BAD i The BUCS Badminton Championships shall be conducted in accordance with the following BUCS sport specific regulations, the BUCS general regulations, and the Badminton England Regulations for Tournaments. Further event specific requirements, rules, and regulations will be contained within the entry and pre-event information for each Championship.
BAD ii In the event that these regulations contradict the BUCS general regulations, these BUCS sport specific regulations will supersede, unless specifically stated otherwise.
BAD iii In the event that these regulations contradict the Badminton England Regulations for Tournaments, these BUCS sport specific regulations will supersede, unless specifically stated otherwise.
BAD iv In the event that the BUCS general regulations contradict the Badminton England Regulations for Tournaments, the BUCS general regulations will supersede, unless specifically stated otherwise.
BAD 1 Championships BUCS will host annually the following Championships:
BAD 1.1 Individual Championships The programme shall include the events listed in Appendix 1 (‘BUCS Competition Offer and Associated BUCS Points’), subject to entry numbers.
BAD 1.2 Team Championships The programme shall include leagues and knockout competitions as per BUCS general regulations, Appendix 1 (‘BUCS Competition Offer and Associated BUCS Points’) and Appendix 10 (‘BUCS Promotion, Relegation and Knockout Information’).
Individual Championships
BAD 2 Tournament structure and entries See Appendix 1 (‘BUCS Competition Offer and Associated BUCS Points’) for all competitions offered as part of the BUCS Badminton Individual Championships. All competition specific event information will be available in the event entry information and pre-event information.
BAD 3 Disputes at events In line with REG 7.7, should a dispute occur at an event, the event appeal panel for Badminton shall comprise of the Tournament Director and a BUCS Staff Member.
Team Championships
BAD 4 There shall be separate Team Championships for Men and Women.
BAD 4.1 For Scottish Conference (Tier 1 and below) league fixtures, and Scottish Conference Cup fixtures, Men’s and Women’s teams shall play as combined mixed teams.
BAD 4.1.1 Teams in the Scottish Conference Tier 1 league shall play as separate gender teams for the Men’s and Women’s Trophy knockout competitions that run alongside the league programme.
BAD 4.1.2 The highest finishing mixed 1st team in the Scottish Conference Tier 1 league, finishing in either 1st or 2nd place, will be eligible to compete as separate gender teams in the promotion playoffs for the Men's and Women's Premier North leagues, subject to the institution not already having a team in the respective league.
BAD 5 Match format Each match shall consist of four doubles rubbers and four singles rubbers as follows:
- Singles 1v1, 2v2, 1v2 and 2v1
- Doubles 1v1, 2v2, 1v2 and 2v1
BAD 5.1 For Scottish Conference (Tier 1 and below) league fixtures, and Scottish Conference Cup fixtures, each match shall consist of eight doubles rubbers and four singles rubbers as follows:
- Men’s Singles 1v1 and 2v2
- Women’s Singles 1v1 and 2v2
- Men’s Doubles 1v1 and 2v2
- Women’s Doubles 1v1 and 2v2
- Mixed Doubles 1v1, 2v2, 3v3 and 4v4
BAD 6 Fixture administration and arrangements
BAD 6.1 Court bookings
BAD 6.1.1 A minimum of two courts for three hours MUST be provided for all league and knockout fixtures.
BAD 6.1.1.1 For Scottish Conference (Tier 1 and below) league fixtures, and Scottish Conference Cup fixtures, a minimum of 12 court hours MUST be provided. As standard a minimum of four courts for three hours SHOULD be provided, however an alternative court booking variation (for example two courts for six hours) can be used if agreed in advance by both institutions/Playing Entities in writing.
BAD 6.1.2 The court specifications are specified by the BWF (Badminton World Federation) Laws of Badminton as well as the design guidelines published by Sport England and Badminton England.
BAD 6.2 Order of play
BAD 6.2.1 Premier Tier/Northern Conference/Midlands Conference/South Eastern Conference/Western Conference leagues and National Championship/National Trophy/Northern Conference/Midlands Conference/South Eastern Conference/Western Conference knockout competitions The singles players and doubles pairs for each fixture shall all be ranked in order of playing strength. The order of play for each match shall be as follows (home team placings first):
- Singles 1v2
- Singles 2v1
- Doubles 1v2
- Doubles 2v1
- Singles 1v1
- Singles 2v2
- Doubles 1v1
- Doubles 2v2
BAD 6.2.2 Scottish Conference leagues and Scottish Conference knockout competitions The singles players and doubles pairs for each fixture shall all be ranked in order of playing strength. The order of play for each match shall be as follows (home team placings first):
- Men’s and Women’s Singles 1v1
- Men’s and Women’s Singles 2v2
- Men’s and Women’s Doubles 1v1
- Men’s and Women’s Doubles 2v2
- Mixed Doubles 1v1
- Mixed Doubles 2v2
- Mixed Doubles 3v3
- Mixed Doubles 4v4
BAD 6.2.3 Before play starts the captains shall draw up and exchange their orders for play for singles and doubles, which cannot then be subsequently changed. Note BAD 7.1.3 for when teams are playing with less than a full complement of players
BAD 7 Team selection and ranking lists
BAD 7.1 Team size
BAD 7.1.1 Teams shall consist of six players, competing as two singles players and two doubles pairs. A player cannot play singles and doubles during the same match.
BAD 7.1.1.1 For Scottish Conference (Tier 1 and below) league fixtures and Scottish Conference Cup fixtures teams shall consist of eight players, comprising of a maximum of four men and four women. Two men and two women will play singles, all four men and four women will play doubles.
BAD 7.1.2 A team unable to field enough players to fulfil at least four rubbers, or six rubbers in the case of Scottish Conference league fixtures and Scottish Conference Cup fixtures, shall concede a walkover, however institutions/Playing Entities with multiple teams should be aware of REG 11.1.3.1.
BAD 7.1.3 A team fielding enough players to fulfil at least four rubbers, or six rubbers in the case of Scottish Conference league fixtures and Scottish Conference Cup fixtures, but not a full team, shall be permitted to play but shall concede the rubbers they are unable to fulfil. In such circumstances it is expected that the team would notify their opposition as soon as possible after it is known that they will not be fielding a full team of this, specifying how many players will be fielded. For the avoidance of doubt, if notice of being short of players is given to the opposition in advance of the fixture, the opposition team is only required to bring enough players to match the adjusted team size and the appropriate number of rubbers shall still be conceded. Teams found to be fielding less than a full team and conceding rubbers for multiple fixtures may face disciplinary action.
BAD 7.2 Ranking lists All institutions/Playing Entities with teams in Premier Tier leagues must submit the names of four players who are unable to play below the first team, no later than the deadline in the BUCS Sport Specific Affiliations Document. Failure to submit this information will result in sanctions being imposed as outlined in the BUCS Sport Specific Affiliations Document and the possibility of further disciplinary action. This ranking information will be available here for ease of reference.
BAD 7.2.1 Players included on the BUCS Badminton ranking list may only play for the first team and not in any lower tiered teams.
BAD 7.2.2 Players not included on the BUCS Badminton ranking list may play in the first team, providing adherence to REG 11.1.
BAD 7.2.3 Teams found to be attempting to manipulate the rankings will face disciplinary action under REG 5.
BAD 8 Scoring system
BAD 8.1 The BWF (Badminton World Federation) Laws of Badminton shall be used including the Rally Point Scoring System, except as stated below:
BAD 8.1.1 Each rubber shall be the best of three games of 21 points except that if the score reaches 20-20 the winner is then the player/pair with two clear points or whose score reaches 30 first.
BAD 8.1.2 Play shall be continuous from the first service until the end of the rubber. There shall be NO intervals when a side reaches 11 points in a game, NOR between the first and second games, NOR between the second and third games.
BAD 8.1.3 Only when the shuttle is not in play, shall a player be permitted to receive advice during a rubber.
BAD 8.2 In the event of a rubber having to be conceded through injury, the points already won by both teams will stand, with the team that did not concede also gaining the points that they would need to win the rubber.
BAD 8.3 The team winning the majority of rubbers shall be the match winner.
BAD 8.4 In the event of a tie on rubbers in a league fixture, the match shall be considered a draw.
BAD 8.5 In the event of a draw in a knockout fixture, the winner shall be determined as follows:
BAD 8.5.1 The team winning the highest number of games. If a tie still results;
BAD 8.5.2 The team with the greatest difference between points won and points lost. If a tie still results;
BAD 8.5.3 The team winning the highest number of games in the 1v1 singles and 1v1 doubles rubbers. If a tie still results;
BAD 8.5.4 The team with the greatest difference between points won and points lost in 1v1 singles and 1v1 doubles rubbers. If a tie still results;
BAD 8.5.5 The BUCS Executive will toss a coin to decide the outcome of a fixture.
BAD 9 Scorecards Institutions/Playing Entities are required to maintain accurate records* of the matches played by their teams in case of a tie on points within a league which requires additional score information to that on BUCS Play. In such circumstances, the BUCS Executive will contact the relevant institutions/Playing Entities for details of all their league matches in order to separate the teams.
* ‘Accurate records’ are taken to mean precise details of all aspects of the fixture including rubbers, games and points; won and lost.
BAD 10 Incomplete fixtures
BAD 10.1 In the event of a fixture being incomplete with no fault on either side, a result can be taken if six rubbers have been completed. The results shall be taken on all those rubbers that have been completed. If six rubbers have not been completed, then the fixture shall be replayed. The home team for the replay will be determined by coin toss, undertaken by the BUCS Executive.
BAD 10.1.1 In the event of a Scottish Conference (Tier 1 and below) league fixture or a Scottish Conference Cup fixture being incomplete with no fault on either side, a result can be taken if eight rubbers have been completed. The results shall be taken on all those rubbers that have been completed. If eight rubbers have not been completed, then the fixture shall be replayed. The home team for the replay will be determined by coin toss, undertaken by the BUCS Executive.
BAD 10.2 In the event of a fixture being incomplete due to a late start, with a team at fault, their opposition may claim any rubbers not completed or unplayed.
BAD 10.3 In the event of a fixture being incomplete due to an institution/Playing Entity booking insufficient court time, their opposition may claim any rubbers not completed or unplayed.
BAD 11 Shuttlecocks An appropriate number of new, tournament quality feather shuttlecocks of the correct speed must be supplied by the home team for use in all matches.
