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Rules and Constitution

The section shall exist for the purpose of encouraging the playing of badminton in clubs in the Coventry Area and shall be responsible for the organisation and control of leagues, Coventry Area tournaments, local knock-out competitions and other events in connection with badminton in the area.
Any club, of which the object or one of the objects is badminton, having its hall situated within a radius of 15 miles from Coventry City Centre and being affiliated to Badminton England (BE) shall be entitled to become or remain a member of the Section. Any club that does not enter a League competition shall be excluded. By affiliated to BE, we mean that a club must pay for a minimum of the current Club Level BE membership each season OR provide a copy of their own Public Liability Insurance Certificate which is of a level that is accepted by the BE.
Any club whose hall is situated outside the said area or does not meet requirements of membership, may be elected by a simple majority of the votes cast for and against of those present and able to vote at the A.G.M. In the case of a tie the Chairman shall have a casting vote.
(a)   An Annual General Meeting shall be held in Coventry in May or June of each year for the purpose of receiving the Hon. Secretary’s report and the Accounts for the preceding season, electing a Chairman, an Hon. Secretary and Treasurer (“the Officers”), an Hon. Auditor, electing a Committee of 7, fixing the league fees and discussing other general business. Each member club must send at least one representative (being a bona fide member of the club) to the AGM.
(b) A special General Meeting may be convened in Coventry at any time by the Hon. Secretary or the Committee or by any five member clubs giving notice in writing requesting such a meeting. Such meeting shall be convened by the Hon. Secretary within one calendar month after the resolution by the Committee or request by member clubs as the case may be and the business shall be limited strictly to the purpose stated in the notice convening the same.
(c)   Seven days’ notice of General Meetings shall be given and 10 clubs will be a quorum.
(d)   The Officers and Committee shall hold office until the conclusion of the Annual General Meeting following that at which they are elected and shall always be eligible for re-election.
(e)   At General Meetings each member club may send as many representatives being bona fide members of such club as it wishes who shall all have the right to speak. However, on any matter put to the vote each member club shall have two votes only by its authorised representatives who must both be present. No other votes or proxies will be allowed save in the case of a tie when the Chairman shall have a casting vote, voting shall be by show of hands unless one sixth of those present and entitled to vote demand a ballot.
The day to day management and control of the Section shall rest with the officers and Committee who shall also decide any point not covered by these rules or those in the Appendix (governing play in the various leagues under the jurisdiction of the Section). The Committee shall also formulate rules for other competitions organised by the Section. The Committee shall meet as required and seven days’ notice of meetings shall be given. Five shall be a quorum. The Committee may appoint sub-committees to deal with specific functions or events controlled or organised by the Section and may co-opt individuals to serve on such sub-committees.
These rules and those in the Appendix may be amended at a General Meeting if any such amendment is approved by a simple majority of the votes cast for and against by those present and entitled to vote. In the case of a tie the Chairman shall have a casting vote. Any proposed amendment must be in writing and reach the Honorary Secretary 21 days before the date of the meeting. Any proposed amendment must be supported by an explanatory paper which sets out details from the proposer of why the amendment is required and what benefits will be achieved. This paper will be distributed with the agenda at least 14 days before the meeting. The agenda must mention specifically any amendment to be made.
Clubs will be invoiced for the cost of repair or replacement for any damaged or lost League or Tournament Trophies
All data held by the CBA will be processed and treated in accordance with the GDPR which came into effect on 25th May 2018. Full details on this can be found on the CBA website on the Privacy Policy page.

PLAYING RULES

1. MEMBERSHIP

All clubs playing in the League shall be assumed to continue with the same number of teams for the following season unless the Honorary Secretary is notified in writing of any additions or withdrawals on or before 24th August.

A club may not withdraw a team from any division if it has a team playing in a lower division in the same league once fixtures have been arranged for a season

Notwithstanding the above, all clubs are expected to confirm their membership of the C.B.A. by attendance at the A.G.M. or any S.G.M. Failure to attend an A.G.M. or S.G.M. may result in a fine, relegation or exclusion of a club’s team or teams from the League.

2. SEASON

The Season shall commence in mid-September in each year and terminate in mid-April of the following year. Dates for the following season will be made available at the AGM in the form of a list of designated weeks (Mixed weeks or Men’s/Ladies weeks) in respect of fixture arrangements for the forthcoming season. The school Autumn and Spring half-term weeks shall be different designated weeks. Matches cannot be played before a club has submitted their fixtures AND player registrations and nominations for the season (see rule 6).

All teams must pay their league fees promptly and prior to any matches being played, failure to do so will result in a 1 point penalty for all Mixed and Men’s matches and a 2 point penalty for all Ladies matches played until fees (and any outstanding fines from the previous season) have been received by the Treasurer.

3. LEAGUES

As required, Mens, Mixed and Ladies Leagues shall be constituted and where necessary a league shall be arranged in divisions, details of which shall be decided by the Committee. In addition, a Combined League may be constituted during the off-season (Summer) and where necessary a league shall be arranged in divisions, details of which shall be decided by the Committee.

One league point shall be awarded to the winners of a mens or mixed match.

Two league points shall be awarded to the winners of a ladies or combined match. If a match is drawn each team shall have one league point. In the event of a tie in league points the team with the best aggregate of first rubbers and then games shall be declared the winners.

4. DIVISIONS

Within a division each team shall play every other team, on a home and away basis during a season. The home team shall supply shuttles. Wherever possible a division shall consist of 6 or 7 teams.
A club will not have more than two teams in any one division of a league, except the lowest. In the event of two teams from one club being placed in the same division, these teams shall play off their fixtures against each other before playing any other teams in the same division.
Promotion and relegation shall apply to all divisions, except the highest and lowest respectively. The top two teams of each division shall be promoted. (Except for divisions with fewer than 6 teams where one team shall be promoted. Where the division above has 6 or more teams, 2 teams shall still be promoted.)
The bottom two teams of each division shall be relegated. (Except for divisions of fewer than 6 teams where one team shall be relegated.)
If a team withdraws having played one or more matches that team should be considered bottom of that division with any results ignored and will then be liable for action under rule 13. Any team who does not play any matches in a division will be deemed to have been withdrawn from the League.

5. TEAMS

A team in the Men’s or Mixed league shall consist of three pairs. A match shall consist of 9 rubbers, each pair playing all three pairs in the opposing side. Each rubber shall be the best of three games using the Rally Points Scoring System. (See below for explanation of this scoring system if required.) A team in the Ladies’ league shall consist of 4 players, when the two pairs play both pairs of the opposing side, after which the two pairs split to form two new pairs which play only one rubber each, thus giving a total of 6 rubbers (see rule 7). Each player must play 3 rubbers. The result of a match shall be a draw if each team wins 3 rubbers.

A team in the Combined League shall consist of 4 players (2 men and 2 ladies), where the team will play 1 mens doubles rubber, 1 ladies doubles rubber and 4 mixed doubles rubbers giving a total of 6 rubbers (see rule 7). Each player must play 3 rubbers. The result of the match will be a draw if each team wins 3 rubbers.

A club must nominate the best three men for its first team in the men’s league and its best two men and its best two ladies for its first team in the mixed league. Further a club with more teams in the men’s league must nominate its next best three men for each subsequent team, and a club with more teams in the mixed league must nominate its next best two men and next best 2 ladies for each subsequent team. For a ladies’ league a club must nominate its best 2 ladies for its first team. Further a club with more teams in the ladies’ league must nominate its next best two ladies for each subsequent team.

Nominated players shall be ineligible for lower team representation. Nominated players must play in over a third of the outstanding or remaining matches for the nominated team or a higher team. Where a nominated player fails to play the required number of matches the League Committee shall impose a 1 point penalty per match not played and £20 penalty per player per team.

If a club becomes aware during the season that a nominated player will be unable to complete his/her required number of matches, a replacement must be nominated. The replacement must play over a third of the outstanding or remaining matches, except at the discretion of the committee. Changes to player nominations will only be accepted up until the earliest of the 28th February or 3 days before the match at which point there would be insufficient matches remaining for the originally nominated player to complete the required number of matches.

If, during the playing season, a club wishes to register a player and that player’s standard of play is higher than players’ already nominated for that club, then the league committee shall have the right to call for the players’ nomination, but may agree to release a previously nominated player. However the rule regarding the number of matches to be played by a nominated player shall still apply.

Any player (nominated or otherwise) who has played 5 matches or more for a team (or higher team) shall be ineligible for lower team representation, except the next lowest. (e.g., any player who has played 5 matches for the 1st team is no longer eligible to play for the 3rd team, even if they are nominated for the 3rd team; any player who has played a combined total of 5 matches across the 1st and 2nd teams is no longer eligible to play for the 4th team but remains eligible to play for the 3rd team until they have played 5 times for the 1st team).

Any team failing to play the required number of players in a match must enter the names of players on the match score card where they have players missing. These must be players who have played in a previous match in that division. The total number of matches played by any first team nominated player is limited to the total number of first team matches, for second team nominated players in any one league must not exceed 16, for each additional team in any one league the number of matches will be increased by 1 (e.g., a third team nominated player must not exceed 17 matches).

6. ELIGIBILITY OF PLAYERS

Players representing a club’s team in the league must be bona fide members of that club, nominations shall be made in writing by at or before the fixture meeting, and each player shall be registered by his or her club before playing in any match. Clubs are reminded that they need to act responsibly when selecting players to ensure that they are of an appropriate standard to compete at the level of match the team is playing. The Committee reserve the right to award matches against offending teams.

CHANGE OF CLUB – The previous year’s registration shall be deemed to be continuous. Players wishing to change clubs must complete CBA form M1 in full (including confirmation from old and new club), following which they will be eligible to play in the League from the date indicated below:-

Received by CBA Secretary before 24 August – eligible start of season.

Received after 24 August – eligible 6 weeks after form received by CBA Secretary unless a player did not play any matches for their previous club in the previous season in that league, whereby they are eligible immediately.

Clubs may register as many players as they wish but no new players can be registered after 28 February.

No player may represent more than one club in a League competition in a single season.

7. PLAY

Play shall be to the rules of the BE. Lets shall be made clear by the Captain of the home team to the visiting team before the commencement of play. The order or play in each match shall be as given below unless mutually agreed otherwise. Complete teams must be exchanged by Captains before play commences.

Mens and Mixed Doubles
Home Team Away Team
1,2,3 2,3,1 3,1,2 1,2,3 1,2,3 1,2,3

Ladies Doubles
Home Team                                        Away Team
1 & 2, 3 & 4 break                             1 & 2, 3 & 4 break
3 & 4, 1 & 2 break                             1 & 2, 3 & 4 break
1 & 4, 2 & 3                                       1 & 4, 2 & 3

Combined League
Home Team Away Team
M1 & M2, L1 & L2 M1 & M2, L1 & L2
M1 & L1, M2 & L2 M1 & L1, M2 & L2
M1 & L2, M2 & L1 M1 & L2, M2 & L1

8. TIME OF ARRIVAL

The start of a match shall be at 7.00pm unless otherwise mutually agreed. A match shall be continuous from the commencement of play.

Where a home team has 2 or more courts available for a match and has so notified its opponents, 2 pairs from each team shall be ready to play at the mutually agreed time. A team at fault under this rule shall forfeit one rubber for each “court half hour” (or part thereof) by which play is held up after the mutually agreed time of commencement. The rubber(s) to be forfeited shall be any unplayed rubbers working backwards from the last scheduled rubber (Ladies rubber 6; Mens/Mixed rubber 9). The home team shall forfeit any rubbers unplayed or unfinished at the time the hall becomes unavailable.

9. FIXTURES

Each club shall arrange its fixtures by no later than September 14th of each year and shall provide an electronic copy (on the template provided on the downloads page) to the relevant Match Result Secretary of their full fixtures for each team in chronological order. The fixtures must be received by the CBA before any club shall proceed to play matches for the season in question.

A team must play not less than half its fixtures before Christmas in each season.
A match once arranged shall not be postponed except for the unavailability of hall, or in the case of other exceptional circumstances by permission of the Honorary Secretary. The Honorary Secretary is entitled to request documentary evidence if considered necessary. All postponements must be notified to the Honorary Secretary and the relevant Fixture Secretary within 2 days of the date of the postponement being known or confirmed (i.e. not the match date). (See rule 12)

10. SHUTTLES

Shuttles shall be provided by the home team, and shall be OF AN AUTHORISED BRAND OR TYPE. Clubs shall specify which shuttles they will be using for matches on the club details form. Any alteration shall be notified at least 7 days prior to any match. Authorised shuttles shall be those agreed at the A.G.M.

Authorised shuttles for Premier Division shall be feathered shuttles approved by the Committee. Authorised shuttles for Division One shall be feathered or synthetic (hybrid) shuttles approved by the Committee. Where a League comprises three or fewer divisions, any approved shuttles will be permitted in Division One. There are no other restrictions on the type or brand of shuttles which may be used.

11. SCORE CARDS

The score card shall be sent to the Results Secretary by the winners of the match (or in the case of a draw the home team bears the responsibility) and must be signed by both team captains. The score card will be supplied at the match by the home team. The score cards must be with the appropriate League Results Secretary within 10 days of the match. Failure to submit a score card within the prescribed time shall mean forfeiture of the match by the winners, and in this event no win shall be recorded in the league tables. The rubber score to be entered shall be the score of the match as played.

12. POSTPONEMENTS

In the event of a valid postponement, both teams shall within 28 days re-arrange the fixture within the limits of the official season. Failure to do so will result in the match being declared void and no points or rubbers being awarded.

13. CONCEDED MATCHES AND INCOMPLETE TEAMS

The definition of a conceded match is when a team fails to fulfil an agreed fixture or fields 3 or less players in the Men’s & Mixed Leagues and 2 or less players in the Ladies League. The definition of an incomplete team is when it comprises 4 or 5 players in the Men’s and Mixed Leagues and 3 players in the Ladies League.
There will be a fine of £20 plus £18 (Mixed/Mens) or plus £12 (Ladies) for conceded matches and a fine of £10 for incomplete teams.
There will be a penalty of TWO league points for conceding a Men’s or Mixed Match and FOUR league points for conceding a Ladies Match.
There will be a penalty of ONE league point for fielding an incomplete team in a Men’s or Mixed match and TWO league points for fielding an incomplete team in a Ladies match.
The penalties will be deducted from the offending team’s total League points
The £18 / £12 penalty for conceded matches will be paid by the Committee to the non-defaulting club to compensate towards match fees not collected. Where the non-defaulting team was the home team, the club may also apply to the Committee for payment of all, or part, of the £20 fine towards hall rental costs suffered directly in respect of the conceded match which may be granted at the discretion of the Committee. Clubs may apply to the Committee in respect of a claim for costs in excess of £20 for a conceded match or for circumstances surrounding an incomplete team, which may be applied at the discretion of the Committee. The Committee may, at their discretion relegate or expel from the League any team or club for repeated infringements.

14. INJURY

If due to injury during a match, or for any other reason, a player retires and takes no further part in the match and a substitute is not allowed.
Unplayed rubbers score as two games of 21-0 each. The retiring pair in an uncompleted rubber retains the points already scored.

15.

The League Committee have the right to expel from the League or to relegate any Club or Team which contravenes any of these rules.

Rally Points Scoring System

Scoring System: A match consists of the best of 3 games first to 21 points, winning by 2 clear points. If the score reaches 20 all, the side which gains a 2 point lead first wins the game, unless the score reaches 29 all, at which point the side scoring the next point wins the game.

The side winning a rally adds a point to its score.

The side winning a game serves first in the next game.

Change of Ends: In the third game, players change ends when the first side’s score reaches 11 Points.

Doubles: There is only one serve per hand per pair in doubles.

At the beginning of the game and when the score is even, the person in the serving pair who is in the right hand court serves. When the score is odd, the server serves from the left court.

The sequence for server’s should always be the same, in that if no errors are made then each player should serve in sequence, only when an error has been made will this not be the case.

If the serving side wins a rally, the serving side scores a point and the same server serves again from the alternate service court as normal.

If the receiving side wins a rally, the receiving side scores a point and the receiving side becomes the new serving side, however the serve goes to the player in the respective court side based on the pair’s score, i.e. right if score is even and left is score is odd.

The player of the receiving side who served last stays in the same service court from where they served last. The reverse pattern applies to the receiver’s partner. Players do not change their respective service courts until they win a point when their side is serving.

If an error is made, either the wrong person is serving or serving from the wrong service box, then the error should be corrected as soon as the mistake is noticed.