Whitefield & District Badminton League

/// Rules

Last Updated: June 2019

ADMINISTRATION

  1. The League shall be called the Whitefield & District Badminton League
  2. The League shall be open to any club approved by the Executive Committee following court inspection.
  3. The League and all member clubs shall be affiliated to the Lancashire County Badminton Association and Badminton England.
  4. One general meeting of the League shall be held in May each year. The business of the meeting shall include:
    1. Consideration of the season just finished
    2. Election of officers and sub-committee members
    3. Amendments to the League Rules (see rule 5)
    4. Any other business (see rule 5)
  5. Any proposed changes to the league rules, or any items for inclusion in the agenda of an annual general meeting, must be sent to the League Secretary at least one month before the meeting. The agenda shall be circulated to all clubs prior to the meeting.
  6. The officers of the League, whose term of office shall be one year, shall be:
    1. Chairman
    2. Vice-Chairman
    3. League Secretary
    4. Treasurer
    5. Match Secretary(ies)
    6. Tournament Secretary
    These shall comprise the Executive Committee and shall control the affairs of the League. At any meeting, four shall form a quorum. When necessary, the Chairman shall have the casting vote. The Executive Committee shall have the power to co-opt members for special purposes.
  7. The Sub-Committee shall be elected for the following:-
    1. All tournaments
    2. Social events
    3. Handbook Editor
    4. Website Editor
  8. All complaints against clubs, individuals, league or tournament play will be dealt with by the Executive Committee. Following complaints, the Executive Committee shall:
    • Notify the club or individual in writing of the complaint, so that the party or parties concerned may offer their explanation of the situation.
    • Consider the validity of the complaint and, if necessary, amend the result.
    • Inform the party or parties of the decision reached.
  9. The Executive Committee shall have over-riding authority over the sub-committees.
  10. An Extraordinary General Meeting of the League shall be called on application in writing to the League Secretary by a minimum of one third of the League clubs, or by the Executive Committee.
  11. A meeting of the League, called the Fixture Meeting shall be held in July every year. Attendance of one person per team is mandatory. The business of the meeting shall be:
    • Application for membership from new clubs and new teams.
    • Payment date for annual subscriptions to be arranged.
    • Arrangements of fixtures between clubs.
    • Any other business.
    Any items for inclusion in the agenda must be notified in writing to the League Secretary.
  12. All clubs shall confirm their membership in writing to the League Secretary by July 1st every year. Applications to enter new teams or form new clubs to obtain league membership should be sent to the League Secretary.
  13. All clubs must be represented at League meetings. Each member club shall have one vote on any matter under discussion, provided they have competed one playing season as a member of the League.
  14. League annual subscriptions and League registration fees for each player, to be determined at the A.G.M.
  15. The following offences could incur fines, that would be levied by the Executive Committee:
    1. Missing scorecard
    2. Failure to inform Match Sec of Postponement
    3. Unlawful postponement
    4. Ineligible player
    5. Concession of match
    6. Playing an undeclared unregistered player
    7. Non-attendance at League meetings
  16. The League monies shall be deposited at a recognised bank or building society. Withdrawals can be made on presentation of the signatures of two from the Treasurer, League Secretary, Match Secretary and one other person, who may be appointed by an Annual General Meeting.
  17. The accounts of the League shall be audited by a qualified accountant, appointed by the League in an honorary capacity. The year end for the accounts shall be March 31st.
  18. All trophies competed for in the League shall be held by the winner for a period of one year. Holders of trophies will return same to the League Secretary by March 1st each year.
  19. Prolonged and extra-special service to the League may be honoured by an A.G.M. to the status of .Honorary Life Member of the Whitefield & District Badminton League.. The League Secretary shall keep a register of such members who shall receive personal and complimentary invitations to League meetings, social and other events. At League meetings Honorary Life Members may speak but not vote, unless qualified through some other position.

MATCH PLAY

  1. Play shall be according to the "Laws of Badminton" as adopted by Badminton England. It is advisable that copies of these Laws be available at all matches.
  2. All players must be registered in writing with the Match Secretary(ies) at the beginning of each season additional registrations can be taken by the Match Secretary(ies) during the season but not after March 1st. These additional registrations must be made in WRITING before the registered player can play in a League match. This registration must be accompanied by the registration fee, also any appropriate forms duly signed. The order of strength of all registered players must be indicated.
  3. If in any season, a player who has represented a club in SIX or more matches (including Hallsworth or Hughes Cup) transfers to another club in the League, that player will NOT be allowed to represent the latter club in the remainder of that season. No player may transfer registration from one club to another more than once in any season without authorisation by the Executive Committee. In the event of a player transferring to another club, they must complete the requisite official transfer forms which must be signed by themselves and their new club secretary. This registration will NOT be valid until this form has reached the Match Secretary with the appropriate fee.
  4. Teams to be made up of three gents and three ladies. Playing two ladies, two mens and five mixed double events of two games each, as defined on the scorecard. ANY man plays as first man and ANY lady as first lady, regardless of the order of registration or individual strength. The first man and first lady shall play together as first mixed pair and the second man and second lady shall play together as second mixed pair. The home team shall complete the matchcard before commencement of play, and hand this to the away team for completion. Clubs with more than one team must star their players in all but their last team. All players should play regularly for the team in which they are starred. Names of starred players must be submitted to the Match Secretary(ies) before the start of each season , and any changes of starrings must be notified to the Executive Committee for approval. The Executive Committee reserve the right to question the nominated starred players for each team. ANY registered member of a club, not regularly available to play for a team, but of sufficiently high standard, should be starred by their clubs to the appropriate standard. Such players to be referred to as additionally starred players. If a player drops one division or one team in the same division, they will give five points per game as a handicap. A maximum of two players may drop down but they must not play together and must give five points per game each. If players drop down two divisions, they will give nine points per game. A player may reserve up to six times during the season or three games consecutively before being tied to the higher team. They will, of course, be able to drop down under the new handicapping rules as above.
  5. Only non-availability of court, or severe weather conditions, e.g. snow or fog, shall be sufficient reason for automatic postponement of a match. Details of postponed matches must be notified to the Match Sec. in writing. Where a match is legitimately postponed, the home team MUST offer the away team, in writing three dates when the away team do NOT already have a W. & D.B.L. fixture. The away team must then accept one of the dates. The Match Sec must be in formed in writing of the new date which is then treated as an original fixture. This new date must be arranged within fourteen days of notification of the postponement. If for any reason this cannot be done the Match Sec must be given an explanation in writing of the reasons for not re-arranging the match and this explanation must be given within fourteen days of the postponement. A match may also be postponed at the request of either a home or an away team, provided that team first obtains the approval of the opposing team. This rule should only be used where a team is unable to field a team of ANY six registered players. A team must NOT seek to re-arrange games just because key players are unavailable and if the Executive Committee or the opposing team believe this to be the case, then the opposing team must not give approval to the game being postponed. Furthermore no team shall be able to instigate the postponement of more than TWO games per season. The team requesting the postponement must suggest and reach agreement on a rescheduled date and must inform the Match Sec of the new date prior to the fixture. The Match Sec will then speak to the opposing team captain to confirm that the opposing team are fully in agreement with the postponement. The opposing team captain has the ABSOLUTE RIGHT to decline the request for the match and is not obliged to provide any reason for sticking to the original fixture, until express approval has been given to the Match Sec at which point the new date will be treated as an original fixture. When a match has been postponed with the approval of the opposing team, then the re-arrangement of the match becomes the responsibility of BOTH teams. If no agreement can be reached by the end of the season BOTH teams will have the average number of points gained deducted from their final scores.
  6. The start of matches will be between 7.00 p.m. and 8.00 p.m.
  7. Players MUST be available to play at the commencement of the match, as stated by the home team in the handbook. This will be no earlier than 7.00 p.m. Any player not available when required to play in the order stipulated in the rules shall FORFEIT their games. Any player still not available for their second set of the match shall concede all six of their games.
  8. Should a team member become indisposed after the start of a match the game in progress will be forfeit. Another member of the team will be allowed as substitute in any remaining games of MIXED doubles; in that case the weaker of the two remaining ladies or gentlemen should be chosen, the final decision being with the opposing captain. Only one player of each sex may be substituted.
  9. Umpiring will be shared by both teams. A linesman will be provided by each team for every game to assist the umpire, unless otherwise agreed. The linesman shall call .out. only; no call to be taken as .in.. Play will be according to the home clubs rules for faults and lets, which should be declared at the start of the match.
  10. The order of play shall be as on the scorecard unless agreed by both captains.
  11. A match consists of 18 games 21 points each. If the score is (or has reached) 20 all, the side which gains a 2 point lead wins that game, e.g. 27-25. At 29 all the side winning the 30th point wins that game. The side winning the first game serves first in the second game. If players serve or receive in the wrong service court, the error is corrected when the mistake is discovered, but, the score is NOT corrected.
  12. League points. In every game in a match the winner will score 1 point, making a total of 18 points to be won. In the event of an unfinished match, the points for games not played will be halved. Points for cancelled matches will be awarded as follows:
    1. The offending team, NIL points, with a deduction at the end of the season of an average number of the total points scored per match over the full season.
    2. The aggrieved team will get an average number of the total points scored per match over the full season.
    ALL CANCELLED & UNFINISHED MATCHES WILL BE INVESTIGATED.
  13. Players must wear recognised badminton clothing for all league ties and competitions, football shorts socks and T-shirts are not acceptable. Team captains should complain to opposing captains where necessary and also to the Executive Committee.
  14. All divisions of the League will use Goose Feather Cork Based Shuttlecocks of a good quality. The home side must at least 18 new shuttlecocks ready for any match.
  15. Scorecards must be posted or scanned and e-mailed to the respective Match Sec within 48 hours of the completion of any match.
  16. Any club that has more than one team playing in the same division MUST have their inter club fixtures completed by the end of October.
  17. The divisions of the League shall have a maximum of 12 and a minimum of 8 teams.
  18. No NEW teams shall be placed in the first division.
  19. Matches postponed under rule 34 should be played at a later date, particularly if promotion or relegation is affected. Any matches unplayed at the end of the season will be considered by the Executive Committee.
  20. Prior to the Fixture Meeting each year, the Executive Committee will draw up the format of the divisions for the new season. This will normally be based on the promotion and relegation of two teams between each division.
  21. If clubs tie on points at the end of the season, then games won shall be taken to decide championship, promotion and relegation issues. In the event of a tie on games, a play-off shall be arranged on a neutral court.
  22. The Executive Committee shall have the authority to decide on the placing of teams within a division, and also to make decisions with regard to the placing of any new team joining the League.

HALLSWORTH & HUGHES CUPS

Cup matches shall be subject to the rules in the match play section except where specifically stated below.

  1. The cups shall be competed for annually on a team knock-out basis. Teams from higher divisions may enter the Hallsworth cup, those from the lower divisions may enter the Hughes cup. The Tournament Sub-Committee each year shall decide the split.
  2. All League teams are eligible to enter. Entries should be given in writing to the Match Secretary before September 1st at the commencement of each season.
  3. The method of play and handicapping for the Hallsworth & Hughes cups shall be decided at the Fixture Meeting.
  4. Before the start of play, both captains shall name their teams on the scorecard.
  5. When necessary, League matches may be postponed to accommodate cup fixtures.
  6. In the event of a tie, in either cup, the away side will be awarded one extra point, except in the final.
  7. Any club entering either cup shall name their intended team prior to handicapping. If any player is to be replaced, the Tournament Sub-Committee shall be informed so that adjustment of handicap can be made (if time limits allow)
  8. Arrangements for the finals will be made by the Tournament Sub-Committee.
  9. In the cup competitions only, a player can be promoted from a lower team to substitute in a higher team ONCE ONLY. That player can still play in the lower team again in the competition that season. However the handicap given shall not be changed. No player shall play in a lower team than that for which the player was starred.

LEAGUE TOURNAMENTS

Tournament play shall be subject to the rules in match play section, except where specifically stated below.

  1. Each season The Tournament Sub-Committee shall organise the annual League tournaments.
  2. The Tournaments shall be open to all players registered with the League. Each event may be restricted at the Sub-Committee.s discretion in accordance with the court time available. Entries from players not regularly taking part in league matches may be refused for any level tournament at the discretion of the Sub-Committee.
  3. For handicap events, The Tournament Sub-Committee shall award each player or pair a handicap. The Sub-Committee may also adjust handicaps if they deem it necessary, but not after the player or pair have played more than one match of the event.
  4. Entry fees shall be decided by the Tournament Sub-Committee

Fees

Team Entry Fee £5
Player Registration
(includes county fee)		 £7.25 senior
£5.25 junior

Affiliation Fees

BADMINTON England See here
Lancashire (County) £3.25 senior
£3.25 junior

Fines

  1. Failure to attend AGM or fixtures meeting = £15
  2. Late scorecard (more than 5 working days after fixture) = £5 home team.
  3. Cancelling / conceding a match:
    • Offending team = £10 + deduction of average points scored per match at the end of the season.
    • Offended team = Addition of average points scored per match at the end of the season.
  4. Team fails to turn out = £15 offending team (which if away team, fine paid to home team) and match to be re-arranged wherever possible, even if this means using a neutral (or the other team's) venue. If the match cannot be replayed it shall be considered as a cancellation for points purposes.
  5. Ineligible/non-registered player not declared = £10 + match awarded 18-0 to non-offending team.
  6. Playing a registered player from a higher team in a lower team when both teams are playing on the same night = £5 + player concedes any games won.
  7. Players can only play for their club in one team, on any one night = £5 + player concedes any games won.