OLYMPIC QUALIFYING REGULATIONS for BEIJING 2008

1. EVENTS

Men's Singles
Men's Doubles
Women's Singles
Women's Doubles
Mixed Doubles

2. NUMBER OF PLAYERS/ NOC QUOTA

2.1 Player quota

86 men
86 women
172 total players

Maximum per NOC

2.2 The maximum number of players per NOC shall be three entries in each of the five events, provided each entry is qualified (see Regulations 3.3.1 to 3.3.14).

3. QUALIFICATION SYSTEM

3.1 QUALIFICATION SYSTEM PRINCIPLES

The BWF ranking list of 1 May 2008 will be used to determine qualification for the following number of places in each event:

Men’s singles 38 places
Women’s singles 38 places
Men’s doubles 32 places ( 16 pairs)
Women’s doubles 32 places ( 16 pairs)
Mixed doubles 32 places ( 16 pairs)
TOTAL 172 Places

3.2 DRAW SIZES

3.2.1 In singles the draw size will be a maximum of 64

3.2.2 In doubles the draw size will be 16

3.3 QUALIFICATION SYSTEM IN DETAIL

BWF ranking list, 1 May 2008

3.3.1 The BWF ranking list of 1 May 2008 will be used to allocate qualifying places until a total of 38 places in each singles event and 16 places (pairs) in each doubles event are allocated, including the requirements of Regulations 3.3.5 to 3.3.14.

Players/pairs ranked 1 to 4

3.3.2 Players/pairs ranked 1 to 4 in the BWF ranking list for each event will be taken in turn and will qualify unless a total of three players/pairs from any one NOC would thereby be exceeded in that event.

Attribution of qualification

An NOC may have more than three players/pairs ranked 1 to 4 in the BWF ranking list for a particular event. In such a case the NOC has the right to disregard ranking order of those players/pairs when determining its entries, and select from any of the players/pairs ranked 1 to 4 in filling its three qualification places for the respective event. In the event of the withdrawal of a Olympic Games Regulations player/pair entered by that NOC, the NOC will be invited to replace the player/pair by another player/pair ranked 1 to 4.

Players/pairs ranked 5 to 16

3.3.3 Players/pairs ranked 5 to 16 in the BWF ranking list for each event will be taken in turn and will qualify unless a total of two players/pairs from any one NOC would thereby be exceeded in that event.

Attribution of qualification

An NOC may have more than two players/pairs ranked 1 to 16 in the BWF ranking list for a particular event. In such a case the NOC has the right to disregard ranking order when determining its entries and select from any of the players/pairs ranked 1 to 16 in filling its two qualification places for the respective event, provided each player/pair eventually selected would have qualified under Regulations 3.3.1 to 3.3.3.

Players/pairs ranked 17 and lower

3.3.4 Players/pairs ranked 17 and lower in the BWF ranking list for each event will be taken in turn and will qualify unless a total of one player/pair from any one NOC would thereby be exceeded in that event.

Host NOC

3.3.5 The host NOC (China) shall be entitled to have exactly two players in total in the Olympic competition, but more than two players are permitted if all the players have qualified under Regulations 3.3.1 to 3.3.4.

3.3.6 If Regulation 3.3.5 is not satisfied under Regulations 3.3.1 to 3.3.4, then the entitlement of two players shall be completed by the qualification of an additional player or players from the BWF ranking list(s) nominated by the Badminton Association of the People’s Republic of China.

3.3.7 The player(s) qualifying for the host NOC will be the highest-ranked player(s)/pair in the nominated BWF ranking list(s) of 1 May 2008, or if there is no Chinese NOC player/pair in the nominated BWF ranking list, the winning player/pair in that event in the China National Championships most recently concluded prior to 1 May 2008.

Continental representation

3.3.8 In each event there shall be at least one player/pair from each of the five BWF Continental Confederations.

3.3.9 If, for a particular Continental Confederation, there is no player/pair qualified in an event under Regulations 3.3.2 to 3.3.4, the player/pair selected for the continental representation shall be the appropriate highest-ranked player/pair in the BWF ranking list of 1 May 2008. No more than two players/pairs from any one NOC can qualify through this system.

3.3.10 If there is no Continental Confederation player/pair in the BWF ranking list of 1 May 2008 in a particular event, then the player/pair selected for continental representation shall be the winner(s) of the respective Continental Championships most recently concluded prior to 1 May 2008.

Tripartite Commission (IOC – Association of NOCs (ANOC) – BWF) invitation places

3.3.11 Two places in men’s singles and two places in women’s singles shall be used by the IOC Tripartite Commission to allocate invitation places, in accordance with the general process of Tripartite Commission invitations.

3.3.12 NOCs must apply for these invitation places prior to the deadline of 30 June 2006. The Tripartite Commission will by 31 August 2006 establish which invitation requests meet the identified general criteria of NOC delegation size and technical standard, and provisionally allocate places to one male and one female player. The final allocation of invitation places will be done on 1 May 2008.

3.3.13 To be eligible to compete in the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, the players filling invitation places must be ranked in the top 100 in the BWF ranking list of 1 May 2008. Should these places not be allocated due to the technical level of the players, they will be added to the places allocated through the BWF ranking list of 1 May 2008.

3.3.14 A player filling an invitation place will be regarded as satisfying the minimum continental representation in that event.

Qualification period and events

3.3.15 The BWF ranking list of 1 May 2008 will be based on results during the period 1 May 2007 to 30 April 2008.

Participation in any of the following will count towards the BWF ranking list during this period:

 Thomas Cup (all stages)
 Uber Cup (all stages)
 Sudirman Cup
 World Championships
 Super Series
 Grand Prix Gold
 Grand Prix
 Other Open tournaments (with prize money of US $5,000 or over)
 International Challenge
 International Series
 Future Series
 Continental Championships (individual and team)

 Any other international event publicised by theBWF Council in advance as being included.

 With prior the BWF approval, individual and team events at other major multi-sport Games.

Note: National championships, friendly international matches, junior events and invitational events are not included. Full details of BWF-sanctioned events and their World Ranking gradings are contained in the BWF Calendar of Events, published on the BWF website www.internationalbadminton.org

4. Qualification Timeline

May 1, 2007 Start of period for the BWF ranking list of May 1, 2008
November 15, 2007 Deadline for the submission of requests for Tripartite Commission Invitation places by all NOCs
January 31, 2008 Tripartite Commission provisionally allocates one male and one female invitation places
April 30, 2008 End of period for the BWF ranking list of May 1, 2008
May 1, 2008 BWF ranking list to be used to determine qualification
May 10, 2008 BWF notifies Member Associations of qualified players/pairs
May 31, 2008 Member Associations/NOCs confirm their selection of qualified players/pairs to BWF
June 11, 2008 Reallocation of places where an NOC has not confirmed the entry of a player/pair qualified in the list of May 10,2008
June 15, 2008 BWF notifies Member Associations of further qualified players/pairs
June 29, 2008 Reallocation of places where an NOC has not confirmed the entry of a player/pair qualified in the list of June 11,2008
April – July 2008 The Tripartite Commission confirms, in writing, the allocation of the Invitation places to the NOCs
July 23, 2008 Deadline for BOCOG to receive entry forms submitted by NOCs

5. DATES/PROCESS OF CONFIRMATION OF PLACES

5.1 The list of initially qualified players/pairs for each event will be published as part of the World Ranking List by the BWF and notified to the IOC and Member Associations no later than 10 May 2008. Member Associations are responsible for forwarding relevant information to their NOC.

5.2 Member Associations / NOCs have until 31 May 2008 to confirm that they will use the qualification places through the selection of qualified players/pairs.

6. REALLOCATION OF UNUSED QUALIFICATION PLACES

Procedure if a qualified player/pair is not entered

6.1 A further player or pair will be taken from the BWF ranking list if a Member Association or relevant NOC notifies the BWF either that the NOC is not selecting a qualified player/pair or that a player/pair is unable to compete through injury or other unavoidable occurrence. This reallocation of the qualification place shall respect the maximum numbers of places per NOC and the attribution of qualification noted in Regulations 3.3.2 and 3.3.3.

6.2 If an NOC has not confirmed by 11 June 2008 that it will be entering a given player/pair listed in
accordance with Regulation 5.1, then the place will be reallocated t o another player/pair under Regulation 6.1 in a supplementary list to be published on 15 June 2008. Similarly, if an NOC has not confirmed by 29 June 2008 that it will be entering a given player/pair from the 15 June 2008 supplementary list, then the place will be reallocated to another player/pair under Regulation 6.1.

6.3 The procedure to be used in Regulation 6.2 will apply up to 21 July 2008.

6.4 If a player/pair cannot compete for a reason stated in Regulation 6.1, the substitute player/pair will be the
next ranked player/pair as in Regulations 3.3.2, 3.3.3, and 3.3.4.

6.5 In implementing Regulation 6.4, the player or pair who has withdrawn will not count in any total of players/pairs from the relevant NOC (see attribution of qualification noted in Regulations 3.3.2 and 3.3.3).

Reallocation of extra places between events

6.6 The BWF has discretion in allocating the events to be used for any extra places which arise because a player has qualified (and been selected by the player’s NOC) in more than one event.

7. SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS Participation in other events

7.1 Players may only participate in events for which they have qualified as in Regulations 3.3.1 to 3.3.14. Interpretation

7.2 The BWF Council will decide the interpretation of these Regulations in accordance with the Olympic Charter, and such decision shall be final. Amendment of Regulations

7.3 The BWF Council has authority (Rule 20) to amend these Regulations, in agreement with the IOC.

Here are the current rankings.

1 LIN Dan CHN
2 LEE Chong Wei MAS
3 BAO Chunlai CHN
4 CHEN Jin CHN
5 JONASSEN Kenneth DEN
6 HIDAYAT Taufik INA
7 DWI KUNCORO Sony INA
8 GADE Peter Hoeg DEN
9 LEE Hyun Il KOR
10 PARK Sung Hwan KOR
11 CHEN Yu CHN
12 PONSANA Boonsak THA
13 CHEN Hong CHN
14 WACHA Przemyslaw POL
15 SANTOSO Simon INA
16 WONG Choong Hann MAS
17 SUSILO Ronald SIN
18 SATO Shoji JPN
19 CHAN Yan Kit HKG
20 NG Wei HKG
21 LEE Yen Hui Kendrick SIN
22 LEE Tsuen Seng MAS
23 HASHIM Muhammad Hafiz MAS
24 SRIDHAR Anup IND
25 HASHIM Muhammad Roslin MAS
26 TEDJONO Andre Kurniawan INA
27 AYOB Sairul Amar MAS
28 PERSSON Joachim DEN
29 SASAKI Sho JPN
30 YEOH Kay Bin MAS
31 LU Yi CHN
32 ZWIEBLER Marc GER
33 NGUYEN Tien Minh VIE
34 DABEKA Andrew CAN
35 SMITH Andrew ENG
36 PALYAMA Dicky NED
37 PANG Eric NED
38 KOUKAL Petr CZE
39 MOODY John NZL
40 VAUGHAN Richard WAL
41 MILROY Bobby CAN
42 JOPPIEN Bjoern GER
43 BHAT Arvind IND
44 SHON Seung Mo KOR
45 NAKANISHI Yousuke JPN
46 MIKKELSEN Peter DEN
47 SUGIARTO Tommy INA
48 SAPKULCHANANART Poompat THA
49 EVANS Scott IRL
50 ABIAN Pablo ESP
51 TAGO Kenichi JPN
52 FROHLICH ~ Jan CZE
53 HSIEH Yu Hsin TPE
54 LEE Cheol Ho KOR
55 GONG Weijie CHN
56 OUSEPH Rajiv ENG
57 DRUZCHENKO Vladislav UKR

If I understand correctly, only 2 players per country, except 3 if they are in the top 4. Also, at least one player per continent... except Antartica...
Since there are 38 entries, the list of players currently qualifying for Olympics are (just for fun, waiting until official list of May 1st):

1 LIN Dan CHN
2 LEE Chong Wei MAS
3 BAO Chunlai CHN
4 CHEN Jin CHN
5 JONASSEN Kenneth DEN
6 HIDAYAT Taufik INA
7 DWI KUNCORO Sony INA
8 GADE Peter Hoeg DEN
9 LEE Hyun Il KOR
10 PARK Sung Hwan KOR
11 PONSANA Boonsak THA
12 WACHA Przemyslaw POL
13 WONG Choong Hann MAS
14 SUSILO Ronald SIN
15 SATO Shoji JPN
16 CHAN Yan Kit HKG
17 NG Wei HKG
18 LEE Yen Hui Kendrick SIN
19 SRIDHAR Anup IND
20 SASAKI Sho JPN
21 ZWIEBLER Marc GER
22 NGUYEN Tien Minh VIE
23 DABEKA Andrew CAN
24 SMITH Andrew ENG
25 PALYAMA Dicky NED
26 PANG Eric NED
27 KOUKAL Petr CZE
28 MOODY John NZL
29 VAUGHAN Richard WAL
30 MILROY Bobby CAN
31 JOPPIEN Bjoern GER
32 BHAT Arvind IND
33 SAPKULCHANANART Poompat THA
34 EVANS Scott IRL
35 ABIAN Pablo ESP
36 FROHLICH Jan CZE
37 HSIEH Yu Hsin TPE
38 OUSEPH Rajiv ENG

Europe and Asia are well represented.
America is represented by two canucks :D.
Oceania by a New Zealander.
And Africa by ... number 73 algerian.

So that means if you want to get qualified for the OG, play for a country in Africa. You'll get an instant ticket. Cheng Hong could have a chance if he moved there :p

..just want to share this tidbit of info along with you guys, in case any of you are planning to go and watch the events.

http://en.beijing2008.cn/spectators/n214263111.shtml
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House Rules

Please read the following rules and regulations in order to ensure a safe, pleasant and orderly attendance at Olympic events.

1. All sites and venues will open two hours prior to the start of competition. Everyone has to go through security checks. Please allow enough time for travel to the venue and for queuing to pass security.

2. To avoid delays at security and to maintain an orderly flow, please DO NOT bring the following articles to any venue:

 -- food and beverages in either hard or soft containers

 -- breakable objects and containers; drums, horns and whistles

 -- bulky, large bags or cases which will not fit in the seating areas

 -- flags of non-members of the Olympics or Paralympics; flags or banners larger than 2 m x 1 m; flagpoles; any banners, slogans, fliers, brochures or samples

 -- unauthorized professional photographic equipment

 -- knives, bats, long-handled umbrellas, sticks, camera tripods, or sharp, pointed articles that could injure others

 -- animals (lead dogs for the blind excepted)

 -- any wheeled equipment other than strollers or wheelchairs

 -- any electronic equipment that could interfere with the electronic signals of the Olympics, such as unauthorized walkie-talkies, megaphones, radios, laser gadgets or wireless equipment, etc.

 -- firearms, ammunition, crossbows, daggers and other controlled weapons; explosives such as fireworks and firecrackers; corrosive and radioactive materials expressly prohibited by Chinese law

3. All spectators have to sit in their numbered seat. Read the seating instructions on your ticket and go to the corresponding location. For assistance, ask nearby staff.

4. To ensure an enjoyable experience for everyone, the following behavior in any venue is considered inappropriate and will be stopped:

 -- smoking in non-smoking areas

 -- climbing over barriers, walking on seats, throwing objects into the stands or field of competition

 -- entering non-disabled seat areas with baby carriages or wheelchairs

 -- entering restricted areas, such as VIP sections, those reserved for staff, and the field of competition

 -- opening umbrellas or parasols in the seating areas, standing for long periods and blocking the view, or any other behavior that affects the enjoyment of other spectators

 -- deliberately displaying signage on clothing or other items; group displays of identical or similar patterns, color combinations or commercial logos on clothing

 -- any behavior that disrupts the athletes, games officials, and coaches, that interferes with the smooth running of the event, or impedes other spectators from watching, including but not limited to, using a flash to take pictures, being in a drunken state, and disobeying instructions from the staff

5. Without prior official permission, the following activities are prohibited: any kind of publicity, advertising, displays or collection of money; distributing sales promotion samples or merchandise with commercial logos; TV reporting or using professional recording equipment.

6. It is strictly forbidden to harass referees, athletes or other personnel; no gambling of any kind will be tolerated; rallies, sit-ins, demonstrations, drunken behavior, streaking and any other activities that disrupt the Games, or are illegal under Chinese law, are strictly prohibited.

The provisions in this Official Spectator Guide may be interpreted slightly differently at individual venues. This discretionary power resides with the Beijing Organizing Committee of the 2008 Olympic Games (BOCOG). For more information on venue opening times and regulations please call (+86 10) 12308. BOCOG provides services in 14 languages and dialects in all, including Mandarin Chinese, English, French, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Spanish, German, Italian, Portuguese, Mongolian, Arabic, Cantonese, Southern Fujian Chinese dialect and others.