Braintree & District Badminton League

League Rules (July 2024)

(docx & pdf versions)

1.

All Clubs participating in any of the Leagues activities shall pay an annual affiliation agreed at the previous AGM by 1st September in any year.

2.

League Competitions will be open to all Clubs.

3.

Any Club wishing to compete must notify the League Chairman or Honorary Secretary in writing before the 1st September in any year.

4.

All Clubs entering teams in the League shall pay an annual entrance fee per team as agreed at the previous AGM by the 1st September in any year.

5.

Fixtures shall be arranged at a special meeting to be held at least a week before the commencement of the season.

6.

A copy of each Clubs fixtures must be sent to the League Secretary. Any subsequent alterations to fixtures must be notified to the League Secretary.

7.

Fixtures may not be altered without adequate reason being given to the League Secretary. In case of dispute the League Committee may decide to award the result either way at their discretion.

8.

The starting time for all matches is by agreement between Clubs. Should a match be unfinished through lack of time due to one of the teams not being ready to commence within 15 minutes of the agreed start time, the offending team will forfeit one rubber. This claim must be made before play commences. If the match starts on time, un-played rubbers may be divided.

9.

Each League will be split into Divisions and the matches played on a home and away basis. No Division in a League shall consist of more than seven teams unless agreed by all Clubs in that Division.

10.

Clubs entering more than one team in a League must put their best players in their 'A' team and grade their other players accordingly. Clubs having more than one team in the same Division must nominate their 'A' players five days before their first 'A' or 'B' fixture.

11.

Team Composition

      a.      Sixes Leagues       Each team will consist of 3 pairs.

      b.      Four's Leagues      Each team will consist of 4 players (Mixed Doubles - 2 men and 2 ladies)

12.

If a Club has two or more teams in a League, a player who has played three times in the higher Division may not subsequently play in the lower Division in any season.

13.

Promotion and relegation of individual team members from any team within their own Club will, in exceptional circumstances, be considered by an application to the League Committee.

14.

If a League is merged due to insufficient entries, teams may apply to the Committee for a handicap to be set, typically this request would be from the previous lower Division Club. This may also apply if a Club wishes to enter a more inexperienced team such as junior members. All handicap requests are accepted and set at the discretion of the Committee. See Rule 18 for scoring. All requests must be made at least one week before the fixture meeting and preferably on the League Entry Form.

15.

In any one season, no player may play for more than one Club in the same League, except at the discretion of the League Committee, where, with adequate notice, a single request per Club per League will be considered.

The Leagues are defined as;

      a.      Mens Doubles Sixes

      b.      Mens Doubles Four's

      c.      Ladies Doubles Sixes

      d.      Ladies Doubles Four's

      e.      Mixed Doubles Sixes, Mixed and Combination Knockouts

      f.       Mixed Doubles Four's and Knockout

16.

Any player representing more than one Club in a different League must be a bona-fide member of every Club he/she represents and if required be able to satisfy the adjudicator on this point.

17.

In the Sixes Leagues, each pair shall play three rubbers.

In the Four's Leagues, each player shall play three rubbers

18.

Scoring as Badminton England rules

      a.      Each rubber shall consist of the best of 3 games. The pair to score 21 points first wins that game.

               The pair winning a rally adds a point to their score.

      b.      If the score reaches 20 all, the side which gains a 2 point lead first, wins that game, e.g, 27-25

      c.      At 29 all, the pair scoring the 30th point, wins that game.

      d.      The pair winning a game serves first in the next game.

      e.      In the third game, pairs change ends when the score reaches 11 points.

      f.       If a handicap request (Rule 14) has been accepted, the Committee will award a team a fixed score

               which will apply as a minus score to the non-handicapped team, e.g; For a -5 handicap, the games

               would start at -5 - 0 in favour of the handicapped Club. Where both teams have a handicap, the score

               will be adjusted e.g; both teams have a handicap of -5, the games start at 0 - 0. If the handicaps are

               -7 and -5, the games start at -2 - 0. This handicap will apply throughout the season on the assumption

               that there is not a significant change in team players. If this is not the case, the Committee must be

               informed so a review and changes can be made if necessary.

Points are awarded for every rubber won

Examples;

* May occur if rubbers halved.

19.

At the end of the season, the top team in each Division will be promoted to the next higher Division and the bottom team will be relegated to the next lower Division at the discretion of the League Committee.

20.

In the event of two teams finishing equal on points (rubbers) in any Division, games will decide the League position. If there is still a tie with promotion and relegation involved, a deciding match may be played. In the event of any team conceded their match, their opponents will be awarded;

      a.      Mens, Ladies and Mixed Doubles Sixes, 3 points and 9 rubbers.

      b.      Mens, Ladies and Mixed Doubles Four's, 3 points and 6 rubbers.

21.

A club withdrawing a team or teams from a Division will have all their results expunged from the records of the related Division.

22.

Shuttles will be used of the appropriate pattern - feather or cork based plastics or hybrid, of the appropriate  speed for the venue. (At the discretion of the home Club).

23.

Results shall be forwarded to the League Secretary from the home Club within 3 days of the match being played.

24.

Cancelled Matches;

If the home Club incurs the court costs then they must claim in writing within two weeks of the cancelled match and the offending team must settle the costs within a further four weeks or refer the matter to the League Committee.

25.

Eligibility;

      a.      If, by agreement between Clubs before the start of a League match, an ineligible player takes part,

               all games all games in which he/she takes part shall automatically be awarded to the opposing Club.

      b.      If an undeclared ineligible player represents any Club in a League match, the whole match shall be

               awarded to the opposing Club.

      c.      Any questions of eligibility interpretation of the general rules must be referred to the League

               Committee whose decision is final.

26.

Scorers for League matches shall be provided by the home Club if requested by any of the two teams and

shall be off court whilst scoring.

27.

Clubs failing to send a representative to Committee meetings shall be subject to a fine of £5 in each instance

unless extenuating circumstances can be proved. Failure to pay such fines may result in exclusion from the

League.

28.

Clubs who do not attend the Constitution and Fixture meeting may not be permitted to play in any of the League matches or tournament.

  League Matches - points

 Match Score

 Winners

 Losers

  Mens, Ladies & Mixed Doubles Sixes

 6 - 3

 6

 3

5½ - 3½*

5.5

3.5

 5 - 4

 5

 4

  Mens, Ladies & Mixed Doubles Four's

 4 - 2

 4

 2

3½ - 2½*

3.5

2.5

Draw

 3

 3

For all your racket stringing requirements contact paul.butcher@badmintonbraintree.org.uk