League Rules: Portsmouth & Havant Badminton Association

League Rules (Issue 5)

League Rules as a Microsoft Word document

The Management of the League shall be in the hands of the committee of the Association and will be subject to the rules of badminton, as laid down by the International Badminton Federation. Matters of discipline, if not clarified within the league rules will be dealt with in accordance of the Badminton England disciplinary procedures, as adopted by the Hampshire Badminton Association.
No more than one representative from a League club may stand as an officer of the League.

No more than one representative from any club may stand as a committee member of the League.

Any club may be represented by an officer and a committee member, if elected.
The League shall be open to all clubs affiliated to the Association, subject to the approval of the committee. Clubs desiring to take part shall forward their application in writing to the Hon Secretary by the 15th September each year.
The league shall consist of up to four sections; Ladies, Men's, Mixed and a Combination, separated into Divisions.

Each team shall play all other teams in the same division twice, (one 'home' fixture and one 'away' fixture) between 30th September and 20th April. Challenge fixtures will be played between the 20th and 30th April. Within any division, all clubs will have played opposing clubs once by the 15th January, with the return fixture being played before 20th April. No fixtures will be arranged on the dates of the Restricted tournament, Portsmouth KO Cup or County KO Cup.
Fixture dates shall be arranged at a meeting of the secretaries. Attendance at the secretaries meeting shall be mandatory; any club failing to send a delegate to the meeting to arrange fixtures shall be liable for a fine of 10.
1. The start times, dates and venues of all fixtures shall be agreed between teams and posted to the League Secretary within ten days of the meeting. Fixtures may take place in any hall, if both clubs agree.
2. After the ten day period, the only reason for postponing a fixture would be inclement weather, unavailability of hall.
3. If a team secretary/captain wishes to change a fixture after the ten day period he/she must first contact the League Secretary by letter / e-mail with a justifiable reason.
The number of teams allocated to any one division within each section shall be at the discretion of the committee. Having first observed rule 21 the final allocation shall be made in the best interests of the member clubs. Where practical, the maximum number of teams in any one division should normally be six (6).

Any restructuring of the divisions within any sections necessitated by the withdrawal of previously registered teams, or from registration of new teams shall not be considered as a 'promotion and relegation issue' and rule 21 will not apply.

New teams will be placed in the lowest division.
Players shall not be eligible to participate in league fixtures or tournaments unless their parent club has registered such players with the league.
1. Players should be registered by the start of the season. Any player registered thereafter shall not be eligible to play in any league event for a period of 7 days. Any team that plays an unregistered player or a player who has not been registered for the requisite 7 days shall forfeit the matches concerned. (The 7 day period shall commence when the designated form or e-mail is received by the League Secretary).
2. A registered player is one whose name and address has been registered with the League Secretary and for whom affiliation fees will be paid at the appropriate time to the Association and the Badminton England in conjunction with Hampshire.
3. A player playing for more than one club is entitled to play for one club in the combination league and a different club in the ladies, men's or mixed leagues.
4. Clubs may not register any new players for fixtures after 28th February. Exceptional circumstances will be considered by the committee.
5. County players are able to play in the Combination Leagues without any restriction. Players nominated for the County 1st and 2nd Team, or having played for these teams, may not play in the Mini Leagues during that season or the subsequent two seasons. Players who have played for the County 3rd Team once may not play in the Mini Leagues for the rest of the season or for the subsequent season. The clarification of county is any county within GB. Club secretaries are responsible for notifying the League Secretary as soon as a member has been nominated or played for any County Team who fall within this rule.
Combination League

When a club enters two teams in the same section of the league at least six best players must be nominated 'A' team before the start of the season as defined in rule 4.

When a club enters three teams in a section, then the next six best players must be nominated 'B' team before the start of the season.

The same principal of nominating six players is to apply to additional teams in the same section.

These nominations should be posted/e-mailed 7 days prior to the first fixture played by the club.
Ladies, Men's and Mixed League

When a club enters two teams in the same section of the league at least four best players must be nominated 'A' team before the start of the season as defined in rule 4.

When a club enters three teams in a section, then the next four best players must be nominated 'B' team before the start of the season.

The same principal of nominating four players is to apply to additional teams in the same section.

These nominations should be posted/e-mailed 7 days prior to the first fixture played by the club.
Any player may play up to two fixtures at a higher level, without a change of nomination. On playing a third fixture at a higher level the player automatically changes nomination to the higher level. The club should ensure the player is made aware of the imposed change of nomination prior to the player playing a third fixture at a higher level.
1. A player playing up to a higher level than their nomination will be restricted to playing for one team only, should the club have more than one team in the higher division.
2. If a club has more than one team in a division, one player (per fixture) may play up in the team above (i.e. from 2nd team to 1st team or from 3rd team to 2nd team) If that player plays more than one fixture in the higher team, rule 10.1 will apply.
3. Players who have not yet played for their nominated team may be re-nominated to another team provided the League Secretary is notified in writing/e-mail before he or she plays for the new team.
4. Nominated players who have played for their nominated team, may only play for a lower team if, they have not already played more than two fixtures and the League Secretary is notified that the player will be dropped for the remainder of the season. Under no circumstances will the player then be able to play for a higher team.
Where a club has more than one team in the same division, then the fixtures between those teams are to be the first played at the beginning of the season, and the return fixtures the first played in the second half of the season.
1. Any team which fails to arrive for an agreed fixture or which communicates its inability to fulfil an agreed fixture will be considered to have defaulted, unless both teams agree to a rearrangement (rule 5.3).
2. If the rearranged fixture is not played, the team requesting the initial postponement will be deemed to have defaulted.
3. A defaulting team in the Combination League will have 11 league points deducted. A defaulting team in the Ladies or Men's League will have 5 league points deducted. A defaulting team in the Mixed League will have 7 league points deducted. Any expenses incurred over the cancellation of courts booked for the fixture must be paid by the defaulting team to the club secretary of the opposing team within 14 days.
4. If any team defaults more than once in a season, they will automatically be relegated.
The home club shall bear all the expenses of the fixture and provide the shuttles. The shuttles shall be the correct speed laid down in the Badminton England, Laws of Badminton, Rule 3.2. The same brand of shuttle must be used throughout the fixture.
Teams in the Combination League shall comprise three ladies and three men playing nine (9) matches. Three ladies doubles, three men's doubles and three mixed doubles. Each team member shall be ranked in order of playing strength for the purpose of the level doubles and each player shall participate in the appropriate fixtures.

1st ranked player 1st & 2nd doubles

2nd ranked player 1st & 3rd doubles

3rd ranked player 2nd & 3rd doubles

Pairings of the mixed doubles shall be at the discretion of the team captain but each pair shall be ranked in order of playing strength and play the equivalent pair in the opposing team.

A fixture shall consist of 9 matches each comprising the best of 3 games of 21 points. The extended game is played from 20-all. The winner is the one with 2 clear points or whose score reaches 30 first.

A minimum of four (4) court hours playing time shall be provided for a fixture.
Teams in the Ladies and Men's League shall comprise four players playing as two pairs. Each pair will play both of the opposition's pairs.

A fixture shall consist of 4 matches each comprising the best of 3 games of 21 points. The extended game is played from 20-all. The winner is the one with 2 clear points or whose score reaches 30 first.

A minimum of four (4) court hours playing time shall be provided for a fixture.

Teams in the Mixed League shall comprise 2 ladies and 2 men playing as two mixed pairs. Each mixed pair will play both of the opposition's mixed pairs. In addition there will be Men's and Ladies doubles matches.

A fixture shall consist of 6 matches each comprising the best of 3 games of 21 points. The extended game is played from 20-all. The winner is the one with 2 clear points or whose score reaches 30 first.

A minimum of three (3) court hours playing time shall be provided for a fixture
Scorers (not umpires) shall be provided in a league fixture if one of the participating captains so desires.
Before the commencement of each fixture team captains shall exchange cards giving details of team players rankings. Once cards have been exchanged, no pairings may be altered nor may the rankings be changed.
Any team failing to provide pairs within 10 minutes of the start of the fixture and thereafter shall forfeit the matches concerned. In the event of a player not arriving for a fixture, all matches in which he / she would have been playing will be considered void.

Unregistered players should not be used as this could result in matches being forfeited. If under exceptional circumstances, an unregistered player is used to complete a team, that player will be ranked last and the matches will be deemed void. Should that player be put in at any other position then all matches below the position the player has played in will also be deemed void.

A fixture should be completed, rather than conceded. Whenever possible, matches should be played even if the result is to be void
The contesting teams shall be awarded 1 league point for each match won and the team winning the most matches awarded a bonus 2 league points in the Combination League, or 1 league point in the Ladies, Men's or Mixed Leagues. In the event of a fixture not being finished by the time the hire of the court expires and provided that the fixture commenced at the notified time, all completed matches shall stand.

The outstanding matches may be completed within 7 days, only with the agreement of both team captains. The League Secretary will be informed as rule 5.3.

When a fixture has not commenced at the notified time any unplayed matches shall be forfeited by the team at fault and the league points will be awarded according to the above rules.

When a fixture has not been completed the reason should be stated on the result card and signed by both team captains.
A result card, fully completed and certified by both the 'home' and 'away' teams, shall be forwarded to the League Secretary by the home team not later than 10 days after the match. Failure to comply may incur the loss of league points by the offending team.
When a fixture has commenced play shall be continuous.
The team which gains the most league points shall be the champion team of their division. In the event of a fixture the champion team shall be decided by the number of league points won. Should these be equal, then the number of matches won will decide and in the case of league points and matches being equal then the league fixtures result between the two sides will decide.

The policy of automatic promotion and relegation will be adopted for the top and bottom team, except in exceptional circumstances (rule 11.4).

The option of a challenge fixture will be available to any team placed second in the league. This challenge can be issued to the team coming second from bottom in the league above. Home advantage will be with the challenged team and shuttles and courts for the fixture will be paid for by the challenging team. Challenge teams will only consist of players who have played at least 50% of the League fixtures.
Players must wear acceptable badminton clothing while playing league fixtures and / or tournaments. Beachwear is not considered acceptable.
In the event of any club withdrawing from the League all results concerning the club or clubs shall be deleted from the League table.
The committee will be responsible for naming a representative side to compete in the annual Hampshire KO competition (including a nominated player to captain the side).
All complaints of infringements of the rules must be made in writing to the League Secretary within 14 (fourteen) days of the alleged infringement with full details included.

Exceptional circumstances will be ruled on by the committee whose decision will be final.

For offences against these rules the committee shall have the power to impose a monetary fine and / or the deduction of league points. All such fines shall be paid by the club concerned within fourteen (14) days of receipt of notice from the Hon Secretary (with the exception of rule 11.3, when the fine should be paid direct to the opposing club secretary).

September 2006

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Portsmouth & Havant Badminton Association

League Rules (Issue 5)

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