League Rules

To ensure fair play, safety, and competitive excellence, all participants of the league must adhere to the following rules and guidelines.

  1. NAME

The league shall be called the STAFFORDSHIRE OPEN BAMINTON LEAGUE, hereafter referred to as the League.

  1. OBJECT

To provide and promote competitive Open Doubles Badminton in accordance with the Laws of Badminton as adopted by Badminton England (formerly Badminton Association of England)

  1. MEMBERSHIP

(a)   Shall be open to Clubs in the Staffordshire Area, subject to acceptance by the Committee.

(b)  Only bona fide members of the club, who are liable to full subscription, may be registered. Each Club shall submit a list of players to the Results Secretary before playing the first match. All players to be registered with the Results Secretary at least 48 hours before they play in a match or their games will be void.  

  1. RESIGNATION

A Club wishing to withdraw a team from the league shall give notice to the League Secretary before the 31st of July; otherwise, the Club shall be liable to the following year’s subscriptions.

  1. SUBSCIPTIONS

The official year shall commence on the 1st September and the annual subscriptions shall be decided by the A.G.M. payable on or before the Fixture Meeting. Any Club not having paid its subscriptions by that date renders itself liable on the decision of the Committee, to having its whole seasons fixtures declared void.

  1. MANAGEMENT

The management of the League shall be vested in a Committee elected annually at the A.G.M. and shall consist of:

*PRESIDENT

*CHAIRMAN

*SECRETARY

*RESULTS SECRETARY

*TREASURER

*TOURNAMENT SECRETARY

*AND UP TO FOUR OTHERS

All shall be retired annually but shall be eligible for re-election.

  1. POWERS OF THE COMMITTEE

1    To sanction or refuse all applications for membership to the League.

2   To terminate the membership of any Club in the League.

3    To determine in which division new entrants to the League shall be placed.

4    To make decisions with regard to all abandoned matches.  Regarding abandoned matches if effecting Promotion or relegation will have to be played. Not effecting will be fined £5.

5    To give rulings on all disputes or appeals on any matter connected with the League.

6    To penalize breaches of rules by deduction of League points, or any other penalty as may be                               decided.

7    To make bye laws to govern any matter not legislated for in the League Rules.

  1. MEETINGS

An Annual General Meeting shall be held at the end of each season when all general business will be transacted. The meeting shall be open to all members but each Club shall have one vote. The Chairman shall only have the casting vote in the event of equality of votes.

Any motion or proposal for presentation at the meeting shall be submitted in writing by the 31st March.

A Fixture Meeting shall be held in September, date to be fixed at the A.G.M.  Each Club is required to send a representative with a list of open dates, so that fixtures for the season can be arranged.

A Committee Meeting shall be held when called by the Chairman. Any Committee Member can apply in writing to the Chairman asking for a meeting, but the decision shall be the Chairman’s except when the application has at least three Committee signatures.

An Extraordinary General Meeting may be convened at the request of the Committee, or by the League Secretary upon written request signed by at least five clubs. The request must state the reason and object for which the meeting is to be called. Such a meeting will be held within 28 days of the request being received. Seven days notice shall be given to all Clubs. The motion or motions to be discussed shall be incorporated in the notice. No other business will be discussed.

  1. ALTERATION OF FIXTURES

Except in exceptional circumstances all fixtures must be played on the date agreed at the Fixture Meeting. If for any reason beyond the control of the Club, home or away, it is found that a fixture cannot be fulfilled on the agreed date, application may be made to the League Secretary for permission to re-arrange the date, giving at least 14 days notice. However, if the desired re-arrangement is due to one of the following reasons a fresh date may be agreed between the Clubs without seeking prior authority, but the Secretaries of both Clubs must advise the Results Secretary in writing of the change.      

                                        

*    The withdrawal from the Home Club of its facilities.  *    The cessation of transport due to inclement weather, in which case both Clubs should make every effort to appraise at the earliest opportunity.

Loss of the court prior to the end of the match. Should this occur beyond the control of the Home Club and a result not have been achieved, the remaining games including the one in progress may be played at a later date. The teams shall remain the same. Should a result have been achieved then the match may be claimed but the remaining games will be awarded to the away team. If both teams agree, however, the remaining games may be played at a future date. In both cases the home team must inform the Results Secretary within 24 hours.

  1. AUDIT

The Treasurer shall submit to the A.G.M. the accounts of the League for approval. These accounts may be required to be audited at the request of the A.G.M. or the Committee.

  1. ALTERATION OF RULES.

Proposals to be submitted to the League Secretary, in writing by the 31st March.

  1. COMPLAINTS.

All complaints shall be submitted in writing to the League Secretary and shall be dealt with by the Committee.

  1. RULES OF PLAY.

(a) Ladies are allowed to play in the league and it is now renamed to the Staffordshire Open Badminton League

(b)   Each team will play home and away fixtures with every other team in the same Division. Where a Club has more than one team in the same Division, they will play each other home and away before they play any other matches against other teams.

(c)   Each team to comprise of three pairs of open doubles. In the event of one team having only two pairs then the match can be played but in addition to forfeiting the three events they will be unable to score two points if a win is achieved by the remaining pairs. In this case only one point will be awarded. If both teams have only two pairs, then one point will be awarded for a win.

(d)   Play should be as the match score sheet. Each pair will play two games against the opposing three pairs. Each game shall be in accordance with the 21-point game as introduced in 2006. If the scores are level at 20 points all then play will continue until one pair has a lead of two clear points up to 29 all, at which stage the winner of the next point shall win the game 30-29.

(e)   Only bona fide members of a Club, who are liable to its full subscription, may be registered. Each Club shall submit a list of possible players to the Results Secretary before playing the first match.

(f)   A player who has represented one Club and then moves to another in the same season must apply through his new club to the League Secretary for permission before playing for his new Club.

(g)   Any Club with two or more teams in the league must nominate their starred players for each team except the lowest. A nominated player will not be able to play for a team lower than that nominated.

Any player playing in a higher team than they are starred in can only play twice in that team without being tied to the team. On their 3rd appearance they are added to that team’s starred player list. The number of times any individual player misses matches becomes irrelevant. Players are not de-starred or automatically moved down, they remain in their current team spot but the total players in that team is now increased by the addition of the new player on their 3rd game. Players can only be dropped down to a lower team by applying to the committee, giving a valid reason.

 

(h)   Any Club wishing to replace a nominated player on more than two successive occasions must inform the Results Secretary or other Committee Member of the circumstances before the match.

(I)   All completed match score sheets shall be completed by both teams before any commencement of play. All names should be recorded correctly or one point could be deducted.  All completed match score sheets shall be checked and signed by a member of each team and sent by the Home Team to the Results Secretary by email or post within 7 days from the date the match was played. Failing to do this will result in a one-point deduction.

(j) Matches are to start at a time agreed at the fixture meeting. Both teams should have 2 pairs present within 10 minutes of the agreed start time, unless both teams have agreed upon a later start time in advance. The offending team shall forfeit their first two games of the missing pair or pairs 21-0 in the order on the score sheet. If after 30 minutes from the start time two pairs are still not ready then a further two games can be claimed from each missing pair 21-0. One hour from the start time all three pairs should be ready to play and from this point more games can be claimed from all the missing pairs. This shall continue every 30 minutes until the offending team has lost the match and forfeits all remaining games.

(k)   If a player is unable to continue play during a match, through any cause, the match shall continue and the team so handicapped shall lose each game not completed to 21 aces, but shall count the aces scored up to the cessation of play.

(l)   The games shall count in the result. Two points will be awarded for a win.

(m)   The team with the highest number of points shall hold championship of that division. In the event of a tie-on points for any league position, the team having won the greater number of games shall be placed higher. Should these be equal the Committee may require a deciding match to be played on a neutral court.

(n)  Any player who wishes to transfer to another club after the commencement of the season may only do so if there are no outstanding financial liabilities involving the player. After the 31st January there will be no transfers allowed, except at the discretion of the committee.

(o)  Any club with multiple teams who wish to withdraw one should write to the committee who will make an informed decision as to which team should be withdrawn

  1. COURT CONDITIONS.

Visiting teams shall abide by the playing rules and bye laws of the home club, providing these do not contravene the laws of badminton. It shall be incumbent upon the home players to inform the visitors before the match starts of any such rules or bye laws which may affect play.

  1. DISPUTES.

All disputes or appeals on any matter connected with league matches shall be submitted in writing to the League Secretary within 24 hours of the match being played. The opposing team captain or secretary must be informed of the intention to lodge a complaint.

  1. PROMOTION AND RELEGATION

At the end of the season the bottom two teams in each division other than the lowest shall be relegated, and the top two teams in each division other than first shall be promoted. If for any reason there are more than two vacancies in a higher division these shall be made up by relegated clubs, which shall retain their position, and from the lower division in order of merit as shown by the league tables at the end of the season.

  1. LEAGUE TOURNAMENTS.

Only bona fide members of Clubs playing in the League and liable for their subscriptions are eligible to play in any tournament by or for the League.

  1. SHUTTLES.

Cork based shuttles are to be used as the minimum standard for League matches. All teams in the first division must play with feathered shuttlecocks

CREDA CUP and ALBERT POVER PLATE RULES

 

  1. The Creda Cup shall be played on a knock out basis. All Clubs are expected to participate.

(a). Any team conceding in the first round of the Creda Cup will not be allowed to play in the Albert Pover Plate

  1. The competition will be organized on a Club handicap basis with aces allowed system.
  1. The result of the match to be decided on aces scored plus the allowed handicap.
  1. The handicaps and draw for the competition will be made by the committee prior to the fixture meeting.
  1. First or preliminary round matches to be arranged at the Fixture Meeting.
  1. The rules of the competition to be as the general League Rules with the following additions:
  • Only players registered prior to the 1st of November will be eligible to play in the Creda Cup and Albert Pover Plate.

(b)  The League expects players who play in the Creda Cup will play regularly in the League.

(c)  Players who have played in the cup competition’s and change clubs will not be eligible for their new Club.

(d)  Scoring in cup matches shall be as in the League Matches but only to 21 points. At 20 points all the winner shall be the pair who win the next point.

  1. Home clubs are responsible for arranging all fixtures after the first round. All matches must be played before the stipulated date.
  1. All home teams in the Creda Cup and Albert Pover Plate should inform the Results Secretary of the date they are playing the next round.
  1. The winning team in the Creda Cup and Albert Pover Plate shall be responsible for the completed score sheet to be sent to the Results Secretary within one week or they could be withdrawn from the competition.
  1. The venue for the final will be decided once the finalists are known to ensure that a neutral venue can be offered. Shuttles for the final will be decided on a spin on the night.
  1. The team drawn as the away team in the cup fixture shall provide the shuttles for the match.