Service rules

Discussion in 'Rules / Tournament Regulation / Officiating' started by Zohar, Jul 4, 2018.

  1. Zohar

    Zohar Regular Member

    Joined:
    Dec 12, 2017
    Messages:
    163
    Likes Received:
    24
    Location:
    NZ
    Someone told me today that my serve looks dodgy. More specifically, when I'm touching the shuttle, the racket is supinated (facing upwards), where it's supposed to face forward (the net). I've never heard of such a rule; I heard about:
    - Angle of the racket shaft - pointing down.
    - Touching the shuttle below the ribs.
    - New experimental rule: Touch the shuttle 1.15m from the ground with no other restrictions.

    Anyone heard about that?
     
  2. Rimano

    Rimano Regular Member

    Joined:
    Jan 28, 2011
    Messages:
    890
    Likes Received:
    208
    Location:
    UK
    No. What would short players on the old rules do if they can't hit upwards. Silly.
     
  3. Zohar

    Zohar Regular Member

    Joined:
    Dec 12, 2017
    Messages:
    163
    Likes Received:
    24
    Location:
    NZ
    The reasoning I was given was that the shuttle follows where it points. So while you hit it straight, if it points upwards, it would go upwards. It kinds of makes sense, and I'm not sure how's the height of the person would affect the shuttle trajectory to become an arc anyway.
     
  4. Cheung

    Cheung Moderator

    Joined:
    Apr 25, 2002
    Messages:
    23,818
    Likes Received:
    4,791
    Occupation:
    wannabe badminton phototaker
    Location:
    Outside the box
    Ask the person which rule are they referring to in the rule book. Then come back to this thread with their reply.
     
  5. Zohar

    Zohar Regular Member

    Joined:
    Dec 12, 2017
    Messages:
    163
    Likes Received:
    24
    Location:
    NZ
    I was hoping that the nice German guy (with the glasses) would come and tell me that there's no such thing, never was, and it's nonsense.

    By the way, what does "experimental" mean? Is this the new rule that we should go with or do we wait until..?
     
  6. Cheung

    Cheung Moderator

    Joined:
    Apr 25, 2002
    Messages:
    23,818
    Likes Received:
    4,791
    Occupation:
    wannabe badminton phototaker
    Location:
    Outside the box
    There's only so much one can offer.

    Get your acquaintance to explain exactly which rule they have a problem with and why it applies to you.
     
  7. speCulatius

    speCulatius Regular Member

    Joined:
    May 17, 2017
    Messages:
    1,129
    Likes Received:
    1,210
    Location:
    'round here....
    Download the laws of badminton and ask them to show the rule they are talking about.

    And that's all there is about the service.
     
    phihag likes this.
  8. Rimano

    Rimano Regular Member

    Joined:
    Jan 28, 2011
    Messages:
    890
    Likes Received:
    208
    Location:
    UK
    My understanding of your description was that the racket face can't face upwards and must be facing to the net. Therefore even with the natural flight of a raising shuttle cannot get over the net, given the lower hitting point of the serve (under the old rules). Not to mention you couldn't do any flick serves.

    Sounds like he was maybe giving general advice for a short serve, but if he's not, as others pointed out, get him to point out the rule he thinks you're breaking.

    Sent from my EVA-L09 using Tapatalk
     
  9. Zohar

    Zohar Regular Member

    Joined:
    Dec 12, 2017
    Messages:
    163
    Likes Received:
    24
    Location:
    NZ
    Okay, I think I got all the answers I need, especially what @speCulatius pointed out. Rule 9.1.6 is the relevant one, and the note says that reverting to the old rules pertains only to the shaft angle.

    Looks like some of you disagree that hitting the shuttle horizontally while the cork is pointing to the ground would create an arced flick serve. I'll test that next time.
     
  10. Nathan Hale

    Nathan Hale New Member

    Joined:
    Jul 5, 2018
    Messages:
    2
    Likes Received:
    5
    Location:
    England
    There is also a rule where your feet must be touching the floor at all times until you have hit the shuttle and you can also not drag your foot in the process.
    the serve must be one continuous motion so you cannot bring the racket to and from the shuttle multiple times before serving
    you cannot hit the feathers on impact unless the cork is hit at the same time during the serve.
     
  11. Cheung

    Cheung Moderator

    Joined:
    Apr 25, 2002
    Messages:
    23,818
    Likes Received:
    4,791
    Occupation:
    wannabe badminton phototaker
    Location:
    Outside the box
    Didn't read that anywhere in this thread. How did you get that idea ?
     
  12. Rimano

    Rimano Regular Member

    Joined:
    Jan 28, 2011
    Messages:
    890
    Likes Received:
    208
    Location:
    UK
    Got a feeling it's from mine. Think there's a misunderstanding between Op statement and at least my understanding of what he means...
     
  13. phihag

    phihag Regular Member

    Joined:
    Mar 4, 2014
    Messages:
    1,008
    Likes Received:
    730
    Location:
    Germany
    There's no such thing, never was¹, and it's nonsense ;) - as everybody else has correctly pointed out.

    Sorry, been busy this week, but finally back on court on a more regular schedule.

    ¹ We don't really have good records of badminton rules before ~1940 - the first international badminton federation, then named IBF (what is now BWF), was founded in 1934. The rule cited by the someone may have been in effect in some local club before that.
     
    Zohar likes this.
  14. phihag

    phihag Regular Member

    Joined:
    Mar 4, 2014
    Messages:
    1,008
    Likes Received:
    730
    Location:
    Germany
    Oh, I forgot:

    Experimental means that tournaments or leagues can opt in to this rule. By default, the normal rules apply, i.e. during the service the shuttle must by lower than the lowest rib when struck.

    BWF has opted in most of the tournaments they organize themselves (i.e. the most of the tournaments you tend to see on TV / YouTube). For instance, the World Championships and the upcoming Singapore Open play under the experimental service laws.

    In a national-level competition, it depends on whether the national federation - or the tournament/league organizers - have opted in to these laws. As changing the laws is much more problematic for a full federation rather than a professional league, I am not aware of any federation having opted in so far. So practically, unless you are playing in a professional setup with umpires, you are almost certainly playing under normal rules.

    Specifically, the New Zealand badminton federation just links to the BWF laws on their website, so if you are playing in NZ the normal rules count.

    Sanctioned tournaments and leagues (e.g. your state championship) can ask the national federation to play under the experimental rules, but it would be very exceptional for them to do so. High-level national-level leagues with international players must apply directly to BWF. For instance, the German Bundesliga applied to use the experimental 5x11 scoring system (but not the fixed service height rule).

    In a private tournament or match, the organizers can of course introduce custom rules, including using the experimental or even other service rules. Apart from modifying the scoring system, such custom rules are extremely rare though.
     
  15. Zohar

    Zohar Regular Member

    Joined:
    Dec 12, 2017
    Messages:
    163
    Likes Received:
    24
    Location:
    NZ
    My man, a detailed and comprehensive answer as usual, kudos! ;)
     

Share This Page