Joanna Marie D. Matabang F.

The waist shall be considered to be an

imaginary line round the body, level with the
2BSA3A
lowest part of the server’s bottom rib.
Officiating in Badminton
G. The shaft of the server’s racket at the instant
GAME RULES AND SCORING of hitting the shuttle shall be pointing in a
downward direction.
1. The current scoring system in badminton is
the 3 × 21 rally point scoring system. This means H. The movement of the server’s racket shall
that three games are played to 21 points each, continue forwards from the start of the service
with a required two-point difference between until the service is delivered.
scores (meaning scores can go above 21, to a
I. The flight of the shuttle shall be upwards from
maximum of 30).
the server’s racket to pass over the net so that,
if not intercepted, it shall land in the receiver’s
service court.
2. No point is earned when a player commits a
fault. J. In attempting to serve, the server shall not
miss the shuttle.
3. A good serve must go directly into the
receiver’s box. K. Once the players are ready for the service,
the first forward movement of the server’s
4. In single, the court is long and narrow while racket head shall be the start of the service.
in doubles it’s short and wide.
L. The server shall not serve before the receiver
is ready. However, the receiver shall be
SERVICE RULES: considered to have been ready if a return of the
service is attempted.
A. Neither side shall cause undue delay to the
delivery of the service once the server and the M. In doubles, during the delivery of service, the
receiver are ready for the service. partners may take up any positions within their
respective courts, which do not unsighted the
B. The server and the receiver shall stand within opposing server or receiver.
diagonally opposite service courts without
touching the boundary lines of these service BADMINTON FAULTS:
courts. 1. If in play, the shuttle lands outside the
C. Some part of both feet of the server and the boundary of the court, passes through or under
receiver shall remain in contact with the surface the net, 1touches the ceiling or side walls,
of the court in a stationary position from the touches the dress of a player.
start of the service until the service is delivered. 2. If in play, a player invades an opponent’s
D. The server’s racket shall initially hit the base court over the net with the racket or person
of the shuttle. except such as an opponent is obstructed or
distracted.
E. The whole shuttle shall be below the server’s
waist at the instant of being hit by the server’s 3. If in play, the shuttle is caught and hold on
racket. the racket during the execution of a stroke.
4. During play, the shuttle is hit twice in The role of Technical Officials (TOs) is critical for
succession by the same player with two strokes. the sport, especially at the international level.
Officiating officials will get specialist materials
5.When the shuttle is caught on the net and
supplied to them for all competitive matches.
remains suspended on top, or on service,
They documentation will include superior
passing over the net, is caught in the net.
training materials and up-to-date resources on
6. During service, the server accidentally refereeing guidelines.
touches the service line or any line boundary.
Role of Referee in Badminton
7. The server’s racket did not hit initially the
The laws of the Badminton World Federation
base of the shuttle.
grant overall authority to the match referee. So,
8. During the service, the server serves and a badminton referee will have total governance
hitting the shuttle above his waist line. during any entire tournament or formal event.

9. As the server hits the shuttle the racket’s Match referees should ensure the practice
head is obviously not lower than the handle. schedules, facilities, playing conditions, and
player's equipment meet the standards set out
LETS: by the health and safety rules and official laws
1.The server serves before the receiver is ready. of the game.

2. During the service, the server and receiver All referees will have attained significant
are both faulted. badminton qualifications in order to officiate
the games. But, it is a tournament referee who
3. A line judge is unsighted and the umpire is establishes an appropriate panel of technical
unable to make decision. officials (where required).
4. During play, the shuttle disintegrates and the The tournament referee has complete authority
base completely separates from the rest of the over any championships or international
shuttle, competitions. It includes those with several
individual umpires or judges. That said, they all
5. When the game is interrupted by the outside have contributing roles and responsibilities as
factor like the sunlight, wind or a shuttlecock sanctioned officials.
landed in your court from other court.
Role of an Umpire in Badminton
6. It is interrupted by correction of an error in
playing order or ends. There are many responsibilities of an umpire in
badminton. But, umpires have one main focus.
That is the close monitoring and governance of
all sporting activities on the court.
BADMINTON OFFICIALS AND THEIR ROLES
Note: A badminton umpire will also integrate
BWF Technical Officials Roles
control over any immediate spectator viewing
Badminton World Federation (BWF) provides areas.
qualified and highly skilled Technical Officials of
Match umpires should apply, authorize, and
badminton for the top signature events.
regulate the laws of the game. They will
supervise the service judge and line judges Another function of the umpire is to record any
(details below). incidents of misconduct committed by the
players and to report infringements to the
The Badminton World Federation (BWF) is the
referee.
governing body of the sport. As such, control
administered by badminton officials, and Note: As a rule, championship organizers would
conduct of the players, must fall under the BWF provide badminton umpiring equipment and
codified regulations of play. clothing.

The jurisdiction of umpires in badminton exists

from the moment they enter the court. That
Badminton Umpires Authority
means they have control even before a match
Umpire roles and responsibilities apply to the starts. It would continue until the game has
match being played on the court they are finished - reporting to and acting under the
officiating. Thus, they should enforce all authority of the referee.
badminton rules and regulations on their
Roles and Responsibilities of Officials in
particular court. These rulings apply to calls and
umpire hand signals relating to 'LETS', game
Badminton 2019Umpire in Badminton
faults, and service faults. Duties and Decisions
A badminton umpire signals for, records, and
then reports all incidents of player misconduct.
Umpiring responsibilities provide them with full
authority in the application of any lawful In most cases, badminton umpire hand signals
sanctions during the particular match which will be directed to the players while seated on a
they oversee. high chair.

Officiating officials of badminton, and their Umpires in badminton must enforce all game
functions, have several levels of jurisdiction. laws and court rules.
They would all have control over the players A badminton umpire calls decisions on service
and spectators. They govern the regulations of a faults, lets, and any other player faults.
match 'collectively'.
Throughout the game, the umpire must
Umpiring assistants should include a service announce the match score to the players and to
judge and several line judges. They will be any watching audience.
responsible for calling service faults and line
errors (in or out). What if an umpire chooses to appoint officiating
officials in badminton? In fact, appointing any
There is great importance in the functional particular service judge and line judges is
duties and roles played by the service and line another role and characteristic of the umpire.
judges. But, the umpire in badminton can use
discretion and overrule calls or signals made by Match umpires can appoint a team of judges at
refereeing assistants. their discretion - explaining how to officiate
badminton on his or her court. They also have
The umpire should announce the score to the authority to replace them (after consulting with
players and to the audience after each point. the tournament referee).
The same duty would apply as the scores
change throughout a match. Responsibilities of a Service Judge
A popular question is: what is the role of a of a service judge in badminton is calling any
service judge in badminton? In fact, they have service faults committed by the players.
two important roles:
Badminton Officials and Player Appeals
-Calling service faults
Players can appeal decisions made by service or
-Keeping hold of, and handing out, shuttles line judges. If it happens, the umpire should
provide a ruling on any protested calls. The
It would not be uncommon for the umpire to
outcome may result in them upholding or
delegate some of their own duties to a service
overturning the original call.
judge. Typical examples include:
Umpires in badminton should consult the
-Checking shuttle speeds and the height of the
tournament referee if they are unsure how to
net
rule any particular appeal. All player appeals
-Making sure the position of the poles is correct should reach an amiable result before the
match resumes at the next serve.
Even so, the chief role for a service judge is
watching over the server and checking whether Singles
the serves made are legal.
Since one person needs to cover the entire
The service judge will sit on a low chair, located court, singles tactics are based on forcing the
at the middle of the court (directly opposite the opponent to move as much as possible; this
umpire). But, the role of the service judge means that singles strokes are normally
would go to the umpire if no service judge has directed to the corners of the court. Players
been appointed. exploit the length of the court by combining lifts
and clears with drop shots and net shots.
Note: Don't be fooled in thinking the service Smashing tends to be less prominent in singles
judge has an easy job. In fact, monitoring the than in doubles because the smasher has no
badminton serve is an important, and partner to follow up their effort and is thus
sometimes controversial, aspect of the game. vulnerable to a skillfully placed return.
Hence the need to dedicate a judge to that Moreover, frequent smashing can be
particular role. exhausting in singles where the conservation of
Badminton Line Judge Responsibilities a player's energy is at a premium. However,
players with strong smashes will sometimes use
There are several functions for a line judge in the shot to create openings, and players
badminton. They are responsible for monitoring commonly smash weak returns to try to end
the service, side lines, and baseline during a rallies.
match.

The role in the game is such that a line judge

must decide and announce - by verbal call and In singles, players will often start the rally with a
hand signals for badminton - whether the forehand high serve or with a flick serve. Low
shuttle has landed inside or outside of the serves are also used frequently, either forehand
boundary lines. or backhand. Drive serves are rare.

Line judges have the responsibility of calling a

shuttlecock IN or OUT. Whereas, the chief task
At high levels of play, singles demand Mixed doubles
extraordinary fitness. Singles is a game of
A mixed doubles game – Scottish Schools under
patient positional maneuvering, unlike the all-
12s tournament, Tranent, May 2002
out aggression of doubles
In mixed doubles, both pairs typically try to
Doubles
maintain an attacking formation with the
Both pairs will try to gain and maintain the woman at the front and the man at the back.
attack, smashing downwards when the This is because the male players are usually
opportunity arises. Whenever possible, a pair substantially stronger, and can, therefore,
will adopt an ideal attacking formation with one produce smashes that are more powerful. As a
player hitting down from the rear court, and result, mixed doubles require greater tactical
their partner in the midcourt intercepting all awareness and subtler positional play. Clever
smash returns except the lift. If the rear court opponents will try to reverse the ideal position,
attacker plays a drop shot, their partner will by forcing the woman towards the back or the
move into the forecourt to threaten the net man towards the front. In order to protect
reply. If a pair cannot hit downwards, they will against this danger, mixed players must be
use flat strokes in an attempt to gain the attack. careful and systematic in their shot selection.
If a pair is forced to lift or clear the shuttlecock,
then they must defend: they will adopt a side-
by-side position in the rear midcourt, to cover At high levels of play, the formations will
the full width of their court against the generally be more flexible: the top women
opponents' smashes. In doubles, players players are capable of playing powerfully from
generally smash to the middle ground between the back-court, and will happily do so if
two players in order to take advantage of required. When the opportunity arises,
confusion and clashes. however, the pair will switch back to the
standard mixed attacking position, with the
At high levels of play, the backhand serve has
woman in front and men in the back.
become popular to the extent that forehand
serves have become fairly rare at a high level of
play. The straight low serve is used most
frequently, in an attempt to prevent the
opponents gaining the attack immediately. Flick
serves are used to prevent the opponent from
anticipating the low serve and attacking it
decisively.

At high levels of play, doubles rallies are

extremely fast. Men's doubles are the most
aggressive form of badminton, with a high
proportion of powerful jump smashes and very
quick reflex exchanges. Because of this,
spectator interest is sometimes greater for
men's doubles than for singles.