BADMINTON STUDY GUIDE

Laws of Badminton as adopted by the International Badminton Federation and American Badminton Association.

EQUIPMENT:

Shuttles are also called birdies and shuttlecocks.
Rackets and shuttles are provided for students use but any abuse of equipment will result in the student being charged for its replacement.
The net should be 5 feet from the floor to the top of the net at center court. The net should be 5'1" at the posts.

GENERAL RULES:

A shuttle landing on the line is good.
A shuttle hitting the net is good and play continues (including the serve)
All players must be inside their respective service courts prior to the serve
A "let" is a situation requiring a replay (given for various reasons listed below)

THE TOSS:

Before play, opposite teams shall "toss", and the side winning the toss shall have the option of:
1. serving first or receiving serve
2. choosing which side of the court to start on
The side losing the toss shall then have choice of the remaining alternatives.
Toss is decided by one of the following:
1. flip of a coin
2. volley
3. spin of racket
4. drop of birdie

FAULTS:

Serving
1. shuttle is struck higher than the waist
2. head of the racket is not below server's hand holding the racket
3. shuttle falls into the wrong service court or out of bounds
4. shuttle falls before the short serve line
5. server's feet are not in the correct service court
6. receiver of serve does not have their feet in the correct service court
7. server steps forward when serving
8. server intentionally balks, fakes, or feints
9. server serves before the opponent is ready
10. part of both feet must remain in contact with the surface of the court in a stationary position until the service is delivered or a fault is called
11. shuttle passes through, under, or gets caught on or over the net on the serve
12. server attempts to serve and misses the bird completely
Regular Play
1. player reaches over net to play birdie (follow through over the net is legal)
2. player hits the bird twice in one motion or momentarily holds or throws the birdie
3. player fails to return the bird to the opponent's court
4. player obstructs or hinders opponent
5. player deliberately delays the game
6. player touches the net with racket, body, or clothes
7. in doubles the receivers partner returns the serve
8. shuttle passes through or under the net
9. shuttle touches the ceiling or walls
10. shuttle touches a person or their clothes

LETS:

Server serves before receiver is ready
Shuttle breaks during play
Shuttle gets caught on top of the net or in the net after having gone over (except on the serve)
A "let" or replay will be given for any "accidental hindrances"
Double fault (one on each team) equals a let.

SCORING & SETTING THE SCORE:

15 points constitute the usual game for men's singles. For women's singles 11 points are played. All doubles games are played to 15 points.
When the score becomes tied at 14 in a 15-point game, the side reaching 14 first chooses to play to 15 or "set" the game to 17 points.
When the score becomes tied at 10 in an 11-point game, the side reaching 10 first chooses to play to 11 points or "set" the game at 13.
Only a one point lead is necessary to win.
Only the serving team scores points.

SINGLES PLAY:

Singles serving court is long and narrow. The playing court is also long and narrow.
Serving is from the right side when the server's score is "even" and from the left side when their score is odd.
All serves must be to the diagonal.
Both players shall change service courts after each point has been scored.
Players must be in their service court upon contact with the serve.

DOUBLES PLAY:

Doubles serving court is short and wide.
After the serve the playing court changes to long and wide.
A team is given 2 downs for each inning except for the very first inning of the game.
The first team to serve at the beginning of the game starts with one down and will only have one player serve before the other team wins the serve. All subsequent innings have both servers of a team serve before their opponents get the serve back.
When calling the score the number of downs must also be called signifying how many servers are left to serve for the serving team. (Score example: 9 to 5, no downs or one down)
If the serving team scores a point, the same server serves the next serve diagonally from the other half of their court. This continues until the receiving team wins the rally.
The serving team only changes service courts after a point is scored. There is no change of courts for the serving team when the team loses a down. The receiving team never changes courts.
The first server of each inning is always the server in the right hand court, regardless of the score or whether that player served last or not.
The player served to may alone receive the service. No player ever receives two consecutive serves.

PLAYING COURTESIES:

If in doubt about the bird's landing, always call it in favor of the opponent.
If there is any question of your fouling at the net, be sure to call it on yourself.
If there is any question about your throwing the bird, be quick to call the throw.
Do not question a call by the opponent.
Do not smash at your opponent if the point could have been easily won by placing the bird elsewhere.

TERMINOLOGY:

Ace	a point; often used to indicate an opponent's failure to return a service
Alley	there are 2, one on each side of the court. They are narrow strips between the two side boundary lines. Area used only for doubles play
Balk	term used to indicate a player hindering an opponent
Bird	another term for shuttle
Clear	a stroke that sends the shuttle high and deep to the back of the court
Cut	a deceptive shot that looks like a clear but just clears the net because of the wrist being turned on contact
Doubles	the four-handed game; i.e. two players on each side
Down	loss of service occasioned by the server (or serving side) failing to score. In doubles, each side has 2 downs, except in the first inning of the game.
Drive	a hard, horizontal stroke that just clears the net
Drop Shot	a stroke in which the shuttle falls just over the net to the floor
Fault	denotes an infraction of the rules resulting in a point or side-out
Foot Fault	Standing on or over the service court boundary line by either receiver/server
Inning	a side's turn at serving
"In" side	the player or side which is serving
"Out" side	the player or side receiving the serve
Let	permitting the serve to be taken over or to replay a point
Match	the best of 3 games
Rally	an exchange of the shuttle between opponents by a series of strokes
Serve	the shot that initiates play
Setting	increasing by 2 the points necessary to win when the score is tied at 14 (men) or 10 (women)
Short game	shots that are played low and close to the net
Smash	a powerful downward stroke using wrist snap to end the point
Singles	a game with one player on a side (two-handed)
Toss	how it is determined who will serve first and from which court
Two-down	term used to designate that both partners in doubles play have each lost a service