Rules and Regulations of the ESBA League

  1. These competitions shall comprise such events as the Committee shall determine.
  2. The competitions shall be managed on behalf of the Committee by the Competition Secretary, who shall have the power to decide competition matters, including questions of eligibility, qualification and interpretation of the regulations and to settle any dispute arising between clubs in the competition. In the event that a Club disputes the Competition Secretary's decision, the matter will be referred to Committee, whose decision is final.
  3. Clubs desiring to compete must email a completed to the Competition Secretary on or before the 31st August, enclosing the appropriate fees, stating whether plastic (cork based only) or feather shuttles are to be used and giving such information as requested by the Competition Secretary.
  4. The League Competitions and method of ranking teams and players:
    1. The League Competitions shall be divided into such divisions as shall be proposed by the Competition Secretary and ratified by the Committee.
    2. Each club will play two matches, a home match and an away match, with each of the other clubs in the same division according to the manner of said division.
    3. Winners of each division will, in the following season, normally be promoted to the next highest division and the club at the bottom of each division will normally be relegated to the next lower division.
    4. In all matches each team shall score one point for each rubber won. If two or more clubs have an equal number of rubbers awarded at the end of the season, the final position will be decided in favour of the club having the best games difference and if they are still equal, the best points difference.
    5. In addition to the team scoring, all players are ranked on an individual basis using their team match results and their ranking presented as an additional form of competition. Players will score ten points for every rubber won and will lose 10 points for every rubber lost, then additionally score ten points for every game won and will lose 10 points for every game lost, then additionally score the total points difference for every game played.
  5. Qualification to play for a club in any one competition shall include:
    1. Bona fide membership of that club.
    2. Registration of the player by that club with the Association. The Association should have received the at least 24 hours prior to the said player's first match.
    3. In the event of a player wishing to change clubs during the season, a change of registration form must be completed and signed by the Match Secretary of both clubs. The Association should have received the change of registration form at least 24 hours prior to the said player's first match for the destination Club.
    4. A player shall not play for more than one club at any one time in any one competition.
    5. Clubs entering more than one team in a competition shall nominate players for each team, other than the lowest, to the Competition Secretary. This shall be done before that Club plays any match in that competition.
    6. Any player who plays for a higher team more than twice in a season shall not play for a lower team again.
    7. When teams for the same club play in the same division of a competition:

      8. i) players may not play for more than one team in that division, and
      ii) the fixtures between those teams must be completed by 31st December.
    8. Players nominated shall not play in a team junior to the team for which they have been nominated.
  6. Each team shall be composed of the appropriate number of players for the division. The visiting team shall play all their matches on the same court if possible. The visiting pairs shall play in strict rotation unless otherwise arranged by mutual consent of the two captains.
  7. If after 30 minutes from the time they are required to play, subject to a minimum of 30 minutes allowed per rubber per court from the start of the match, a pair is unable to play or has not arrived, their opponent shall be entitled to two love games. This shall apply to all rubbers.
  8. Arrangement of dates for fixtures:
    1. Clubs must offer their opponents at least two dates before 30th April, when the competition aims to end, unless authorised by the Competition Secretary. Weekend dates should only be offered as a last resort. Arrangement of initial fixture dates in May should be avoided, if at all possible, to allow postponed matches to be played then if needed.
    2. For single court venues, an offer to begin play before 6.30pm or after 8.30pm, if the hall is available, on a weekday, shall not be regarded as an offer unless acceptable to their opponents.
    3. It is the responsibility of the home club's Match Secretary to submit the dates for their club's home matches using the on-line form.
    4. All fixture dates shall be entered on-line by 1st October. Failure to do so may result in a penalty, to be decided by the Committee.
  9. The home team shall provide and bear the cost of the court(s) and shuttles which, in both cases, must comply with the Laws of Badminton published in the Handbook of the Badminton Association of England. 9. Feather shuttlecocks are preferred, but not mandated.
  10. The home team shall be responsible for submitting the results of all matches using the on-line form on this web-site within seven days of playing the match. In the event of a results submission being late the Match Secretary of the club concerned will be given one weeks' notice. Failure to do so may result in a penalty, to be decided by the Committee.
  11. Postponement of matches:
    1. Postponement of matches shall only be made by mutual agreement between Match Secretaries. The club requesting postponement must agree to one of the dates acceptable to their opponents or revert to the original date, even if it means playing one pair short (one player in the Combination & Composite). If both clubs are one pair short (one player in the Combination & Composite), the rubber will be awarded to the away team.
    2. When either the home or away team requests to postpone a match, the home team must offer at least two alternative nights before mid May, or at least one alternative night if the date is after April 1st.
    3. The club requesting postponement must agree to one of the dates acceptable to their opponents or revert to the original date, even if it means playing one pair short.If both clubs are one pair short for the agreed postponed match, the rubbers will be awarded to the team that did not request postponement.
    4. If a club postpones a match within 24 hours of the date on which it was due to be played, their opponents are entitled to claim the match.
    5. Having successfully rearranged the fixture, should the same club cancel again the club who were available to play have the right to claim the match.
    6. If no agreement between Match Secretaries can be reached the matter must be referred to the Competition Secretary for arbitration. In the unlikely event that agreement over the fixture can still not be reached, the matter will be referred to Committee.
    7. Under no circumstances can a club concede a match without making any attempt to rearrange.
    8. A conceded or claimed match counts as all rubbers won, with all games won 21-0, by the team that did not request postponement.
    9. In the event of any postponement, or any other updates to fixtures needing to be made, such as a change of time or venue, it is the responsibility of the home club's Match Secretary to edit the details on-line and also to inform the Competition Secretary of the changes that have been made.
  12. Additional Fusion League Rules:
    1. Each team must include at least one lady.
    2. A lady must play as Player 1. Any other ladies in the team may play in any of the other three positions.
    3. Pairings need to be decided before the match begins.
    4. In uneven gender pairings, a woman will carry a +5 advantage, i.e.:
      Lady + Man (+5) v Man + Man (0): Scoring starts at 5-0
      Lady + Lady (+10) v Lady + Man (+5): Scoring starts at 5-0
      Lady + Lady (+10) v Man + Man (0): Scoring starts at 10-0

    Constitution of The East Surrey Badminton Association

      Name

    1. The Association shall be called "The East Surrey Badminton Association" (ESBA).

      Objects

    2. The objects of ESBA shall be:
      1. to promote, arrange, manage and regulate a Badminton League for clubs,
      2. to organize Tournaments and Competitions, and
      3. to generally foster and advance the interests of Badminton.

      Management

    3. The Officers of ESBA shall consist of a Chairman, Secretary, Competition Secretary and Treasurer.
    4. The affairs of ESBA shall be managed by a Committee consisting of ESBA Officers and up to 3 further members being representatives from 3 different clubs. Each member shall have one vote. A quorum will consist office members including at least three officers.
    5. The Committee shall have power at their discretion to co-opt additional persons.

      6. Membership

    6. The Committee shall have full power to determine any application for membership of ESBA.
    7. In general, no club shall be admitted if they are more than 20 km from the centre of Redhill (about 12.5 miles).

      8. Meetings

    8. An Annual General Meeting (AGM) shall be held each year of which no less than fourteen days notice shall be given to each member Club. At the AGM there shall be elected the members of the Committee.
    9. The Secretary shall call an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) of ESBA at the request of the Committee or upon the written request of no less than four member Clubs. Upon making such request member Clubs shall notify the Secretary of the matters they wish to bring to the attention of the EGM and of any Resolution or Proposal which they wish to put to such an EGM. Notice of every such EGM and of the matters proposed to be discussed thereat shall be communicated by the Secretary to member Clubs at least fourteen days prior to the date of such meeting.
    10. All AGMs and EGMs shall be open to all members of Clubs within ESBA
    11. Votes at all meetings of ESBA or its Committee shall be by simple majority, and in the event of a tie, the Chairman shall have the casting vote. Each Club shall have only one vote.
    12. Alterations to this Constitution and/or the Rules & Regulations shall only be made at an AGM or EGM.

      13. Accounts

    13. At each AGM the Treasurer shall submit the accounts of ESBA for the previous year.

      14. Fees

    14. All fees shall be proposed by the Committee and agreed at the AGM. They are payable at the start of each season.

      15. Competitions

    15. All competitions, matches and tournaments shall be played in accordance with the Laws of Badminton as laid down by the Badminton Association of England and in accordance with the Rules and Regulations of ESBA. In the event of any inconsistency the Rules and Regulations of ESBA shall prevail.


    Approved at AGM September 2016