<html>There is a player in my league who cheats and I would like to know if there is a proper way to deal with this person, within the written or unwritten badminton rules of etiquette. I have now played opposite "Chris" in four doubles games, in all of which I have watched several of my shots or my partner's shots land close to the line, but fall absolutely, clearly in-bounds. "Chris" however, calls the shot out, always to my team's disadvantage. "Chris" has never once made a close call in my team's favor, so this is not a question of needing a new contact lens prescription. Everyone makes mistakes and while I am sure to misjudge a line call on occasion, I try very hard to be fair and accurate and if there is any doubt in my mind, I give the point to the other team; out of the several dozen other people with whom I have played, not one of them makes bad calls except on rare, haphazard occasions. In contrast, there is a clear pattern with "Chris'" bad calls, which are not merely occasional, but have now happened at least 8-10 times, sometimes deciding the outcome of a close match.<p>Should I: a) talk privately with "Chris" before the start of the next league night and demand an end to the bad calls; b) Give "Chris" the next point involving a bad call, but publicly point out the blatant pattern and announce I will never again play against "Chris;" or c) talk privately with "Chris" after the match and state that we will never play another game because of the cheating?<p>Thanks for your help<br> </html>
<html>I won't recommend option b). Publicly embarrassing another player might backfire and give you a reputation as a hot-tempered person who argues a lot. If the bad calls took place during a tournament you could ask the umpire or the tournament director to appoint line judges, but obviously that's not possible for club play. Are there other players you could ask about "Chris'" line calls and how they have handled the situation? In my club it's considered OK to ask your opponents "That was *out* ?" once in a while, and usually we replay the point. I notice all three of your options involve directly accusing "Chris" of cheating. That seems like a bad idea to me. Perhaps he does have a vision problem, or if your gym has several sets of lines on the floor for different games he may be confused as to which ones are for badminton. This happens more often than you might think. My doubles partner at a tournament this past Saturday was receiving serve and let the shuttle fall to the floor within his service court because there was a volleyball line that confused him. This happened twice, and he's a very experienced player.<p>My advice; proceed with care and assume "Chris" is honest but mistaken. One tactic I just thought of. Try playing as his partner and correcting calls that you are sure are wrong (only if his wrong call is in your team's favor). <p>Good Luck<br>marshall<p> : There is a player in my league who cheats and I would like to know if there is a proper way to deal with this person, within the written or unwritten badminton rules of etiquette. I have now played opposite "Chris" in four doubles games, in all of which I have watched several of my shots or my partner's shots land close to the line, but fall absolutely, clearly in-bounds. "Chris" however, calls the shot out, always to my team's disadvantage. "Chris" has never once made a close call in my team's favor, so this is not a question of needing a new contact lens prescription. Everyone makes mistakes and while I am sure to misjudge a line call on occasion, I try very hard to be fair and accurate and if there is any doubt in my mind, I give the point to the other team; out of the several dozen other people with whom I have played, not one of them makes bad calls except on rare, haphazard occasions. In contrast, there is a clear pattern with "Chris'" bad calls, which are not merely occasional, but have now happened at least 8-10 times, sometimes deciding the outcome of a close match.<p>: Should I: a) talk privately with "Chris" before the start of the next league night and demand an end to the bad calls; b) Give "Chris" the next point involving a bad call, but publicly point out the blatant pattern and announce I will never again play against "Chris;" or c) talk privately with "Chris" after the match and state that we will never play another game because of the cheating?<p>: Thanks for your help<p> </html>
<html>Thanks for the comments. I am confident that this person does not have a vision problem, because the calls close to the lines are always in if they are "Chris'" shots, and they are always out if they are my shots or my partner's - if there was a vision problem, I would think that the mistakes would go both ways (and I would not hesitate to overrule the other team's call and give them the point if I saw my shot go out but they called it good).<p>My intention isn't to create a scene, but just to have a good time playing a fair game. I wanted to think about the situation and get some suggestions before discussing this person with anyone else in the league. Because I try to be as honest as possible, it just burns me up, though, when someone else isn't ethical. I may take up your suggestion and next time just insist that because we have a difference of opionions, that the only fair option is to replay the shot. I will see what other advice anyone else may give, as I have a week before the next league night. Thanks again.<p><p>: I won't recommend option b). Publicly embarrassing another player might backfire and give you a reputation as a hot-tempered person who argues a lot. If the bad calls took place during a tournament you could ask the umpire or the tournament director to appoint line judges, but obviously that's not possible for club play. Are there other players you could ask about "Chris'" line calls and how they have handled the situation? In my club it's considered OK to ask your opponents "That was *out* ?" once in a while, and usually we replay the point. I notice all three of your options involve directly accusing "Chris" of cheating. That seems like a bad idea to me. Perhaps he does have a vision problem, or if your gym has several sets of lines on the floor for different games he may be confused as to which ones are for badminton. This happens more often than you might think. My doubles partner at a tournament this past Saturday was receiving serve and let the shuttle fall to the floor within his service court because there was a volleyball line that confused him. This happened twice, and he's a very experienced player.<p>: My advice; proceed with care and assume "Chris" is honest but mistaken. One tactic I just thought of. Try playing as his partner and correcting calls that you are sure are wrong (only if his wrong call is in your team's favor). <p>: Good Luck<br>: marshall<p>: : There is a player in my league who cheats and I would like to know if there is a proper way to deal with this person, within the written or unwritten badminton rules of etiquette. I have now played opposite "Chris" in four doubles games, in all of which I have watched several of my shots or my partner's shots land close to the line, but fall absolutely, clearly in-bounds. "Chris" however, calls the shot out, always to my team's disadvantage. "Chris" has never once made a close call in my team's favor, so this is not a question of needing a new contact lens prescription. Everyone makes mistakes and while I am sure to misjudge a line call on occasion, I try very hard to be fair and accurate and if there is any doubt in my mind, I give the point to the other team; out of the several dozen other people with whom I have played, not one of them makes bad calls except on rare, haphazard occasions. In contrast, there is a clear pattern with "Chris'" bad calls, which are not merely occasional, but have now happened at least 8-10 times, sometimes deciding the outcome of a close match.<p>: : Should I: a) talk privately with "Chris" before the start of the next league night and demand an end to the bad calls; b) Give "Chris" the next point involving a bad call, but publicly point out the blatant pattern and announce I will never again play against "Chris;" or c) talk privately with "Chris" after the match and state that we will never play another game because of the cheating?<p>: : Thanks for your help<p> </html>
