Rules

Isle of Wight County Badminton Association (IoWCBA) Rules

(Amended 2017)

Objectives
The aim of the Association is to promote friendly competition and to encourage and develop the sport of Badminton, by working together pro-actively to make Badminton on the Isle of Wight as enjoyable, inclusive and fair as possible for everyone, under the Rules of Badminton England.

Management

  • The Management of the Association shall be entrusted to the Chairman, General Secretary and Treasurer in committee with the following officers:- League Secretary, Junior Secretary, County Team Manager, Mallet Cup Secretary, County Masters Secretary, Social Secretary, Tournament Secretary, County Development Officer, Publicity Officer and up to three General Committee Members. The position of Hants & Isle of Wight Development Officer is a co-opted position automatically granted to the incumbent of the appropriate Badminton England post. A quorum shall consist of 50%.
  • To assist with the continuity, every post on the Management Committee (other than the General Committee Members and the Hants & Isle of Wight Development Officer) shall have a ‘job description’ where the responsibilities for that post are detailed. The job description for each post will be agreed by the Management Committee.
  • No member shall hold more than one post on the management committee unless no other person has been nominated to fill that vacant position.
  • Each member of the management committee shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting of the Association for a period of one year.
  • Nominations for all Management positions may be made by any affiliated club and must be received in writing/by e-mail by the General Secretary no later than 31st March. The nominee should also confirm to the General Secretary by that date that they are willing to stand for election. If there is only one nomination for a position by 31st March, the nomination should be presented to the AGM for approval without any further nominations being accepted. In the event of the nomination not being approved, the Chairman may take any forthcoming nominations during the meeting in order to fill the vacancy.
    Should an officer’s position on the management committee fall vacant at the Annual General Meeting, and no nominations be received to fill that post by the due date, the Chairman will take any forthcoming nominations during the meeting in order to fill the vacancy(ies).
  • Should a position on the management committee fall vacant during the year, the post will be advertised to all club secretaries, and once nominations have been received, an Executive meeting shall be called to vote on the nominees.
  • Any member of the Management Committee may appoint up to two affiliated members to assist in the administration of their post. The names of those appointed must be advised to the General Secretary.
  • The Annual General Meeting shall be convened during the month of May each year. Attendance at the Annual General Meeting is not limited, but each Affiliated Club shall have only one vote. In the event of equal numbers of votes being cast both ‘for’ and ‘against’ the status quo will prevail.
  • A representative of each Affiliated Club must be authorised to vote on all matters arising at the Annual General Meeting.
  • Proposals for the IWCBA Annual General Meeting must be submitted to the General Secretary by the 28th February and these proposals will be circulated to Club Secretaries within 14 days thereafter. The General Secretary must receive any amendments to these proposals by 31st March. The General Secretary will then circulate the agenda, proposals and amendments to all club secretaries 14 days prior to the Annual General Meeting.
  • Minutes of the Annual General Meeting will be circulated to all club secretaries within 1 month after the date of the meeting.
  • All affiliated members should be aware a copy of the current year’s handbook, and the information contained therein will be posted on the IWCBA website.
  • A meeting of the Management Committee shall be held by the end of September each year to establish a programme for the coming season.
  • Other management meetings for IWCBA officers to be held as necessary, but at least three times in the year in total. Executive meetings for IWCBA officers and Club secretaries shall be held on the same basis.
  • A special meeting (Extra-ordinary General Meeting) will be summoned if a request, signed by any six affiliated clubs, setting out the proposition to be put to the meeting, be delivered to the General Secretary in writing/ by email.
  • The General Secretary shall carry out the administration of the Association.
    The financial year of the IWCBA shall end on 30th April each year, and the accounts should be audited by a competent person independent from the committee or sub-committee.
  • The Management Committee has the right to approve separate accounts for use by different sections within the Association, and should also approve any allocation of funds that exceed £500.
  • Membership/ Registration/ Eligibility/ Subscriptions
    All applications for a club to become affiliated to the IWCBA must be made in writing to the General Secretary, and signed by an officer of the club. The acceptance or rejection of such applications shall rest entirely with the Management Committee.
  • All players representing their club, county or participating in a competition or tournament organised by the IWCBA, must be subscription paid members of a club affiliated to the IWCBA, and must be in good standing with the Association, except that students who are in full time education and who are residing off the Isle of Wight shall be eligible to compete in tournaments provided that they have been members of the association in any of the previous four seasons and they are currently members of the national association. Annual subscriptions to the IWCBA are due on 1st October. A club who fields a player who has not paid his/her subscriptions by the 31st October will forfeit the games won by that player. Payment for new members to the Association must be made within 14 days of registering with the League Secretary. Any Association member in full time education, and any other member newly registering after 1st January, need only pay half the annual IWCBA subscription.
  • Annual subscriptions to Badminton England are due on 1st October each year or on joining if later. If a player’s subscriptions is unpaid by 1st October, that member’s affiliated club will be liable for any Badminton England fines incurred.
  • A playing member of the Association shall be defined as any member of an Affiliated Club regardless whether they participate in League, Mallet Cup competition or Associated Tournaments.
  • Each club within the Association shall inform the League Secretary by the end of August the number of teams that they propose to field for League play in the coming season.
  • All clubs must supply a complete list of their membership wishing to play league badminton in the forthcoming season by the 2nd Sunday in September. Any person wishing to change clubs must do so by that date in order to be eligible for nomination at their new club.
  • The annual subscription for each club shall be the amounts specified by Badminton England, added to that determined by the Annual General Meeting of the IWCBA.
    At the beginning of the season the League Secretary will circulate a fixtures list to each affiliated club that will specify time periods during which the matches must be played. Clubs will then book their halls and fix a definite evening for each of their home matches.
  • All clubs entering are required to inform the League Secretary of their nominated team(s), together with known substitutes and contact details for each team captain, before the first match of the season. Failure to comply will result in the team playing the first match becoming the nominated team.
  • No player nominated for a team can play for a lower team unless approved by the Management Committee. There are no limits to the number of games a player from a lower team can play in a team of higher status within the same club.

League Structure/ Play

  • The day-to-day running of the league shall be left to the League Secretary’s discretion, but any major changes to the league structure is to be voted on at the Annual General Meeting, or at an Extraordinary Meeting, as the case may be.
  • The League season will commence in the week following the second Sunday in October and finish in April. The position of a team in a division will be determined by a points system.
  • Promotion and relegation will be confined to the top two teams and bottom two teams of each division. In the event of a tie in both matches and points won, in respect of a promotion or relegation placement, a deciding match will be played on a neutral full sized court on a date to be determined by the League Secretary.
  • Demoted teams will be reinstated should there be a need to include more teams in a division than those promoted from the lower division.
  • Other changes in each division may be made by the League Secretary on behalf of the Management Committee- who will make the final decision in the event of a dispute.
  • The current agreed format for league play is as follows:-
    A match shall consist of nine rubbers, one point being awarded to the winner of each rubber. Rally Points Scoring shall be used in all Association sponsored matches.
  • Each team will consist of three men and three ladies, who will play three rubbers of mixed, men’s and ladies doubles.

Order of play.

  • At all times teams must play their pairs in order of strength. The three mixed doubles rubbers are to be played first. These will be followed by three men’s and three ladies doubles, rubbers being played alternately (the reverse will be played in the second half of the season), unless otherwise agreed by the captains. If the fourth rubber requires any of the ladies or men who have previously played in the third rubber, the captains can by mutual arrangements alter the order of play, provided the opposite strengths still play each other.
    Each rubber will be decided by the best of three games. Each game is to be to 21 points and “setting” shall (if required) take place in all three sets. Scoring shall be the “Rally Point” scoring system as defined by Badminton England.
  • The home team captain must explain the “local” rules to the visitors before the match. In general, a “fault” is called if the shuttlecock strikes the roof and a “let” if it strikes beams, rafters, lights, wires etc. within the confines of the court.
  • Feather shuttlecocks are to be used.
  • Court dress for all IWCBA events shall be badminton sports clothing.
  • At the end of a match both captains should sign a completed result card. It will be the responsibility of the captain of the HOME side to submit this to the League Secretary within 7 days. Should no evidence of the match scores be presented to the League Secretary within 7 days of that contact, no points will be awarded to the HOME team.
  • Each match is to start by such time as specified by each club in the Club information section of the IWCBA Handbook. If a team does not have any one pair on court ready to play within 10 minutes of the specified time, they will forfeit the game of their team’s first pair. All players should be available for play within 1 hour of the specified start time unless by prior agreement. Should no pair be available within 30 minutes of the specified start time, the offending team shall be deemed to have defaulted attendance and Rule 42 applies.
  • The only reasons for which a match can be postponed are:
    1, Non-availability of hall.
    2, Inclement weather.
    3, Activities connected with the Association.
    4, If players involved in that match are due to represent the County (at any level) the following day.
    Activities concerned with Badminton England.
  • If a match is legitimately postponed under this Rule, the home team should notify the League Secretary within 7 days. The rearranged fixture date should be notified in writing to the League Secretary as soon as possible and no later than 3 days prior to the fixture. If within 14 days of the postponed match the home team captain has failed to agree a mutually suitable date with the opposition for the rearranged match, the matter should be passed to the League Secretary, who will adjudicate.
  • If a team defaults attendance at a match for reasons other than those stated in Rule 41, the defaulting team shall score no points and be liable to any expenses occurred by the non-defaulting team, and the non-defaulting team awarded such points as the Committee decides.
    Players wishing to be registered members of the Player Pool must be notified, by their club, to the League Secretary before their services are utilised by another club and must have offered themselves for selection at their respective club, but not have been selected for any of that club’s teams. Players who were members of the association the previous season but were unable to offer themselves for selection may join the Player Pool at the discretion of the management committee.
  • The League Secretary may impose restrictions on the level of play permissible for players who are members of the player’s pool, or any plater not nominated for any of their club’s teams who subsequently wish to participate in matches for that club.
  • Any member of the player pool representing a club will be expected to pay that club’s regular match fee.
  • In the event of a club wishing to withdraw an entered team from the league, the Management Committee shall have the discretion as to which particular team from the club shall be withdrawn. If for any reasons not acceptable to the Management Committee, any club withdraws a team or teams after the league programme has been arranged, then the Management Committee may take disciplinary actions as deemed appropriate.

County Team

  • The County Team and Island Games Team shall be the responsibility of the Management Committee through the County Team Manager.
  • The County Team Manager shall appoint two additional members to form a selection panel. The three members of that selection panel must be drawn from three different clubs affiliated to the IWCBA.
  • The County Team Manager may make further appointments to benefit the team as is felt appropriate.
  • The County Team will be selected from players who have been accepted into the County Squad. Players will be invited to join the County Squad by the County Team Manager from first-hand knowledge, or following nomination by either the Junior Secretary or the player’s club for consideration. All such players must be registered members of the IWCBA and Badminton England and play league badminton unless in full time education.
  • Players representing the County at any level should wear the agreed county colours or strip.

County Masters

  • The Isle of Wight County Masters shall be the responsibility of the Management Committee through the County Masters Secretary who shall appoint a players’ representative for each of the competing age groups.
    County Masters’ teams shall be selected from Clubs affiliated to the IWCBA who have indicated their interest in being considered to play by completing an IWCBA Master Registration Form. This states that players will be prepared to play in their respective age groups as required.
  • Badminton England Masters Inter-County League and Championship Regulations apply for competitive matches.
  • IWCBA Masters tournaments shall be the responsibility of the Tournament Secretary.
  • Normal Badminton England rules apply regarding financing of halls, shuttles and travel in respect of County level matches, and the accounts to be kept in that respect.

County Juniors

  • Junior Management- A sub-committee shall be formed to help the Junior Secretary in the management of the junior squad.
  • The County Junior Team will be selected from the players who have been accepted into the County Junior Squad. Players will be invited to join the County Junior Squad by the Junior Secretary from first-hand knowledge, or following nomination by their club or school for consideration.
  • IWCBA Juniors tournaments shall be the responsibility of the Junior Secretary.
  • The Junior Secretary is responsible for ensuring that Child Protection policies are applied in respect of the County Junior Squad.

Child Protection

  • The Isle of Wight Badminton Association agrees to adopt the Badminton England Child Protection Policy and Implementation Procedures.
  • All individuals at all levels involved in Badminton through Badminton England, must abide by Badminton England’s Child Protection Policy and the Code of Ethics and Conduct (the code) and all individuals, by participating or being involved in Badminton through Badminton England are deemed to have assented to and thereby adhere to the principles and responsibilities embodied in these documents.
  • Each and every constituent member of Badminton England including, without limitation, all clubs and leagues shall be responsible for the implementation of the Child Protection Policy and Procedures in Badminton in relation to their individual members.
    Any act, statement or other behaviour that harms a child or group of children or poses a risk of harm to a child or group of children shall constitute conduct that is improper, and thereby brings badminton into disrepute. Such conduct will be dealt with, at an appropriate level, through the Disciplinary Procedure.

General

The Badminton England disciplinary and appeals procedure shall be adopted if required.

  • Complaints are to be made within 28 days of an incident (giving full details and, where appropriate, the names of any witnesses) in writing to the General Secretary who will at the earliest opportunity inform members of the Management Committee, and where necessary call a meeting of that Committee to decide upon the appropriate actions to resolve the matter.
  • Following each club’s Annual General Meeting, any changes in respect of the Officers of that club should be notified immediately to the General Secretary.
  • Nominations for the “Yvonne Elsley Cup” (for the most promising player in the preceding year- aged under 18 on the 31st August) and the “Alan Mabey Salver” (for services to badminton) must be received by the General Secretary no later than 31st March. The Management Committee shall then decide the most appropriate recipients of the awards.
  • Mallet Cup Competition Rules (Amended 2000)
    The competition shall be named the “Mallet Cup”.

Handicapping

  • It is a handicapping competition, the handicapping being worked out by the League Sub-Committee. Members of the handicapping committee will attend the semi-finals and final.

Order of Play

Home
Team Away
Team
a b c
A 1 9 5
B 4 2 7
C 8 6 3

  • Pairs ABC and abc to be in order of handicap. By mutual agreement the order of play may be changed but no pair shall play more than one game in succession.
  • Position of play. Pairs will play in order of strength of handicapping. Where handicaps within a team are equal, pairs will play in the same order as they play in the league.
  • Order of Play. No pair should play more than one game in succession.
  • The Draw. The venue and opponents for each round will be drawn before the beginning of each round.
  • A team drawn home in the competition is to give the opposing team at least ten days notice of the proposed date of the fixture.
  • The semi-finals will be played on neutral, full-sized courts. Both matches will have neutral umpires arranged by the League Subcommittee.
  • The final will be played at a venue decided by the Association Committee.
  • Subscriptions. £15-00 per team to be paid to the Treasurer before commencement of the first round proper. Non-payment will result in the defaulting team being eliminated from the competition.

General

  • The Mallet Cup being separate from the League, league team players may play for another club, provided the League Secretary is notified.
  • Having played for one team in the competition a player may NOT play for another team
  • Each round must be played during the week specified on the fixture list. A match may be deferred under the provision of Rule 41, but, in that event, the rearranged match must take place during the week following the original fixture unless Rule 41 still applies. In that event, the match shall be played during the succeeding week.
  • If a team does not have a pair on court ready to play at 7.30pm or such time from 7.00pm onwards as may be specified in the league fixtures section of the IWCBA Handbook, they must forfeit the game of their team’s first pair.
  • It is responsibility of club Secretaries to notify teams and any changes to the Mallet Cup Secretary. No pair will be allowed to play in the competition unless a handicap for that pair has been determined by the handicap committee prior to the commencement of the match.
    The draw will be made and clubs notified one week before teams are handicapped. Once handicaps have been issued by the Handicap Committee, no more than one change in the composition of a team will be permissible except on the grounds of illness or injury.

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