The following guidelines apply to tournaments conducted or sanctioned by Badminton Newfoundland and Labrador.  These guidelines are meant to ensure that all tournaments run smoothly, and participants have an enjoyable experience.

General

1. All tournament rules shall comply with Badminton Canada and Badminton NL regulations unless otherwise specified.
2. A Tournament Convenor shall be assigned to manage each tournament and is responsible to a member of the Badminton NL Board of Directors or to the President.
3. The Tournament Convenor shall exercise control over players and fans in the best interest of the sport.
4. Court clothing may be of any color but should be court/sportswear in good taste.  Badminton NL and the tournament chairperson have the right to interpret “good taste” as they see fit.  For example, vulgar and/or obscene language/pictures, jeans or cut-offs will not be permitted. Shirts advertising or promoting things that are considered inappropriate will not be permitted.  The decision of the tournament chairperson shall be final in these matters.

Registration

1. All players shall be members of Badminton NL prior to registering for a tournament. Membership purchases shall be completed online through this website or email or Paypal.
2. All players MUST register by the published deadline.  Only registrations submitted via the published method will be accepted. Registrations submitted via phone or text message will not be accepted.
3. In doubles, both partners must register individually. Players shall play with their registered partner. Changes may only be made prior to the registration deadline.
4. In the event that a player’s doubles partner withdraws from that event prior to commencement of play, the tournament director may provide a replacement if there are eligible players available who are not entered in the event. Changing partners is prohibited once the first match of the event has been called.
5. Players without a partner may enter a doubles event and request that a partner be assigned. If a partner is available from the registered players, he or she will be assigned when the draw is made. This assignment is official and may not be changed.
6. Players wishing to enter an event but with no assigned partner at the time of the draw may be given a partner prior to commencement of play if a player becomes available. Such a pairing shall be final, and a pairing made after completion of the draw shall not be seeded.
7. Players must enter the event appropriate to their physical gender. Only male players may enter men’s or boys’ singles and only teams comprised of two male players may enter men’s or boys’ doubles. Likewise, only female players may enter women’s or girls’ singles and only teams comprised of two female players may enter women’s or girls’ doubles. Teams in Mixed Doubles must be comprised of one male and one female player.
8. There may be instances in which a player may request to enter an alternative event. Previous examples include female players wishing to enter male events for the purpose of training or competition in preparation for national events. Any such request must be submitted in writing to the Badminton NL Board of Directors. Consideration must be taken with respect to the impact on overall competition in the province and on other players versus the personal preferences of players. For example, if the top players in women’s doubles are approved to play in men’s doubles, it decreases the level of competition in the women’s doubles event. It is important to understand that male singles and doubles events are not the same as women’s events but just with physically stronger players. The tactics and range of shots differ between events. Female players who require more challenge should not assume that playing male opponents will better prepare them for higher female competition.
9. If a player registers and does not show up, no refund of fees will occur. Should a player repeatedly register and not show up, his or her registration may be denied.
10. Late registrations will be considered by the tournament convenor in exceptional situations and provided the draw has not already been published. No registrations will be taken on the day of the tournament.

Rankings

1. Players will be awarded ranking points in accordance with the ranking system in effect for the season. At the time of the Annual General Meeting (AGM) the ranking system will be reviewed and adjusted if need be for the upcoming year. The ranking system will be published on the Badminton NL website.
2. The ranking system must consider single elimination and round robin competitions.
3. In order to receive ranking points, players must compete in the tournament in which they have entered. It is not necessary to win a match to receive ranking points. Thus a player is not penalized for winning by default; nor will a player receive points for entering a tournament but not actually participating.

Annual awards

1. Medals will be provided to the #1 ranked players or teams in each event of Senior and Junior competition, as calculated after the final tournament of the season, for the period 1 August to 31 July. The award will be presented on or before the first tournament of the new season. For season 2019-2020, the Board of Directors will define the requirements for the #1 award prior to the first tournament.
2. A “Sports Integrity Award” will be presented to ONE male player and ONE female player who best demonstrate the principles of fair play and good character in Junior competition. Selection will be based upon the full competitive season and the award presented at the Provincial Junior Championships.

Draw

1. The seeding for the draw shall be provided by or approved by a member of the Board of Directors of Badminton NL and based where possible on current rankings.
2. For Senior tournaments, an event must have a minimum of three entries in order to be held.
3. If there are insufficient entries to play a singles or doubles event in a Senior tournament for a specific gender, then the convenor may offer those registered an opportunity to play in the corresponding event for the opposite gender. Medals will be awarded as appropriate but no ranking points will be assigned for playing in an alternate event. For example: If there are only two female players registered for singles, the convenor may offer the entrants the option to play in men’s singles. If the female players place 1st, 2nd or 3rd, they will receive medals but no ranking points.
4. For Junior tournaments, if an event does not have a minimum of three entries, it may not be held; however, players who are then obliged to play in the next higher event will receive ranking points for both the age category they played in as well as the age category for which they originally registered. (Note: This does not apply if a player chooses to enter in a higher age category when registering, but only when compelled to play the higher event due to insufficient registrations.
5. In Junior competition, if both male and female events in an age group have fewer than three registrations, the convenor may combine both events into a gender-free event.
6. The general draw rules shall be those of Badminton Canada and Badminton NL.
7. At the end of each tournament, the draw sheets must be forwarded to Badminton NL as soon as possible so that results can be added to the annual rankings. Draw sheets must be legible.
8. Whenever possible, players from the same club should be placed in different sections of the draw.

 Conduct of Play

1. A 15-minute default rule shall be enforced, with the exception of pre-arranged late starts on opening day.
2. Play will be continuous except for a 60 second break in each game when the leading score reaches 11 points and 120 seconds between the first and second games, and between the second and third games.
3. A rally point system shall be used for all events.
4. Play in main round matches shall be best of three games of 21 points.
5. A round-robin format will be used in all cases unless Badminton NL considers this impractical due to the number of registrations in an event, in which case a single elimination or other format may be used.
6. There is no “championship match” in round robin tournaments. Placings are determined by the results of the pool(s).
7. Consolation rounds shall be played only in single elimination tournaments. They may be best of three games as in the main draw, or best of three games of 15 points, if necessary due to time restrictions in the judgement of the tournament director.
8. Players in senior tournaments shall be given a minimum of 30 minutes rest between matches; players in junior tournaments shall be given a minimum of 20 minutes, as stipulated by Badminton Canada. This right may be waived by a player if he/she wishes to play sooner.
9. Scheduling of finals and semi-finals shall be at the end of each event, or at the end of the tournament, based on the discretion of the tournament chairperson or direction from Badminton NL.

Coaching during tournaments.

1. Coaches or those approved who are taking the seat and performing the role of a coach in the field of play at a Badminton NL sanctioned tournament are required to dress appropriately in the team uniform (sports clothing) and/or shirt/polo, shirt/blouse or long trousers/skirt. Inappropriate clothing includes, jeans, flip flops/sandals, ball caps and beach/Bermuda shorts. This is not a complete list and the Referee will decide if a coach is inappropriately dressed.
2. Coaches must remain seated in the designated chairs provided at each end of the court behind his/her player(s) except at the approved intervals. If the coach wishes to move to another court, he/she must do so while the shuttle is not in play.
3. No coaching may be conducted when the shuttle is in play. Coaches may not in any manner distract the opposing player(s) or disrupt play.
4. Coaches may not delay the game by coaching in any form.
5. During the intervals in a game or breaks between games, coaches must return to their designated chairs when there are 20 seconds left in the interval or break. When there is an umpire present, he/she will announce when there are 20 seconds remaining.