1. Name

2. Objects

1. The objects of the Association shall be to organise competitive leagues in Swindon and District, to arrange tournaments and representative matches for members of affiliated Clubs, and to promote the game of badminton in every possible way.
2. All affiliated clubs shall also affiliate to the County Association.
3. The Association shall affiliate to the Badminton England.

3. Membership

1. Affiliation. Clubs whose courts are within a fifteen mile radius of Swindon and who compete in one or more of the Swindon and District Badminton Leagues shall affiliate to the Association. Affiliation from clubs outside this radius shall be considered at a General Meeting of the Association.
2. Associate Membership. Clubs within a fifteen mile radius of Swindon, who do not wish to compete in league play may apply for Associate membership of the Association. Such clubs will be entitled to information, assistance and coaching.

4. Subscriptions and Finance

1. Club affiliation fees, league team registration fees, club deposit, associate membership fees and any other levies shall be fixed at the Annual General Meeting, and shall be paid in full by 30th June each year.
2. A Club whose fees are unpaid shall be excluded from the league and liable to forfeit their club deposit and not enter teams in the Leagues and its players are ineligible to enter tournaments organised by the Association.
3. County Affiliation and Badminton England Fees must be paid by 1st November of the current season. Failure to comply may result in the committee withdrawing offending clubs from the association.
4. The financial year shall terminate at the end of April each year.
5. The Association Treasurer shall keep, or cause to be kept, a record of all financial transactions of the Association. All books and relevant papers together with the Annual Statement of Accounts shall be submitted to the elected Auditor within 3 months of the financial year end.
6. Should there be a dissolution of the Association, all property remaining, after refund of Clubs deposits, shall be devoted to a Society with similar aims to those of the Association, as decided by the committee, and not distributed amongst the member clubs of the Association.

5. Resignation

6. Officers

1. The Officers of the Association shall be the members of affiliated Clubs, shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting, and shall consist of a Chairperson, Association Secretary, Treasurer, 'League Secretaries', Tournament Secretary.
2. One person may fulfil more than one office.
3. All Officers shall retire annually but shall be eligible for re-election.

7. Management

1. The management of the Association shall be vested in a committee consisting of the officers and members of affiliated clubs elected at the Annual General Meeting, who shall serve for three years of office at a term and shall be eligible for re-election. If a committee member is absent from three consecutive committee meetings during a season it shall thereby be deemed that he/she is no longer a member of the committee.
2. All contracts entered into by the committee shall be deemed to be entered into by the Association.
3. The committee’s decision shall be final in all matters of complaints, dispute or interpretation of the rules of the Association.
4. No member shall be allowed to vote at any Meeting on any dispute, protest or claim which concerns their Club.
5. The committee shall have the power to co-opt members of affiliated Clubs, to appoint sub-committees for specific purposes and to define their duties.
6. The Chairperson and Association Secretary shall be members ex officio of all sub-committees.
7. At all meetings of the committee five (5) shall form a quorum.

8. Election of Officers and Committee Members

10. Annual General Meeting

1. The Annual General Meeting shall be held not later than May each year.
2. At least fourteen days notice of the Meeting shall be given to each member Club together with a copy of the Agenda.
3. The business of the meeting shall be transacted in the following order.
   (1) Apologies for absence - (2) Minutes of last meeting - (3) Matters arising (4) Association Secretary’s Report - (5) Treasurer’s Report - (6) Auditor’s Report - (7) Annual Subscriptions - (8) Composition of teams in League and Cup competitions - (9) Alterations to Rules - (10) Election of Officers and Committee Members - (11) Nominations of representatives for Wiltshire County Badminton Assoc. - (12) Other representatives - (13) Any other business.
4. All members of affiliated and associate Clubs shall be entitled to attend but only one specified representative from each affiliated Club shall be entitled to vote.
5. Representatives from one third of the total number of affiliated clubs entitled to vote, shall constitute a quorum.
6. A person not present at the Meeting may be elected an Officer or Committee Member provided that the Association Secretary has had that person’s confirmation in writing or by email of their willingness to stand.
7. Where the number of nominations exceeds the number of vacancies for election of Officers and Committee Members, voting shall be by secret ballot.
8. Voting on other matters shall be by show of hands unless a majority of representatives present decide that voting shall be by secret ballot. In the event of equal voting, the Chairperson shall have the casting vote.
9. An Extraordinary General Meeting shall be convened at any time within 14 days upon the written requisition of either:-
   (a) Any five members of the Committee or
   (b) The representation of any six affiliated Clubs.
   Any requisition shall state expressly the object of the meeting and no other business shall be transacted thereat. Notice of such a meeting shall be sent to all affiliated Club Secretaries at least 7 days before the date fixed.
10. Where a vote at the AGM concerns a League for which a club has not entered a team for the season preceding the AGM, that club shall not be entitled to vote.

A. Laws of The Game

B. Eligibility of Players

1. Any player participating in Leagues organised by the Association must be a bona fide member of the club they represent. The player must be affiliate to their county badminton association and Badminton England within 28 days of their first appearance. Failure to comply with the above may result in their games being deemed null and void and points could be deducted.
2. A player may be registered for one club only in each league. Players registration forms must be signed by the player, countersigned by the Club Secretary. Where a player is under 18 years of age the registration form must be countersigned by a parent or guardian. Registration forms must be received by the League Secretary at least three clear days before the date of the players first match.
3. For each team entered in the league, a club must register, on the team players’ registration list, a minimum of six bona fide members for the team for which it is intended they will play. This team players’ registration list shall be submitted to the appropriate League Secretary by the 12th September in any year, or three clear days before the team’s first scheduled match, whichever is earlier. Failure to do so will result in the team being deducted the maximum number of points available for winning a match. The deduction will be made at the beginning of the season.
4. Any team who nominate a player and that player is not used at least once during season, without exceptional reason, will be deducted the maximum number of points awarded for two wins at the end of the season. If a club only have one team in a league or this is the last team for clubs with more than one team in a league then this rule does not apply.
5. A player registered for a lower team may play three times in total for higher teams of the Club, but any player playing four times in total for higher teams will automatically become registered for the next highest team for which the player has played. Previous appearances for higher teams will still count towards a further application of this rule. A player registered for a higher team shall not play for a lower team without the previous sanction of the committee.
6. Additional player's registrations shall be submitted to the appropriate League Secretary at least three clear days prior to the player's first match. Games won by unregistered players shall be forfeited and awarded to the opposition. For example if a player's first match is on a Friday, the registration form must be with the appropriate League Secretary by midnight on the previous Monday.
7. A player cannot transfer without the approval of the committee from 30th June to 31st December.
8. A player transferred after 1st March will not be eligible to play for their new Club, in any league during the current season without the approval of the committee.
9. A new registration/transfer card must be submitted to the appropriate League Secretary whenever a player changes club. The transfer details must be signed by both Club Secretaries. Where a player is under 18 years of age the registration form must be countersigned by a parent or guardian. Registration/transfer cards must be received by the League Secretary at least three clear days before the date of the players first match.
10. Any player not participating in the leagues for three consecutive seasons shall have their registration withdrawn automatically and returned to the appropriate Club Secretary. If re-entering the leagues at a later date a player must then be re-registered.
11. A player may cancel a registration from one or more Leagues (Mens, Ladies, Mixed, Masters and Youth) from 1st May until 30th June. The player must notify relevant League Secretaries, the Association Secretary and Club Secretary and have received acknowledgement from either the League Secretary or Association Secretary by 1st July. Notification and acknowledgment can be via email or letter

C. Composition of Teams

1. The composition of teams in the league shall be as follows:-
   (a) Mens Doubles  3 Pairs
   (b) Mixed Doubles 3 Pairs
   (c) Ladies Doubles 3 Pairs
   Each pair will play all three pairs of the opposing team.
2. Pairings for the full match shall be exchanged simultaneously by both Captains before the match commences and shall not subsequently be altered except with the consent of the opposing Captain.

D. League Match Play

1. All Leagues’ matches shall consist of 2 teams of six players. Each match will consist of 9 rubbers consisting of 2 games to 21. If the score becomes 20-all, the side which gains a two point lead first, shall win that game. If the score becomes 29-all, the side scoring the 30th point shall win that game. Play must be continuous in a rubber.
2. The matches will be played in the following order unless agreed otherwise by the team Captains before the match starts.
   Game Number 1 – Home Pair 2 v Away Pair 1
   Game Number 2 – Home Pair 1 v Away Pair 3
   Game Number 3 – Home Pair 3 v Away Pair 2
   Game Number 4 – Home Pair 2 v Away Pair 3
   Game Number 5 – Home Pair 3 v Away Pair 1
   Game Number 6 – Home Pair 1 v Away Pair 2
   Game Number 7 – Home Pair 3 v Away Pair 3
   Game Number 8 – Home Pair 2 v Away Pair 2
   Game Number 9 – Home Pair 1 v Away Pair 1
3. In the event of a club fielding a short team, no pair may be divided in order to complete the fixture and the games which are not played shall be forfeited to the opposing team.
4. 3 points shall be awarded for a match won or additional 1 point to each team shall be awarded for each match drawn.
5. All league matches shall be played with a cork based feather shuttlecock.

E. Starting Times

1. All matches are scheduled to start between 7.00 pm and 8.00 pm unless a different time has been agreed by the committee.
2. If a team has no pair ready for play within 15 minutes of the scheduled start time it shall be liable to forfeit one rubber 21-0, 21-0 and shall similarly be liable to forfeit a further rubber if no pair is ready to play for each 15 minutes thereafter. Any claim under this rule must be clearly indicated on the match result sheet and signed by both team captains.
3. No pair shall be expected to play its three rubbers in succession, without break, unless agreed by both captains.
4. If any pair due on court is not available for play after completion of the previous game the team shall be liable to forfeit one rubber 21-0, 21-0. Any claim under this rule must be clearly indicated on the match result sheet and signed by both team captains.
5. All preparations necessary for play to commence shall be completed within 15 minutes of the scheduled start time otherwise the home team will be liable to forfeit one rubber 21-0, 21-0 and shall similarly be liable to forfeit further rubbers if the court is not ready for play for each 15 minutes thereafter. Any claim under this rule must be clearly indicated on the match result sheet and signed by both team captains.

F. Non completion of Matches

1. It is the responsibility of the home team to ensure that sufficient time is available for a match to be completed.
2. If a club is obliged to vacate its premises before a match has been completed, the home club shall forfeit all outstanding games, unless the away team has contravened rule E(ii) in any way.
3. Should a team give two walkovers in any season, this will result in disciplinary action against the offending club unless this is due to exceptional circumstances beyond the control of the club and agreed with the Committee. This would be forfeiture of Club deposit and withdrawal of the team’s results from the League Table. This would not prevent the team completing their remaining fixtures but the results of these matches would not be considered when compiling the League Tables.

G. Fixture Dates

1. Fixture dates and times shall be as decided by the committee and published.
2. All clubs will play the fixtures on the dates stated in the Handbook and/or Association website. In the event of unavailability of normal team players through sickness etc., the Club will field appropriately registered reserves.
3. In those cases where halls are not available on the date shown, the appropriate League Secretary and opposing Club Secretary must be informed in advance. Failure to inform the League Secretary will result in the cancellation being treated as a late match sheet. The offending home club shall offer at least two alternative dates to the opposing club that are not on a scheduled match date already submitted to the League Secretary, and giving at least 4 weeks notice, except by prior agreement. Any club not complying with this rule will forfeit the match.
4. Any fixtures which fall on the weekend of the Junior and Senior Swindon and District Championships may be arranged to accommodate players wishing to play in the Championships.
5. Should a W.H. Bicknell Trophy, Fiddes or Wilson Lee match and a league match fall on the same date then the Cup match takes priority and the league match may be re-arranged if necessary.

H. Match Results

1. Match result sheets must be signed by both Captains and sent by the home Club to the appropriate League Secretary to arrive not later than the Wednesday of the week following the match. (Note match weeks commence on Monday).
2. Failure to comply with rule H (i) and G (iii) will result in the offending club being fined 50p for the first late sheet, the fine shall increase by increments of 50p per subsequent late sheet. For example; £1 for the second, £1.50 for the third, £2.00 for the fourth and so forth.

I. Team Withdrawals

1. If a team withdraws from the league, all games played by that team shall be null and void.

J. Divisions

1. All divisions in each league shall consist of five or six teams, subject to there being a minimum of thirty teams in the league. No division of five teams shall be at a higher level than a division of six teams. Divisions in a League of less than thirty teams shall be allocated at the Committee’s discretion.
2. In each division, the total number of match points won shall determine the final position of each team.
3. In the event of a tie on points the team with the lesser number of game points scored against them shall be placed in the higher position, except at the top of Division One where a play-off shall decide which team shall be declared champions. The date of the play-offs will be set by the committee at the start of each season.
4. At the end of the season the two top teams shall be promoted and the bottom two teams shall be relegated from each division, except between Divisions One and Two where the top team in Division Two shall be promoted and the bottom team from Division One shall be relegated.
5. If a team withdraws from a division or is withdrawn by the committee, then they automatically fill one of the relegation places. If a team does not re-enter the next season, then the space they create is filled by promoting further teams from the division below.

L. Masters League Rules

1. The League is open to clubs and members affiliated to the Association.
2. Players’ other League registrations will not apply and each Club/team must separately register its Masters League players.
3. All players must be 45 before they play in a Masters match.
4. Each team must be composed of three men and three ladies. Matches to consist of three mens, three ladies and three mixed doubles games (played to 21 as per Senior League).
5. Team pairings must be ranked in order of strength so that the strongest pairs play each other. Pairings and rankings must be exchanged before the match commences and shall not be altered except with the consent of the opposing captain.
6. Fixture dates and venues must be arranged between competing Clubs/teams and must be completed by the date published for the Senior League. The Masters League Secretary must be sent a copy of these fixtures by the 30th September and notified of any subsequent changes.
7. Where appropriate all other Association Senior League Rules apply.
8. Rule J (iv) does not apply.