play with partners they have never met before.

It means making new mates as soon as the shuttles start to fly and has given the event a reputation as a friendly tournament where the companionship is just as important as the contest.

Some 90 shuttlers descended on the Albany Leisure and Aquatic Centre at the weekend for the competition, which was won by the Frantic Fairywrens, who won division one, and the Scintillating Spinebills, who triumphed in division two.

The players came from all over WA, travelling to Albany from Esperance, Perth, Bunbury and Collie and elsewhere for two days of action.