Badminton World Federation

Unit 17.05, Level 17 Amoda Building 22 Jalan Imbi 55100 Kuala Lumpur 7 December 2012

FAO: Member Associations Badminton World Federation Dear Badminton Colleagues CHANGES & ADDITIONS TO LAWS & REGULATIONS

The recent BWF Council meeting on Friday 30 November 2012 agreed an addition to the Laws of Badminton and a number of additions and changes both to General Competition Regulations and to specific competition regulations including those relating to the, OSIM BWF World Super Series, World Championships, Sudirman Cup, World Junior Championships, and Thomas & Uber Cup. Principles were also agreed on which the Qualification and Competition Regulations for the Olympic Games 2016 will be drafted later next year. The updated Laws & Regulations will soon be on BWF’s website and all come into immediate effect unless stated otherwise. Laws of Badminton - Fixed Service Height Experiments

Following a positive trial at the World Championships in Paris in 2010, and the conclusion of the Olympic Games 2012, BWF would like to invite Member Associations to undertake trials of a fixed service height. These should be domestic (non-World Ranking) tournaments and be agreed with BWF in advance. More details follow in a separate communication soon. In order to enable this, an experimental law is necessary to run in parallel with the existing laws in order to validate the trial

events. An appropriate ‘measuring tool’ will be developed for use at tournaments conducting trials and sent to MA’s conducting trials by BWF.

BWF Council agreed the adoption of the following Law of Badminton and consequent RTTO:

LAW 9.5.2 the whole shuttle at the instant of being hit by the server’s racket shall be below 1.10 meters from the surface of the court;

RTTO 5.3 The approved hand signals are:

Law 9.1.5 The whole shuttle at the instant of being hit by server’s racket not below 1.10 meters from the surface of the court.

GCR 23 - Clothing Regulations

The following amended Clothing regulation was agreed: GCR 23.2.1 A maximum of one advertisement may appear on each of the following locations; left sleeve, right sleeve, left shoulder, right shoulder, left collar, right collar, right chest, left chest and centre chest. The shoulder is defined as the visible part of the shoulder on the front of the shirt. There must be no more than five advertisements in total and National flags or emblems for the purpose of this regulation count as advertisements. Each advertisement, including National flags or emblems, must be 20 square centimetres or less. It was agreed that the above would be implemented alongside the currently worded Regulation to allow Member Associations to adjust their commercial arrangements with clothing manufacturers. This transition period will be effective for one year

(until December 1st 2013). GCR 23.6.4 - MA’s Advertising on Shorts It was felt necessary to clarify the above regulation and a new wording was agreed: If players wear advertising on their shorts or skirts, or lower part of dresses at a tournament this must be the advertising agreed between the Member Association and the BWF. All players from the same Member Association in a tournament do not have to wear advertising on their shorts, skirts, or lower part of dresses.

GCR 20.4 – Colour of Players’ Clothing - Doubles matches This regulation was revised as follows (revised wording in bold):

Each player in a given pair must wear shirts and shorts (or equivalent articles of clothing) of the same colour and similar design throughout a match in accordance with Regulations 20.4.1 to 20.4.10. Policy on Tattoo, paints, transfers etc. A new regulation was felt necessary as follows:

GCR 23.1.1 Players displaying tattoos, paints, transfers or similar (which are not on clothing) may not display any tattoo, paint or transfer which is illegal, defamatory or commercial in nature or otherwise in breach of the principles relating to advertising on clothing outlined in 23.4.3. Policy on ‘Underclothing’ It was agreed that ‘underclothing’ such as ‘compression’ shorts worn under player’s shorts or skirts/dresses cannot display advertising on court and the following regulation introduced: GCR 23.3.3 Clothing worn under player shirts, shorts, skirts or dresses, shall be known as ‘underclothing’ and not categorised as ‘articles of clothing’,

and if visible must not display advertising. Player Shoes It had been noted that the vast majority of player shoes currently contravene GCR 23.3.1 and as a consequence many BWF Technical Officials turn a ‘blind eye’ to this regulation. Therefore an amendment to the Regulation was agreed: GCR 23.3.1 Each sock may carry two advertisements of 20 square centimetres or less. Advertising on shoes is accepted subject to the make and model of shoe being available in the open market for at least 3 months prior to the tournament in which they are being worn. Dress Code for Coaches and Violations of Code

Concerns were expressed regarding the dress code for coaches and it was agreed that the dress code for coaches should be defined as appropriate formal and sports clothing such as team tracksuit or long trousers when Coaches are courtside. Coaches should not wear shorts unless part of the specific MA team uniform.

In addition it was agreed to update both Coaches and Players codes of conduct to include that coaches and players may not use any electronic device on the field of play including laptop computers, I-pads, mobile telephones or similar. This was partly to avoid disturbance to play but mainly to be in accordance with recommendations from ASOIF and IOC to limit opportunities for illegal betting or wagering at tournaments. In addition it was felt that the Code of Conduct for Coaches, Team & Technical Officials should also apply to all the ‘players entourage’

at the tournament and refer specifically to GCR Appendix 5 and breaches relating to that Code. The following changes to Regulations were agreed:

GCR Appendix 9 Code of Conduct for Coaches, Team & Technical Officials 2.2 must remain seated in the designated chairs provided at each end of the court behind his / her player / players except at the approved intervals. However, if the coach wishes to move to another court, he must do so while the shuttle is not in play;

2.7 must not attempt to communicate in any way with opposing players or coaches or team officials or use any electronic device for any purpose including for example mobile phones, laptop computers or similar devices; 2.8 must not bring the sport into disrepute through media comments, either pre, during, or post tournament that relate to tournament officials, technical officials, opposing coaches or team officials and or players, that are personal in nature, imply bias, or question their integrity. 6. Any coach, team or technical official who commits any offence defined in clauses 3 to 5, or found to be in breach of GCR Appendix 5 - Code of Conduct for Participants in relation to Betting, Wagering and Irregular match results, shall be deemed to have breached this code. For the avoidance of doubt it is also a clear breach of this Code if Coaches or other team officials encourage

or advise players to undertake actions which breach either the Players Code of Conduct or GCR Appendix 5 – Code of Conduct for Participants in relation to Betting, Wagering and Irregular Match results. Breaches of this Code constitute the basis for disciplinary action against the coach, team or technical official. General Competition Regulations 31 Penalties applies. The disciplinary process may lead to an offending coach or team official being fined or banned from entering an arena or an arena floor for a stipulated period or number of events. Problem of coloured clothing and virtual logo In order to continue to implement the virtual logo at OSIM BWF World Superseries tournaments effectively the following Regulation change was agreed: SS 6.14.2 (subsequent clauses renumber to 6.14.7) BWF may insist that

players on the television court(s) change the colour of their shirt or shorts or skirt or dress to avoid problems with the implementation of on court virtual advertising. GCR 8 International Representation & CC Junior & Senior Events

It was agreed to revise the above regulation as follows: GCR 8.1.2 Currently the BWF has also specified that the World Championships (see World Championships Regulations 9.2), the World Senior Championships, and the individual events at the Olympic Games, Youth Olympic Games, the Asian Games, the Commonwealth Games, Continental Championships, World Junior Championships, Continental Junior Championships and Continental Senior Championships shall count as international representation. Where players in a

doubles pair are from different Member Associations it shall count as international representation for each player.

GCR 10 – Invitations It was agreed to expand this Regulation as follows: 10.3 Member Associations must issue an invitation to Member Associations

which includes as a minimum the following information: 10.3.1 Name of tournament organiser, telephone, fax number and e-mail address. 10.3.2 Venue: full name and address of the tournament venue. 10.3.3 Key Dates – dates of the tournament, closing date for entries M&Q release date, seeding date, draw date, date for withdrawal without penalty, ranking dates to be used for seeding & draws and date for team managers meeting. 10.3.4 Link for online entry 10.3.5 Entry fees and the process for payment of the entry fees. 10.3.6 Draw sizes 10.3.7 Prize money and its distribution break down 10.3.8 Provisional schedule 10.3.9 Availability of Practice facilities – duration and available timing.

10.3.10 Clothing and advertising regulations. 10.3.11 Hotel booking and payment procedure 10.3.12 Visa support letter request process and any special information GCR 15 – Alterations & Substitutions in the Draw It was agreed to clarify this Regulation further: GCR 15.3.2 prior to the player’s first scheduled match in any event, a player is prevented from competing through illness, injury, or other unavoidable hindrance GCR 16 Ranking in Tournaments Played under the Pool system or in Groups The following Regulations were agreed relating to the above:

New 16.3.9 If a team is unable to complete a match in a tie, the result of that match shall be considered to be 21-0, 21-0 for the purpose of deciding ranking in the pool system. Retiring during a match shall be considered to be not completing the match.

New 16.5 Where there are players from the same Member Association in the same group the match or matches between them must be completed first irrespective of their rankings in the group. GCR 17 – Advertising in the Playing Area – Placement of City Logo It was agreed by BWF Council that BWF Superseries tournaments should include a logo or marker on the court to indicate the City in which the event is taking place.

The introduction of mandatory host location logos/markers will be implemented through the BWF Superseries Branding guidelines from 2014.

GCR Appendix 5 – Adoption of expanded declaration on integrity of matches regarding betting, wagering and irregular match results BWF Council agreed the adoption of a new GCR Appendix 5 - Declaration on Integrity of Matches now called - Code of Conduct for participants in relation to betting, wagering and irregular match results.

In addition a ‘consequential’ change was necessary and agreed to GCR Appendix 6 World Ranking System with regards the power of a disciplinary committee to cancel a match result (take the result off the world ranking list for that event) where the disciplinary Committee establish/identify a risk of fraud. Participation of Transsexual Players in International Competition BWF Council agreed to adopt the UK Sport booklet – Transsexual People and Sport as its protocol and advice for Member Associations in this complex and sensitive area. GCR Appendix 10 - BWF Sanction Policy a) Naming of Sanctioned Tournaments

BWF Council agreed that each MA should only have one tournament allowed to use the label ‘Open’ and this should be the highest level tournament offered to participants in the MA. So for example the level 2 BWF World Superseries event the Malaysian Open is entitled to use the label ‘Open’ as the highest level sanctioned event in Malaysia, and the level 3 Malaysian Grand Prix Gold is described as such and cannot be called the ‘Malaysian Open Grand Prix Gold. b) Continental Championships The following revised clause 1 of GCR Appendix 10 BWF Sanction Policy was agreed (revised wording in bold): 1. The Member Association must apply for and receive the sanction from the BWF

for a tournament and competitive matches as defined in General Competition Regulations 2.2 to 2.12. (The Continental Confederation must also apply for and receive sanction from BWF for their Continental Championships) Special dispensation may be given at the discretion of BWF with regards to exhibition matches. BWF may at its discretion sanction organisations other than Member Associations for Para-badminton and Seniors tournaments.

c) Sanction Principles Review The following changes were agreed to GCR Appendix 10 BWF Sanction Policy – Principles of Sanctioning & General (revised wording in bold): Level 2 and 3 – remove ‘can have overlapping dates but shall be in different continents’ as level 2 and 3 tournaments are held only on separate dates.

Level 3 Grand Prix Gold & Grand Prix – remove ‘No more than 3 tournaments in a row in one continent of level 1 to 3’ as we currently sanction tournaments in continental blocks to aid players flight arrangements. And remove ‘Can be

sanctioned in connection with level 2 tournament’. Invitational and exhibition tournaments – revised wording – ‘Cannot be sanctioned on the same dates, or dates just prior to or after any level 1, 2 or 3 tournament. At the discretion of BWF special dispensation may be granted. It was also agreed that BWF would try and avoid sanctioning level 4 tournaments on

dates of level 1 or Continental Confederation team events. GCR Appendix 10 BWF Sanction Policy – General: Remove ‘if a Superseries tournament is cancelled, the tournament sanctioned date is withdrawn’. Remove ‘Principles will be non-negotiable’ as this is self-evident. Remove ‘It will be mandatory that all Superseries organisers are present at meetings whenever called by the BWF to discuss Superseries or Calendar’. Also the prize money levels for Superseries in Appendix 10 – BWF Sanction Policy will need to be increased from 2014 to be in line with the hosting bid requirements.

World Championships Regulations The following regulation change was agreed to be consistent with other tournament specific regulations (the committee of management being usually implemented through host contracts rather than regulations): WC 5.4 Each competition shall be managed by the BWF in partnership with the host Member Association. RTTO Procedures - Updates The following revised (wording in bold) RTTO clauses were agreed:

3.2.6 attempts to communicate in any way with opposing players or Coaches or Team Officials during the course of a match or use any electronic device. 3.5.6.1 Coaching from off the court (Law 16.5.1) shall be prevented in any form from the moment when the players are ready to play and while the shuttle is in play.

3.7.6 When the Referee decides to disqualify the offending player or pair of players, a black card is given to the umpire. The umpire shall call “Come here” to the offending player or pair and call: “… [name of player(s)) disqualified for misconduct”. Appendix 4 - Vocabulary:

4.3 ‘...... ’ (name of player) ‘disqualified’ (remove ‘team’). Principles for Qualification Regulations - Rio 2016

BWF Council agreed to adopt the following principles when drafting the Qualification Regulations for the Olympic Games – Rio 2016: That there should be a reduction of the number of singles players from the same MA in the Olympic events to 2 (from 3).

A later seeding date is adopted to make the tournaments post the Olympic qualifying period more important. It was proposed to have the seeding date the same as the World Championships, 2 weeks prior to the Draw.

The draft qualification regulations should include that if an NOC decline a player or pair’s invitation in the first phase, and then accept an invitation for a lower ranked player/pair in the next phase, who then subsequently becomes injured or ill later, that it is not possible to go back to the first player/pair. BWF already follow this principle for the World Championships (Regulation 8B 3.2.21). Principles for Competition Regulations – Rio 2016

BWF Council agreed in principle that both Group play and similar playing numbers in each event should be maintained for 2016. However there was an important

change recommended that in the doubles groups, the second qualifying place in each group, at the conclusion of the group stage, will go into a random draw to determine who they will play in the knock out stage instead of the fixed position used in London 2012. Competition Regulations for 2014 (new format) BWF Council agreed the Competition Regulations for the new format of the Thomas & Uber Cup Competition. These include the new system of qualifying for the Finals (via the World Ranking system and not via a qualifying stage tournament) and the expansion of the Finals to 16 teams from 12. BWF Superseries Regulations Annex D – Player Commitment

BWF have dealt with a number of cases regarding non-appearance of players at OSIM BWF World Superseries Premier tournaments since the last Events Committee meeting in May 2012. However a number of cases have also come up post- Olympic Games where players had been suspended or retired and it was felt that these were legitimate reasons for non- appearance which were not catered for in the current regulations. Therefore it was agreed to revise BWF Superseries Regulations Annex D Player Commitment – clauses 1.4 & 1.8 as follows: BWF may also waive the penalty in certain exceptional circumstances; player suspension (by BWF or Member Association) and official player retirement (submission of official retirement form to BWF).

In addition the concept of a ‘player break’ was discussed including a ‘protected world ranking’ as used in Tennis for the period in which the player is on leave. It was

agreed to draft a detailed proposal for the May 2013 Events Committee meeting taking into account players being able to claim a ‘protected ranking break’ for a minimum of 3 months and a maximum of 6 months once in a BWF Superseries (4 year) cycle. Grand Prix Gold Series 2014-2017 BWF Council agreed the following change to Regulations relating to the above: GCR 4.6 (Table) 2.4 Level 3 – Grand Prix Gold Retained by BWF as per Grand Prix Gold host contract with BWF

Level 3 – Grand Prix All rights granted to the Promoting Member Association Youth Olympic Games 2014 Qualification Regulations BWF are pleased to report that the IOC have approved the BWF regulations for Youth

Olympic Games Qualification (submitted in May 2012 to BWF Council). Youth Olympic Games 2014 Competition Regulations Draft Competition Regulations were agreed by BWF Council subject to change by IOC. The BWF Chair of Events Committee was mandated by BWF Council to finalise the regulations with IOC.

World Junior Championships BWF Council agreed in principle to the proposal to introduce a ‘Sudirman Cup’ style of format for the Suhandinata Cup in 2013. Detailed proposals will be submitted in May 2013.

Junior World Ranking Review It was agreed that once 2012 has been completed there will be a review of the first full year of the World Junior Rankings and what should or could be improved for the future. It should be noted by Member Associations that the World Junior rankings are now a key part of qualification for the Youth Olympic Games and this process starts very soon on 29 April 2013.

The following regulation was also clarified in GCR Appendix 6 – World Ranking System: 6.5.1 (second bullet) replace ‘Players will be removed from the World Junior Ranking once they have reached 19 years of age on 1st January with; ‘Once players are no longer eligible to play in U19 Competition they will be removed from the World Junior Rankings’.

World Seniors Festival BWF Council agreed the introduction of a World Seniors Festival to take place in alternate years from the World Seniors Championships, commencing in

October/November 2014. The aim of the event is a mass participation celebration of Badminton with entries invited in the five year age groups 35+ to 75+. Experienced hosts and organisers have been identified. . Para-badminton Para-badminton Laws of Badminton & Competition Regulations were agreed by BWF

Council. BWF Memo from Director of Operations, Stuart Borrie refers. It was also considered necessary to include Para-badminton Classifiers in the Code of Conduct for Coaches, Team and Technical Officials. The following revised regulation (revised wording in bold) was agreed: Code of Conduct for Coaches, Team and Technical Officials 1. For the purpose of this Code, a coach/team official is anyone taking the seat/role of a coach/team official during a match. Para-badminton Classifiers are considered Technical Officials for the purpose of this Code of Conduct. GCR 2 Definitions BWF Council also agreed the following clarified Regulation (additional wording in

bold): 2.15 Other Tournaments Any tournament not falling into one of the categories defined in Regulations 2.2 to 2.15. Member Association domestic tournament leagues do not require BWF sanction. Any problems or questions relating to the above please do not hesitate to contact me or Events Manager Venu Mahalingam. Kind regards

Darren Parks Events Director Badminton World Federation www.bwfbadminton.org

Ph. Tel :+603 2141 7155 Fax:+603 2143 7155 Mob +60 19 260 0823