Tameside Badminton League Rules

1. The League shall be known as the “Tameside Badminton League”.

2. The League is not affiliated to the Badminton Association of England.

3. Any club desirous of joining the League shall apply in writing to the League Secretary and acceptance shall be subject to sanctions of the Management Committee at its next meeting. Application to join the League must be received by 1 July. By this date clubs forward to the Handbook Secretary resignations, requests for extra teams and handbook information, for which forms will be available at the AGM. The Management Committee to be responsible for the composition of each division.

4. The League Committee shall consist of one representative from each team and the League and Tournament officials. At any meeting each representative and each official shall have one vote, the Chairman to have a casting vote. Clubs not represented at a meeting shall be fined £10.00.

5. The League Committee shall meet not less than once a year, of which one shall be the Annual General Meeting to be held in May/June, proposals for alterations to the League Rules must reach the Secretary by 1 March in order for them to be verified/voted upon at the AGM. Proposals raised at the AGM will be minuted and verified/voted upon at the pre-season meeting where any item(s) outstanding from the previous AGM may be resolved.

6. The treasurer shall give provisional accounts at the AGM, with the final accounts to be presented at the pre-season meeting.

7. The annual subscription shall be decided at the AGM. Fees for 2024-2025 — £20.00 per team. New clubs will only be accepted on payment of a deposit of £6.00 which will not be refundable.

8. The rules of the International Badminton Federation shall apply, except where otherwise stated.

9. Home teams shall supply a sufficient quantity of new Yehlex feathered shuttlecocks unless otherwise agreed by both teams' captains.

10. The Management Committee shall consist of the Chairman, the League Secretary, the Treasurer, the Match Secretary, the Lewis Shield Secretary, the Handbook Secretary and the Fixtures Secretary and shall be responsible for the management of the league and shall also deal with any complaints.

11. If disputes arise as to starting times, team composition, order of play, postponements of matches etc the existence of a dispute shall be reported by the club secretaries to the League Secretary no later than 7 days from the time of the initial dispute. The full circumstances should be sent in writing within a further 7 days. The disposition of league points, etc in such cases shall be at the discretion of the Management Committee. As above, any club having complaints must notify the League Management Committee in writing within 7 days to the designated email address. The Management Committee shall acknowledge receipt of complaint within seven days and endeavour to resolve the complaint within 28 days. Where this is not possible the Management Committee shall advise of an extension to this time together with a revised response time. The Management Committee shall notify the clubs or party concerned in writing, of any decision arising from complaints. The Management Committee to have full authority and appeals only to be considered on the production of other evidence.

12. Registration of players must be made with the Match Secretary no later than seven days before the first match for that club shall be played.
    Additional players may be registered by email before the match commences.
    Only bona fide club members are eligible for registration, outside players cannot be brought in on an ad hoc basis so as to influence the result of the match.
    Transfer of players between clubs shall be subject to seven days of notification prior to playing the first game for the new club.
    The Match Secretary must be informed.
    This applies only to teams within the Tameside League.
    No person shall play in the League for more than one club in the same year without the sanction of the Management Committee.
    No player is eligible to play in the League, unless that player shall have fulfilled his/her obligation to any club with which previously associated.
    No player shall be allowed to play for two different teams in Tameside Badminton League matches on the same night.

13. Matches shall take place between teams of four men and two ladies or of three men and three ladies, one lady taking the place of the fourth man.

14. All games in each match are played using the rally point scoring system. The first side to reach 21 points is declared the winner, except: If the score is 20-20, then the winner is the first side to gain a two point lead. If the score is 29-29, then the winner is the side that first scores 30 points. One point will be awarded for each game won by a team. Teams conceding matches will forfeit the match by the result 18-0.

15. Play shall be continuous from the starting time listed for each Club in the handbook. The order of play shall be laid down on the score cards, unless agreed otherwise by the opposing captains. Teams in order of play, shall be entered upon the score card before play commences. The selected mixed doubles pair shall be played in the order of strength. The home teams' Men's 'A' and Men's 'C' shall be the same pair. The away teams' Men's 'A' and Men's 'D' shall be the same pair. Home or away teams not able to start a match on each available court within 10 minutes of the start time listed in the Handbook shall forfeit one game per available court. These games to be forfeited if sufficient time is not available to complete the match by the stated finish time. All matches to finish within four hours of the start given in the handbook if the 10 minute rule is invoked and no finish time is given in the handbook.

16. Matches shall be played as set down in the handbook postponement can only be effective by the home team in the event of their courts not being available, or at the discretion of the match secretary or by mutual agreement by both team captains.
    The match secretary must be informed of a postponement together with the reasons for re-arrangement and also advised of the date of a rearranged match.
    Results or notice of the postponement and proposed rearrangement dates must be sent both by the home and away team captains to the match secretary within one week of the date of the fixture in the handbook.
    Clubs not complying with this rule shall be fined £5.00 for each infringement, to be paid at the end of the season.
    Notification of rearrangement of postponed matches must be done within one week of the match being cancelled.
    The home team shall offer two alternative dates with at least 7 days between the two dates. The Match Secretary shall be informed of the new date by both the home and away team captains.
    Failure to comply with the above will result in a fine of £5.00. Clubs refusing to accept a postponement must forward a match card claiming the points within one week of the original fixture date.
    In the event of an arrangement being agreed and no new dates submitted to the match secretary, the original match date shall be applied with points being awarded to the team able to play originally - excepting the occasion where the venue was not available.
    Where the venue is not available the Home Team should offer at least two new dates at an alternative venue that don't clash with existing Tameside fixtures.
    More than two can be offered but if no date can be agreed then the earliest date of the first two dates offered stands.
    If an alternative venue can be found for the original date this is preferred.
    This rule shall apply 7 days from when the original match date has elapsed.
    Any team who has not played all their fixtures including re-arranged/conceded matches by 2 May 2026 will incur a fine of £6.00 per league/Lewis shield match (without consideration of rule 16).
    Teams that withdraw from the League during the season will have all results from previous completed matches cancelled.

17. 1. Players are expected at all times during a fixture to behave in a sportsman like manner. Specifically excluded will be conduct of an abusive intimidatory and belligerent nature. It shall be the team captain's responsibility to ensure the proper behaviour of their teams and to resolve disputes arising during a fixture in a manner satisfactory to both sides. Complaints relating to a player's conduct that cannot be resolved during the course of the fixture should be referred to the Management Committee in writing for adjudication. Team captains will be expected to attend this meeting. The Committee's decision and any sanctions will be final.

    2. An umpire will be appointed alternately by each side (home side first) who will keep score and rule on any matters that arise during play e.g. line calls service faults etc. The umpire's ruling will be final.

18. Clubs having two teams in the league must nominate the members of the first team. First team players who play for the second team may not play in the next FOUR first team matches following the second team fixture in which they last played. Where relevant, players registered for a lower team shall be subject to a limit of three consecutive games for a higher team, to a limit of five games in total without sanction of the Management Committee. This rule shall apply to any additional teams (with appropriate change of wording). The Management Committee have the right to regulate the interchange of players between teams in the interest of fair competition. If a reserve is played on a team, a note of this is to be made on the score card against his/her name. Where a club has multiple teams in the same division, matches played between these teams must be played by the end of January where the result of the match cannot affect the outcome of the league.

19. One team shall be promoted and one team relegated, at the discretion of the Management Committee.

20. All League and Tournament Cups or Shields must be handed to the Secretary before 1 April 2025. Any club not doing so will be fined. Clubs will be responsible for the cost of any repairs/replacement to Cups/Shields damaged or lost whilst in their possession and will be subject to a £5.00 per trophy fine for late trophies.

Lewis Shield

21. 1. An annual team competition open to all clubs within the Tameside Badminton League.

Structure and Scoring.

2. The competition will include teams pooled from all divisions. A draw shall be made for the first round and if required a preliminary round. The dates and venues of these matches will be set out in the handbook along with dates for the subsequent rounds.

3. A draw for each round shall be made, the first team drawn to have home advantage. Each team will be notified of the draw prior to any matches being played.

4. Each home team shall play on its normal scheduled league match night unless the court is not available. Each round will be played before the next is due; defaulting teams shall concede the match.

5. A neutral venue will be used for the final.

6. The format and order of play shall be the same as a normal league match with a total of 18 games played except that the game will finish at 21 points. Each game shall be played using the rally point scoring system.

7. Every point in each game will count and at the end of the match the total number of points for all 18 games should be calculated for both home and away teams. The winner is the team with the highest adjusted score as described in Rule 21 section (j) and (k).

8. Rule 15 to apply, with all events to be played in order of strength.

9. The winning team shall be responsible for sending the result card to the Lewis Shield Secretary.

Handicaps / Score Adjustment.

10. The competition will be handicapped by the Lewis shield secretary and/or handicapping committee. Handicaps shall be based on teams as registered with the Tameside Badminton League Secretary and on league table position at the time of handicapping.

11. The handicap can be obtained by contacting Jonny Butler by mobile at the conclusion of the match. The final scores as described in Rule 21 section (g) will be adjusted with the value stated.

Player Eligibility.

12. Teams shall consist of players as laid out in Rule 13.

13. Teams must comprise players as registered except that a player may play for a higher team than that registered. No player will be allowed to play for a lower team than that registered.

14. Only players who have played in a league match prior to the first round shall be eligible to play. By the last eight stage, players must have played in at least three league matches.

15. Any player who plays and does not satisfy the conditions in Rule 21 sections (m) and (n) shall forfeit their games and these games will be awarded to the opposing team, unless prior agreement has been approved with the Lewis Shield Secretary / management committee.

Shuttles.

16. Shuttles shall be supplied as described in Rule 9, except that the cost of shuttles shall be shared by the two competing teams.

Tournaments

22. Individual Open and Handicapped Tournaments shall be held provided sufficient entries are received. Any player may enter the tournaments, provided that he/she is a bona fide club member, is registered with the Match Secretary and has played at least three league or shield games by the closing date for entries in the current season. It may also be at the Tournament Secretary's discretion whether an entry is accepted. Prior to the Handicap Tournament, a committee will be set up to deal with handicapping. The committee shall consist of the Tournament, Match and Lewis Secretaries, plus a minimum of two members from each division. It shall be left to the Tournament Secretary to select and notify each Handicap Committee member. The Handicap Tournament shall not be seeded. The ten minute rule will apply to the first round, any missing persons shall forfeit one game per ten minutes at the Tournament Secretary's discretion. During the tournament, the Tournament Secretary shall have the right to rule on any unforeseen events which may occur, and that decision shall be final.

Appointment of League Officials

23. Where a Secretary has not been appointed at the AGM the position will be filled by a representative of a club starting in alphabetical order. The term of office will last until the following AGM where the next club, in alphabetical order, will put forward a representative and replace the previous secretary. Failure to comply will result in that club being banned from the League.