Badminton: Bay masters of destiny by winning promotion | Hawkes Bay Sport | Surfing, Rugby, Soccer, Football, Cricket in Hawkes Bay

Hawke's Bay's No2 masters (over 40s) badminton team won the North Island division five title on Saturday to gain promotion for next year.

With the home court advantage at Meeanee, Hawke's Bay beat Bay of Plenty 7-5 in their final after the fixture was tied at 4-all going into the mixed doubles. Bay of Plenty had the edge in the men's doubles as did the hosts in the women's doubles.

Earlier in the season Hawke's Bay and Bay of Plenty had finished first and second respectively in the round robin section of teams from the lower North Island. In the semifinals on Saturday morning they met the top two teams from the upper North Island.

Hawke's Bay defeated Auckland 8-4, while Bay of Plenty downed Northland 9-3. This was the third consecutive year Hawke's Bay had made the playoffs, and in the previous two years the team had finished second.

The team was naturally highly motivated to go one step further, while Bay of Plenty was out to avenge their earlier countback loss in round robin play.

"We'll be stiff and sore tomorrow, but it's a great feeling to have won and gone through the whole season undefeated. I'm very proud of the team," said Hawke's Bay captain John Selby.

Other members of the winning team were Chris Field, Peter Lo, Maree Rigby, Debbie Cullen, Jude Andersen, Marj Leatherland and Ray Johnston.