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Easy to digest basic Badminton rules for anyone!
Is this your first time playing badminton? Unsure what the many lines on court mean? Don’t worry as in this page I will walk you through rules such as change of service rules, faults and lets.
There are many basic badminton rules, also sometimes known as laws of badminton. However not all are relevant to players like you and me. With that said, I will cover a condensed version, the different aspects of rules, it may seem a lot but actually they are really very simple!
For the full version you can always refer to the governing website here! ( Which is super long and has many rules that you don’t actually have to know)
http://www.worldbadminton.com/rules/
So here is the brief outline of the content that I will be covering.
There are many basic badminton rules, also sometimes known as laws of badminton. However not all are relevant to players like you and me. With that said, I will cover a condensed version, the different aspects of rules, it may seem a lot but actually they are really very simple!
For the full version you can always refer to the governing website here! ( Which is super long and has many rules that you don’t actually have to know)
http://www.worldbadminton.com/rules/
So here is the brief outline of the content that I will be covering.
Basic Badminton Rules
• The Toss
• Change Ends
• Service and receiving
• Faults
• Lets
• Change Ends
• Service and receiving
• Faults
• Lets
The Toss
These rules are to determine two things
1. Who to serve or receive first
2. Which side of the court to start in
In competition the umpire (referee of badminton) will do the toss. And the player winning the toss gets to choose either one of the options above.The losing player will then be able to choose the other option.
However in informal badminton session with friends or family people usually use the toss the shuttle in the air (or let if fall from the net) and whomever the shuttle points to is the winner of the toss.
1. Who to serve or receive first
2. Which side of the court to start in
In competition the umpire (referee of badminton) will do the toss. And the player winning the toss gets to choose either one of the options above.The losing player will then be able to choose the other option.
However in informal badminton session with friends or family people usually use the toss the shuttle in the air (or let if fall from the net) and whomever the shuttle points to is the winner of the toss.
Boundaries
The next basic rule is the boundaries of the court
First and foremost, the lines on court, what to they each represent? This to me would be the most basic among all the other rules on court, because if you do not know the boundaries, you could very well be running for countless unnecessary shots. Here is a picture of the court dimensions and the lines on court.
COURT PICTURE*
First and foremost, the lines on court, what to they each represent? This to me would be the most basic among all the other rules on court, because if you do not know the boundaries, you could very well be running for countless unnecessary shots. Here is a picture of the court dimensions and the lines on court.
COURT PICTURE*
There are two categories of rules for the boundaries of the court, which are the singles and the doubles (which is both doubles and mixed doubles).
First up is the singles boundaries, see image below.
For the boundaries for the service I specifically wrote two separate pages about them as they are related to the scoring system, to learn more about the singles service boundaries click here and for doubles service click here. LINK*badminton sets*
SINGLES IN/OUT PICTURE
First up is the singles boundaries, see image below.
For the boundaries for the service I specifically wrote two separate pages about them as they are related to the scoring system, to learn more about the singles service boundaries click here and for doubles service click here. LINK*badminton sets*
SINGLES IN/OUT PICTURE
Explaination
For singles the entire baseline are in but however for the sides it is only up till the single sidelines. The tricky part here is the box at the back of the court where the baseline and the sidelines overlap, in singles that corner baseline box is considered as out. It is really that simple!
For both mix doubles and doubles, the entire court is ‘In’ while the rally is in play, however the tricky part to doubles and mixed is the service boundaries which will be explain in more detail here (LINKbadminton sets)
For both mix doubles and doubles, the entire court is ‘In’ while the rally is in play, however the tricky part to doubles and mixed is the service boundaries which will be explain in more detail here (LINKbadminton sets)
Scoring System
Over the years there has been different versions of scoring system. But currently we are using the 21 points systems, however it is still useful to learn about the 15 points systems as they could come in handy when playing with neighborhood uncles.
For example in Singapore (where i live), many of the uncles in the sports complex still stick to 15pts system as they’re not used to the change, so knowing the 15pts system was necessary for me to join them in their weekly sessions!
I have created a separate page with specific information on how the 15points and 21 points system works. Click here to find out more (LINK TO BADMINTON SETS)
For example in Singapore (where i live), many of the uncles in the sports complex still stick to 15pts system as they’re not used to the change, so knowing the 15pts system was necessary for me to join them in their weekly sessions!
I have created a separate page with specific information on how the 15points and 21 points system works. Click here to find out more (LINK TO BADMINTON SETS)
Change Ends
Now this one is simple! In Badminton there are three conditions, which you can change ends.
• First is after the end of the first game to play the second set,
• End of the second game to play the third set (If any), and last but not least
• At midpoint of the third set, 11 points for a 21 points game (However in a tournament, players are not allowed to leave the court during these official breaks.)
• First is after the end of the first game to play the second set,
• End of the second game to play the third set (If any), and last but not least
• At midpoint of the third set, 11 points for a 21 points game (However in a tournament, players are not allowed to leave the court during these official breaks.)
Serve and Receive Rules
For serve and receive there are actually a quite a few rules in which I created a separate page with pictures (coming soon) to illustrate on what are the acceptable ways of serving as well as rules about receiving.
For now my focus finishing up the more popular topics such as How the different strokes of badminton. The link to the more detailed page will be coming soon (Sorry!!) For now you can view this page for more information on service rules.
(open new page)
http://www.badminton-information.com/badminton_service_rules.html
For now my focus finishing up the more popular topics such as How the different strokes of badminton. The link to the more detailed page will be coming soon (Sorry!!) For now you can view this page for more information on service rules.
(open new page)
http://www.badminton-information.com/badminton_service_rules.html
Faults
In the game of badminton there are also some actions that will cause a ‘fault’(a minor offense or misdeed, and the opponent gets a point). Below are some actions that will get you a fault (If you want to lose deliberately ha ha!)
Rules that are ‘fault’ when the rally is not in play
1. If the service is not correct
2. If a player repeats a misconduct when warned the first time
3. The shuttle is caught on the net when serving or after the birdie fly past over the net, is caught on the net.
Rules that are ‘fault’ when the rally is in play
1. The birdie hits the net and fail to go over, includes going through or under the net are faults.
2. Birdie touches the ceiling or side walls
3. The shuttle touches any part of the person (hair also counts!) and their clothes
4. The shuttle touches any object or persons outside the court such as the lights
5. The shuttle is stuck on the strings of the racquet
6. The shuttle is caught and slung on the racquet
7. The shuttle is hit twice in a row without the opponent hitting first
8. When they touch the net or the support poles with any of their body, clothes or equipment like racquets or shoes.
9. Cross over the net with a racquet or body part with an exception of follow through (Explained below)
10. Obstructs an opponent, such as putting your racquet up in front of the net after a net shot such that your opponent is unable to do a clear.
Exceptions
Follow through- when the player racquet follows the shuttle over the net after executing a stroke, the condition to this is that the initial point of contact is not over the net.
Rules that are ‘fault’ when the rally is not in play
1. If the service is not correct
2. If a player repeats a misconduct when warned the first time
3. The shuttle is caught on the net when serving or after the birdie fly past over the net, is caught on the net.
Rules that are ‘fault’ when the rally is in play
1. The birdie hits the net and fail to go over, includes going through or under the net are faults.
2. Birdie touches the ceiling or side walls
3. The shuttle touches any part of the person (hair also counts!) and their clothes
4. The shuttle touches any object or persons outside the court such as the lights
5. The shuttle is stuck on the strings of the racquet
6. The shuttle is caught and slung on the racquet
7. The shuttle is hit twice in a row without the opponent hitting first
8. When they touch the net or the support poles with any of their body, clothes or equipment like racquets or shoes.
9. Cross over the net with a racquet or body part with an exception of follow through (Explained below)
10. Obstructs an opponent, such as putting your racquet up in front of the net after a net shot such that your opponent is unable to do a clear.
Exceptions
Follow through- when the player racquet follows the shuttle over the net after executing a stroke, the condition to this is that the initial point of contact is not over the net.
Lets
Umpire calls lets during competition or player if playing among friends to stop the play due to a certain reason and to replay that particular point.
Lets are called when
• The person serves before the receiver is ready (Provided the receiver did not move and put the stop hand gesture)
• The shuttle is stuck on the net during play with the exception of service
• During play the shuttle head and feather separates
• The line judge is unsighted and the umpire is unclear what decision to make
• The person serves on the wrong side of the court
• Any unexpected situation such as interference of play; people walking into the court, shuttles from other court enters and more
So that’s it for the basic badminton rules! Whew it was such a long page. Sorry about that but soon I will be trying to make a video to explain all the basic rules above so do stay tuned!
Again if you want to read the full version, you can visit this page http://www.worldbadminton.com/rules/
(New tab)
>>> Move on to Topic 2 on court Scoring System
Lets are called when
• The person serves before the receiver is ready (Provided the receiver did not move and put the stop hand gesture)
• The shuttle is stuck on the net during play with the exception of service
• During play the shuttle head and feather separates
• The line judge is unsighted and the umpire is unclear what decision to make
• The person serves on the wrong side of the court
• Any unexpected situation such as interference of play; people walking into the court, shuttles from other court enters and more
So that’s it for the basic badminton rules! Whew it was such a long page. Sorry about that but soon I will be trying to make a video to explain all the basic rules above so do stay tuned!
Again if you want to read the full version, you can visit this page http://www.worldbadminton.com/rules/
(New tab)
>>> Move on to Topic 2 on court Scoring System
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