SOUTH EAST SOMERSET BADMINTON LEAGUE RULES AND CONSTITUTION
Amended 1st September 2016
1. The League shall be called the “South-East Somerset Badminton League”.
2. Its object shall be the promotion of competitive badminton and the arrangement of matches between teams within an 18 mile radius of Yeovil, or at the Committee’s discretion.
3. Affiliation of all clubs within the South-East Somerset League to a County Badminton Association is suspended until a new structure has been put into place by the Badminton England.
4. The Officers of the League shall consist of a Chairperson, Secretary, Treasurer, Mixed League, Secretary, Level Doubles Secretary, Tournament Secretary, and their term of office shall be a minimum of two years.
5. The management of the League shall be vested in the Officers of the League. The Officers of the League shall be responsible for enforcing the League Rules. Four Officers shall form a quorum for a Committee Meeting, and the Chairperson shall have the casting vote. A representative from any Club within the League may attend any Committee Meeting, but will not be entitled to vote on any issue.
6. No alteration of the Constitution of League Rules shall be made except at the Annual General Meeting (AGM), or at a meeting specially called by a third of the Member Clubs for the purpose, a simple majority to be accepted. Notice of such proposed alteration to be received by the League Secretary, in writing, in time to ensure that at least a fortnights notice can be sent to the Secretary of all Clubs of the terms suggested change.
7. Any member of a League Club may attend a General Meeting but voting is limited to only one vote per club. In the event of a tie the Chairperson shall have the casting vote.
8. a) Teams wishing to apply for Membership to or withdrawing from any League should notify the League Secretary by letter at least six weeks before the A.G.M.
b) Clubs entering more than one team in the Mixed or Level Leagues must nominate their teams in order of seniority before the first match of the season and will provide the names of the players, in all except the lowest nominated teams, who will be registered in their respective teams. Registered players will then not be permitted to play in a lower ranked team.
c) A fixture meeting for the Mixed League & Level Doubles League will be held at the end of the A.G.M. At the conclusion of these meetings, each Team representative shall provide the League Secretary with a list of their teams’ home fixtures. Any amendment to this list to be notified to the League Secretary.
9. a) A Current Account shall be maintained at a Bank to be approved by the Committee. Executive Committee and any cheque drawn on this account shall be signed by the Treasurer.
9 b) All expenses incurred by the Secretary, Treasurer and Level Doubles Representatives shall be submitted to the A.G.M. at the end of each Season.
9 c) The Affiliation fee for any team(s) entered in the Mixed League must be paid to the Treasurer or Committee Representative at the A.G.M. and the fees for the Level Doubles Leagues shall be paid at the fixtures meeting. The amount of fees shall be decided by the Committee and submitted to the A.G.M. for agreement.
10. The season shall be considered to start and finish by the dates set at the A.G.M.
11. All matters arising shall be dealt with by the Committee and their decision shall be final always. The standard penalty of any infringement of the rules will be the loss of 2 League points (at the discretion of the Committee).
12. a) Faults and Lets shall be mutually agreed at the commencement of each match and nets which have no vertical posts standing on side lines shall carry two white tapes suspended vertically above each outside line.
12 b) In all leagues new feather shuttles shall be available at the commencement of the match and shall always be provided by the home team.
12 c) If the players wish, a person may be appointed to keep the score.
13. All matches shall be played under Badminton England Rules.
14. LIABILITY - The Executive Committee of the S.E.S. Badminton League hereby gives notice that all arrangements made by the League for any person to visit any badminton court or other place, including arrangements for transport in connection with such visits, are made by the League as agents for such persons. Such arrangements are made on condition that the League shall not be liable for any injury, loss, damage, theft or inconvenience caused to, or suffered by, such persons or their property in consequence of, or in connection with such visits.
Section 1 - Rules of the South-East Somerset Mixed League.
1.1 a) A division shall consist of between 4 and 10 teams.
1.1 b) Each team shall play home and away matches with each other team in its own Division within the time band stipulated by the Committee.
1.1 c) Teams shall consist of 2 Men and 2 Ladies who will play four Mixed doubles, one Ladies' and one Men's doubles. Order of play as on the score sheet.
1.1 d) Players names shall be exchanged by Captains before play. There will be no substitutions.
1.1 e) Each rubber shall consist of the best of three games to twenty-one (21) points with setting. If a rubber is forfeit, then it shall be a score of two (2) games to zero (0), each game by twenty-one (21) points to zero (0).
1.1 f) (DELETED)
1.2 a) In each Division, 1 point shall be awarded for each game won. At the end of the season, all teams will be arranged in order of points gained during the season. In the event of a tie on ends, the winner will be decided on the number of games won, then games lost, then points won, then points lost . Points gained by teams who withdrew without completing their fixtures shall be included but points gained by the opponents of withdrawn teams will not. Additional teams promoted as required to maintain League teams per Division.
1.3 a) Each home team representative shall post or e-mail the results of each match, on the score sheet provided, to the Mixed Secretary within 5 days of the match. If not done within this time, the respective team may be penalised. The score sheet shall be signed by both Captains.
1.3 b) In the event of the match not being concluded owing to insufficient time available, the matter shall be referred to the Committee for its decision.
1.3 c) Notice of disputes between Clubs shall be sent to the League Secretary within 48 hours of the playing of the match. The protest or dispute shall be submitted at the next meeting of the Committee for their decision.
1.4 Any Player having played once for any team in a League match may not play for any other team in the League matches that season except :-
(i) In exceptional circumstances at the discretion of the Committee.
(ii) Where a club has more than one team participating in the league a player may play for a more senior ranked team in a different division on two occasions without consequence. If the more senior ranked team is in the same division then only one play-up is permitted without consequence. A subsequent play-up for a more senior ranked team will result in the player being immediately re-registered to that team and he/she will not be permitted to play for a lower ranked team thereafter.
1.5 a) Postponements are not allowed unless the hall in question is unavailable or weather conditions make traveling dangerous or to accommodate a home Knockout Competition match.
1.5 b) In the event of a cancellation the Team responsible will forfeit the match by a score of 12 ends to 0 unless the reason is acceptable to the Committee. Notification of a cancellation must be received by the Results Secretary within 72 hours of the date of the match.
1.5 c) The non-appearance of a Team shall be reported, in writing, to the Results Secretary by the Captain of the opposing Team within seven days. The Captain of the opposing Team shall send a copy of this report to the Captain of the Team who failed to comply with the fixture.
1.6 a) The time for commencement of matches is to be arranged between Teams and rigidly adhered to. The team should be ready to play at the appointed venue within ten minutes after the time fixed for the commencement of the match or they shall forfeit their first end.
1.6 b) Ready to play will be deemed as on court ready to serve or receive service for the first point of the rubber.
1.6 c) Should a team forfeit their first three rubbers then they shall forfeit the whole match by a score of 12 ends to 0.
1.6 d) If a couple are not ready to play their second or third rubbers within 5 minutes of a court becoming available and having completed/forfeited their previous rubbers, they shall forfeit the rubber in question.
Section 2 - Rules of the Level Doubles League.
2.1 a) A division shall consist of between 4 and 6 teams.
2.1 b) Each team shall provide the home venue for one match per season and shall be responsible for the running of that match. Playing periods shall be set by the Committee and must be adhered to.
2.1 c) Teams shall consist of one pair. At each match, each team will play all the other teams in that division.
2.1 d) Players names shall be exchanged by Captains before play.
2.1 e) Each rubber shall consist of the best of three games to twenty-one (21) points with setting. If a rubber is forfeit, then it shall be a score of two (2) games to zero (0), each game by twenty-one (21) points to zero (0).
2.1 f) DELETED
2.2 a) The same Rules for promotion and relegation shall apply as in the Mixed League (Rule 1.2).
2.3 a) The same rules for posting/emailing results of each match apply as in the mixed league (rule 1.3a,b & c ) with the score sheet being sent to the Levels Doubles Secretary.
2.4 Any player having played once for any team in a League match may not play for any other team in the League matches during the season except :-
(i) In exceptional circumstances at the discretion of the committee.
(ii) Where a club has more than one team participating in the league a player may play for a more senior ranked team in a different division on one occasion without consequence. A subsequent play-up for a more senior ranked team will result in the player being immediately re-registered to that team and he/she will not be permitted to play for a lower ranked team thereafter. No player may play for a more senior ranked team if that team is in the same division as the team for which he/she is currently registered.
2.5 a) Postponements are not allowed unless the hall in question is unavailable or weather conditions make traveling dangerous or to accommodate a home Knockout Competition match.
2.5 b) The non-appearance of a team shall be reported, in writing, to the Doubles League Secretary by the Captain of the home team within seven days. The Captain of the home team shall also send a copy of this report to the Captain of the team who failed to comply with the fixture. The committee may take whatever action it considers appropriate against offenders.
2.6 a) A time for commencement of the match will be made known to all participating teams. Pairs should be ready to play at the appointed venue within 10 minutes of the time fixed for the commencement of the match or they shall forfeit their first end.
2.6 b) Ready to play will be deemed as on court ready to serve or receive service for the first point of the rubber.
2.6 c) If a couple are not ready to play their remaining rubbers within 5 minutes of a court becoming available and having completed/forfeited their previous rubbers, they shall forfeit the rubber in question.
2.7 Insufficient Court Time – the following rule applies:
If a game is not started at all 1.5 points are awarded to each affected team.
If only one rubber is completed the remaining 2 points are shared
If two rubbers are completed the remaining 1 point is shared.
The score sheet shall clearly marked to show if this rule has been applied.
Section 3 - Rules of the Knockout Cup Competition.
3.1 a) All teams are eligible to enter the competition.
3.1 b) The Committee will make the draw for the tournament. The Committee based on the strengths of the teams entering the tournament will specify a handicap. Details of the draw and handicaps will be made known to the teams at the start of the tournament. The date of the Knockout Tournament shall be decided by the Committee and submitted to the A.G.M. for agreement.
3.1 c) Teams of up to 2 men and 2 women shall be nominated mid-way through the season, and their names passed to the Committee. Any changes should be passed to the Tournament Secretary within a reasonable time-scale to allow for adjustments to the handicap.
3.1 d) The format shall be decided by the Committee prior to the tournament and will be based on the numbers of teams entering and the available court time.
3.1 e) The League will supply Shuttles for the Finals
3.2 a). The winner will be the team that scores the most points after the inclusion of the handicap. In the event of teams having the same number of points, the team with the severest handicap will be declared the winners.
3.3 a) Knockout Cup Score sheets should be posted or e-mailed to the Tournament Secretary within 5 days of the match by the winning team. Failure to do so may result in the match being awarded to the losing team .
3.3 b) In the event the tournament not being concluded owing to insufficient time available, the matter shall be referred to the Committee for its decision.
3.3 c) Notice of disputes between Clubs shall be sent to the Tournament Secretary within 48 hours of playing the match. The protest or dispute shall be submitted at the next meeting of the Committee for their decision.
3.4 Once a player has represented a team in the competition, he/she may not play for any other team. Failure to comply with this rule will result in any games where the player is involved being forfeit.
3.5 a) Postponements are not allowed unless the hall in question is unavailable or weather conditions make traveling dangerous.
3.5 b) In the event of a cancellation the team responsible will forfeit the match. Notification of cancellation must be received by the Tournament Secretary within 72 hours of the date of the match. The non-appearance of a team shall be reported, in writing, to the Tournament Secretary by the Captain of the opposing team within seven days. The Captain of the opposing team shall also send a copy of this report to the Captain of the team who failed to comply with the fixture
3.6 a) The time for commencement of matches is to be arranged between teams and rigidly adhered to. Pairs should be ready to play at the appointed venue within ten minutes after the time fixed for the commencement of the match or they shall forfeit their first end.
3.6 b) Ready to play will be deemed as on court ready to serve or receive service for the first point of the rubber.
3.6 c) Should a team forfeit their first three rubbers then they shall forfeit the whole match by a score of 252 points to 0.
3.6 d) If a couple are not ready to play their second or third rubbers within 5 minutes of a court becoming available and having completed/forfeited their previous rubbers, they shall forfeit the rubber in question.