RULES OF THE BRACKNELL AND DISTRICT BADMINTON ASSOCIATION

1. NAME

1.1 The association shall be called the Bracknell and District Badminton Association.

2. OBJECTIVE

2.1 The objectives of the Association shall be to organise competitive badminton between member clubs on a league basis and encourage the development of badminton in the area.

3. AFFILIATION

3.1 The Association shall be affiliated to the Berkshire County Badminton Association and Badminton England.

4. MEMBERSHIP

4.1 Membership of the Association shall be open to any club whose normal playing facility is situated within a 10 mile radius of the previous site of the Bracknell Meteorological Office and who wishes to enter one or more teams in the league organised by the Association.

4.2 All member clubs shall be affiliated to their County Badminton Association and Badminton England.

4.3 Acceptance of new member clubs shall be subject to approval at a General Meeting of the Association.

4.4 All member clubs shall comply with the Rules of the Association.

4.5 Deduction of league points due to non-affiliation. The rules specifically state that all clubs should be affiliated to the appropriate county and Badminton England by October 31st of each season.

4.6 During future seasons reminders will not be issued and should clubs fail to affiliate by 31st October they can expect to have 2 league points per month deducted from each team.

5. OFFICERS OF THE ASSOCIATION

5.1 The officers of the Association shall comprise a Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer, Match Secretary and Tournament Secretary.  They will form the Committee of the Association and be responsible for administering it in accordance with its rules and objectives.

5.2 The quorum for Committee meetings shall be three members.

5.3 All officers shall be elected each year at the Annual General Meeting of the Association. The Committee may from time to time, however, co-opt on to the Committee such other persons, as it feels necessary in order to efficiently manage the Association.

6. GENERAL MEETINGS

6.1 The Annual General Meeting of the Association shall normally be held in May.

6.2 General Meetings shall be convened by the Secretary acting on behalf of the Committee or on the joint request in writing of not less than three member clubs. Any such request shall state the reason(s) for the meeting.

6.3 Notification of General Meetings shall be sent to all member clubs not less than 15 days prior to the meeting.  If changes to these Rules are proposed they shall be set out in detail in the notice of the meeting.

6.4 The quorum for a General Meeting shall be 30% of the member clubs.

7. VOTING

7.1 Voting power at a General Meeting shall be ONE vote per member club and with the exception of Rule 7.2 resolutions shall be determined by a simple majority.

7.2 No alterations or additions shall be made to these Rules except by a resolution passed by a two thirds majority of member clubs present, or by a three quarters majority of member clubs present and voting at a properly constituted General Meeting of the Association, whichever is the less.

8. FEES

8.1 League fees and subscriptions to the Association shall be determined at a General Meeting.

8.2 League fees and subscriptions to the Association and the bodies referred to in Rule 4.2 shall be paid by the 31st October each year.

8.3 Clubs not complying with Rule 8.2 shall be penalised by the deduction of league points gained in the current season, the number to be decided by the Committee.

9.  FIXTURES

9.1 A Fixture Meeting shall be held annually at which league fixtures for the forthcoming season shall be arranged and each member club shall send a representative to the Fixture Meeting.  In the absence of a representative the `away' fixtures of that member club may be arranged at the Fixture Meeting to suit the `home' clubs represented at the meeting.

9.2 Each member club shall send its fixture list and membership list to the League Match Secretary within 15 days of the Fixture Meeting.

9.3 All fixtures shall be completed by the first Sunday after April 30th unless prior agreement to a later date has been agreed by the League Match Secretary.

10. TROPHIES

10.1 Unless otherwise notified, trophies awarded by the Association cannot be won outright and shall remain the property of the Association.

10.2 The holder of any trophy shall be responsible for safeguarding it against damage and shall replace it in the event of loss.

10.3 The holder of any trophy awarded by the Association shall have it engraved at the holder's expense.

10.4 The locations of trophies shall be recorded in the minutes of the Annual General Meeting.

11. MATCH RESULTS

11.1 Results shall be entered on the league website by either the home or away team, and confirmed by the opposing team, within 21 days of the match. If neither team submits a result, then the match may be declared null and void. Failure to confirm the result of the match in a further 21 days will result in an assumption that it is confirmed.

12. LEAGUE ORGANISATION

12.1 The League may comprise any or all of the following Sections: Ladies 6’s; Ladies 4’s; Men’s 6’s; Men’s 4’s; Mixed.

12.2 Each section shall be split into Divisions.  The number of teams in each division shall be determined by the Committee but shall not normally exceed seven.

12.3 A member club entering a team, which has not played in the league in the previous season, shall have that team placed in the lowest division of the appropriate section.  This rule may be waived at the discretion of the Committee if there is a vacancy in a higher division.

12.4 The winner of a match is the team that gets the most rubbers and in the event of a tie on rubbers, the most games and in the event of a tie on games the most points.  League points will be awarded as follows:

Team of Six

League Points

Rubber Score

Winner

Loser

9-0; 8-1; 7-2; 6-3.

3

0

5-4

2

1

 

Team of Four

League Points

Rubber Score

Winner

Loser

6-0; 5-1; 4-2.

3

0

3-3

2

1

3-3 (tied on games and points)

 

12.5 One extra league point is awarded to each team represented by the correct number of players. Ineligible players are included in this count provided that they are declared to the opposing team before they play. However, all games played by that player are awarded to the opposition, and shall be entered on the results card as 21-0.

12.6 A conceded match will be awarded as 4-0 in league points and either 9-0 (6’s) or 6-0 (4’s) in rubbers. In the event of a match not being played by the end of the season, the team to default from the first fixture date notified by both clubs to the match secretary will be deemed the loser. If a club has not sent in any fixture date in accordance with the rules, and the match is not played, their team will be deemed the loser.

12.7 In the event of a team withdrawing from a division all results against that team shall be discarded.

12.8 At the end of the season the team scoring the most league points shall be declared the winners of the division.  In the event of a tie on league points, the proportion of rubbers, games and then points won out of those that could have been played shall be compared to determine the winners.

12.9 The winners of each division shall be presented with a trophy to be held for one year.

12.10 The top team in each division except the highest shall be promoted to the next division and the bottom team in each division shall be relegated. In a division of  7 or more 2 teams shall be promoted and 2 relegated. Further promotions and relegations shall be at the discretion of the committee, based on the results of the previous season in order to maintain a balanced structure of the league.

13. MATCH ORGANISATION

13.1 Each team shall play a `home' and `away' match against each other team in its division.

13.2 In the event of two or more teams from one member club playing in the same division, the matches between those teams shall be played before any match with another club in that division.

13.3 Club match secretaries will be responsible for accurately submitting match fixture details to the league website and communicating these details to the relevant team members. In addition, it is recommended that clubs confirm a match 7 days before it takes place.

13.4 A fixture shall not be postponed except for the non availability of courts unless the clubs concerned agree an alternative date which shall be notified immediately to the League Match Secretary.

13.5 Matches shall commence within 10 minutes of the arranged time; failure to do this shall result in the forfeiture, by the offending team, of one rubber for every 10 minutes delay.

13.6 If the home team have to cancel or rearrange a match caused by their shortage of players etc. the financial burden is carried by them.

13.7 If the away team needs to rearrange the date of a match by reason of shortage/unavailability of players, then they are automatically liable for any additional court costs incurred by the home team irrespective of the notice given unless the home team chooses to waive the charges in part or in whole. Payment is due within one week of the initial fixture date.

14. MATCH RULES

14.1 Except as otherwise provided by these Rules, matches shall be played in accordance with the current Rules laid down by the Badminton Association of England.

14.2 Any special conditions for `lets' or `faults' peculiar to the venue shall be at the discretion of the `home' club but such conditions shall be communicated to the visiting team immediately prior to the commencement of the match.

14.3 When serving, only two `lets' in succession will be allowed.

14.4 Any corkbased shuttle approved by the Badminton Association of England shall be used, provided the speed is appropriate for the venue.

14.5 Each 6’s doubles team shall comprise three pairs of players.   Each 4’s doubles team shall comprise 4 players, who form pairs as shown on the 4’s results card.

14.6 The order of play indicated on the appropriate results card shall be followed.

14.7 Each 6’s pair shall play each pair in the opposing team.  The 4’s pairings shall be as indicated on the results card.  All rubbers will be to the best of three games of 21 points per game with setting.

14.8 Where the club has to vacate the hall by a certain time, then it is the responsibility of the home captain at the completion of the sixth rubber (fourth rubber in a team of 4 match) to decide if the match can be completed in the time remaining. If there is insufficient time, the home captain can elect to play the last three rubbers (or last two rubbers in a 4’s match) as a single game to 21 points, with setting if required. Unfinished rubbers in this case will be halved. If the home captain elects to play the last rubbers to the usual best of three games, then any unfinished rubbers will be automatically lost by the home team.

15. ELIGIBILITY OF PLAYERS

15.1 Each player shall be a bone fide member of the club represented.  A player who has played in a league match for one club shall not play for another club in the same section during the same season.  In the event of a club withdrawing from a section this Rule may be waived at the discretion of the Committee.

15.2 Any member club entering two or more teams in the same division shall nominate four out of six (or two out of four) players for each team.  Any member club entering two or more teams in different divisions of a section shall nominate four out of six (or two out of four) players for each team except the team in the lowest division.  Any nominated player shall play at least three games for the nominated team and shall not be eligible to play for another team in the same or a lower division.  Any member club having to nominate players in accordance with this Rule shall notify the League Match Secretary of their nominations prior to the first league match of the relevant team(s).

15.3 Any player who has played three matches for one team shall not thereafter play for another team playing in a lower division. Additionally, any player who has played four matches for one team shall not thereafter play for another team in the same division.

15.4 In the event that a club shall use an ineligible player in a match without declaring same to the opposing club and to the League Match Secretary before the start of that match, they shall forfeit the relevant rubbers and not be considered to have provided the correct number of players under rule 12.7.

15.5 Where a member club is required to nominate players in accordance with Rule 15.2, one league point shall be deducted from the total of points scored by the team(s) in which the nominated players should play, for every match played by the relevant team(s), prior to the League Match Secretary receiving written confirmation of the nominated players.

15.6 Where players are required to be nominated in accordance with Rule 15.2, one point shall be deducted from the total league points scored by the relevant team for every player who does not play in three matches.

15.7 Every entrant to any restricted tournament organised by the Association shall be a bone fide member of a member club.

15.8 Matches played prior to the League Match Secretary receiving the required nominations shall be forfeited in favour of the opposition. Where both clubs have not provided the required nominations the match shall be declared void and shall not be replayed.

15.9 Where new members join a club after the membership list has been submitted, the club shall affiliate those new members to the relevant County Association and Badminton England immediately. The League Match Secretary must be informed of new members before they can be eligible to play in a match for their club.