Hounslow and Staines Badminton League;

HOUNSLOW AND STAINES BADMINTON LEAGUE

MATCH PLAY RULES – 2015/16 SEASON

1. In competitions and tournaments the game shall be played in accordance with the rules and regulations of BADMINTON ENGLAND. The rally points scoring system will be adopted for all matches. In all Events, if the score reaches 20-all in a game, the side gaining a 2 point lead wins that game (at 29-all, the side scoring the 30th point wins that game). 2. Team Registration Each club shall pay a registration fee for each team participating in the league plus an affiliation fee to the league determined by the committee and shall accompany the annual application. 3. The Events a) There shall be 5 Events comprising MEN'S 6’s, MENS 4’s, LADIES 4’s, MIXED AND HYBRID DOUBLES COMPETITIONS. b) Each Event shall be split into divisions, as the committee decides, subject to ratification at the AGM. c) Where more than one division exists, the top team of each division, except the first, shall be promoted and the bottom team of each division, except the lowest, shall be relegated. d) Newly registered clubs shall enter at the lowest division. (Exceptions may be made at the committee's discretion.) e) Each team shall play every other team in its division on a home and away basis, unless determined otherwise by the committee at the start of a season. 4. Fixtures a) All clubs should send a representative to attend the annual Fixtures Meeting. If a club does not send a representative to the Fixtures Meeting, the onus will be on the absent club(s) to subsequently arrange fixture dates with their opposition. If any dates are not agreed before the end of the season, then the non-attending club(s) will forfeit those fixtures to the opposing club(s) as per Rule 6a. b) The dates and times of the fixtures should be sent to the Results Secretary BEFORE any matches are played. c) The Results Secretary, and all Secretaries of clubs involved, should also be notified in writing of any subsequent changes of date, time or venue. d) Where a club has two or more teams in the same division in an Event, the matches between those teams, both home and away, should be played before playing matches against any other clubs in that division. 5. Player Registrations a) A registration shall consist of the player's full name in BLOCK CAPITALS, submitted to the Results Secretary. b) Players must be registered prior to the start of their first match. Registration of players closes on 31st March, therefore no new players may be registered after this date. c) Any player who is not registered as in 5b) above may be used to complete the team. However, rubbers played by these players shall be forfeit. d) No player shall play for more than one club in any Event in the season, but may play for separate clubs in different Events, provided that they are legally registered for the relevant club in the relevant Events. e) Where a club has two or more teams within a six player Event, the four strongest players (at least one of whom must be a lady, if a Mixed or Hybrid Event), should be nominated for each team, except for the lowest ranked team in the lowest division. f) Where a club has two or more teams within a four player Event, the two strongest players should be nominated for each team, except for the lowest ranked team in the lowest division. g) Any player nominated for a higher team may not play in a lower one, within the same Event. h) A non-nominated player, within the same club, may play twice for a higher team in an Event, but after the third occasion may not play again in a lower side. i) Clubs must, if appropriate, declare their nominated players to the Results Secretary prior to their first relevant Event match. j) If a club withdraws from the league, its registered players may register with another club, but the final decision rests with the committee and rule 5b applies. Any matches already played by the withdrawing team will be deemed to be null and void. 6. Match Play. a) Only the home side may cancel a match. The only reasons for cancellation of a match shall be non- availability of courts (4 days notice required), and extreme bad weather. However, matches may be re-arranged, subject to agreement by both clubs. If agreement cannot be met, the offending team will forfeit the match 5-0 in the case of Mens 6, Mixed and Hybrid Events, or 9-0 for a Ladies 4 or Mens 4 match. In this instance, the team deemed to have won 5-0 (in the Mens 6, Mixed and Hybrid Events) will gain 3 points, and the team winning 9-0 (Ladies 4 or Mens 4) will gain 2 points. b) The League encourage the playing of badminton, but if a club chooses to take the option of claiming a match, when their opponents have cancelled a game, the non-offending club must do so by 076b1041670d3095d42bcb84a3886f9f.doc advising their opponents AND the Results Secretary within 14 days of the date on which the game was due to have been played. c) If clubs agree to the re-arrangement of a fixture, the home side must, within 7 days of the cancelled fixture date, offer the away team an alternative date(s) later in the season. Failure to do so, may result in the home side forfeiting the fixture. If the away side is unable to accept any dates given, the match will be awarded to the non-offending team, ie, the team that did not request the postponement of the match on the cancelled fixture date. d) Compensation will become payable, for example, for court fees incurred, if an away team concedes, or requests a postponement of, a match less than 7 days before the scheduled match (or fails to turn up). No compensation should be sought by a club for loss of revenue, such as match fees that may have been due had the match not been conceded. e) Any team fielding only 2 pairs in a Mens 6 or Mixed match will forfeit the 3 rubbers that would have been played by their 3rd pair. The scores for each of these rubbers will be deemed to be 21-0, 21-0 to the non-offending team. f) If a team is unable to field 6 men in a Mens 6 match, then that team can play one lady only. However, the scores in those rubbers played by the lady will be deemed to be 21-0, 21-0 to the non- offending team. g) In the event that both competing teams arrive for a Mens 6 or Mixed match with only 2 pairs, then the 4 possible rubbers should be played. The number of rubbers won will determine the overall score, i.e., if a team wins all 4 rubbers, they will be deemed to have won the match 6-2 and gain 3 league points. If a team wins 3 of the 4 rubbers, they will win the match 5-3 and gain 2 league points. If the rubbers are shared 2-2, the match score will be deemed to be 4-4 (1 league point each). A losing team will not score any league points. h) Any team fielding less than 6 players in a Hybrid Event match, or less than 4 players in a Mens 4 or Ladies 4 Event match, will forfeit the rubbers that would have been played by those missing. The scores for each of these rubbers will be deemed to be 21-0, 21-0 to the non-offending team. i) At the discretion of the non-offending team, a side that has a player(s) arrive more than 20 minutes after the official start time of a match may forfeit any rubbers not able to be played, or finished, by the home side’s official finish time. These rubbers should be claimed at the official finish time of the match. j) If a shortage of time seems likely, the captains may decide to adjust the number of points or games for the remaining time. k) All fixtures are to be completed by 30th April. Outstanding fixtures at this date, if any, must be referred to the committee. l) Both teams shall send in a signed result card, containing full names (in capital letters) of all players, within 7 days, to the Results Secretary. The method used to submit result cards can be either by post, or e-mail. In the case of submitting by e-mail, this can be either a scanned copy of the result card, or by entering the match details on the spreadsheet file available from the HBA website at: www.hounslowdome.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=210&Itemid=217 m) If both teams fail to submit a scorecard for a particular match within 7 days of the end of the season, then zero points will be allocated to each team and the match score will be deemed 0-0. n) Hybrid/Ladies4/Mens4: Rankings of players must be decided by individual strengths. Once assigned a strength, eg, M1, L2, etc, the player should retain this strength for the duration of the levels doubles matches. A player may be assigned a different strength for the Hybrid mixed doubles, if appropriate, but both teams should declare their player strengths for all rubbers/games before the start of the match. o) In the Hybrid, Mixed and Mens 6 Events, 3 points will be awarded to the winning team winning by a margin of 9-0, 8-1, 7-2 or 6-3. 2 points will be awarded to a team winning 5-4, and 1 point to a team losing 4-5. In the Ladies 4 and Mens 4 Events, 2 points will be awarded to the winning team and 1 point each in the case of a draw. p) The winner of a division shall be the team with the highest aggregate of points. In the event of a tie, the highest number of rubbers won will determine. If the number of rubbers won is equal, the team scoring the highest number of rubbers between the two teams in the two matches played will determine the winner. If this is equal, the highest number of games won between the two teams will determine, then, if still equal, the highest number of points scored in the two respective matches. The same means will be applied to determine bottom place in a division if two teams end the season on equal points. 7. Hybrid Knockout Cup Competition a) This competition will be open to all clubs competing in the Hounslow & Staines Badminton League, and any other club(s) accepted into the competition by the Committee. b) The rules and format adopted for the Hybrid league Event will be used in the Hybrid Knockout Cup Competition. c) The costs (for shuttles, refreshments and court hire) to accommodate each match will be shared between the two competing clubs. For each match, agreement on how these costs will be shared, should be discussed and agreed between the two competing clubs before the date of the match. 076b1041670d3095d42bcb84a3886f9f.doc