Badminton championship tournaments have been held annually since 1927, except during the war years 1940–46. In their overall pattern the championship events closely follow that of lawn tennis – men's and women's singles and doubles, and mixed doubles.

Interprovincial competition began during the 1934 season when the Wisden Cup was instituted. Until 1939 this was a challenge cup, but in that year the present “knock-out” competition was introduced. More recently, the Division I competition has been divided into North and South Island zones, the provincial teams in each zone playing for the Slazenger and Neill Cups respectively. The winners of these trophies then play off for the Wisden Cup.

Since the formation of the Badminton Association, the game has grown steadily in popularity. Of special note are the excellent new halls built solely for badminton at Invercargill, Christchurch, Wellington, and Auckland. At the present time the number of players affiliated to the controlling body, the New Zealand Badminton Federation, has passed the 10,000 mark. There are now 350 clubs.

The following are the New Zealand National Badminton Championship and Wisden Cup results since the inception of these respective competitions: