What happens if the shuttle hits the ceiling?

Discussion in 'Rules / Tournament Regulation / Officiating' started by techno79, Jul 22, 2012.

  1. techno79

    techno79 Regular Member

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    What happens if:
    1. The shuttle hits the ceiling? Or
    2. Hits a fixture that hangs from the ceiling?
    I know the rules probably won't cover this but I'll ask anyway, if you are playing badminton in a hall with a lower ceiling that regulation standard, would the above answers change?

    I was recently playing badminton in a sports hall that had a lower ceiling than what appeared to be regulation height but it also had a number of fixtures that were much lower than the ceiling such as the lighting and a stowed away basketball backboard.

    I always thought that a let is played under all situations but I was told by another player that it was actually a fault.

    What's the official answer for regulation standard courts and what's people's opinion on what the rule should be when playing with ceiling/fixtures lower than regulation height?

    TIA
     
  2. CantSmashThis

    CantSmashThis Regular Member

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    In a tournament, the rules depends on the referees. Each referee will have different opinions on it.

    In a case of just playing for fun, then you and your opponents decide. Or maybe the gym has house rules on the ceiling already.
     
  3. kwun

    kwun Administrator

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    technically, it is a fault to hit the ceiling, or any permanent structure attached to it.

    but for recreational purposes, it may go by the house rule, but with lack of such agreements, it is default to be a fault.
     
  4. Alapongtai

    Alapongtai Regular Member

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    the places ive been to usually call it a fault
     
  5. pcll99

    pcll99 Regular Member

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    let's have a poll on this!!

    (A) Fault
    (B) Let
    (C) Play as usual and shall continue
     
  6. Alapongtai

    Alapongtai Regular Member

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    i personally think the 1st one should be a let and the ones after a fault
     
  7. CantSmashThis

    CantSmashThis Regular Member

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    Of course it all depends how low the ceiling is.

    At Bay Badminton Club Burlingame (in Northern California), at Junior Nationals 2 years ago, we had Charlotte Ackerman (one of the top BWF Referees) decide a pipe as 1 let on a serve each, and everything other time is a fault. And at another recent junior tournament, our local referee played everything as a fault.

    All depends. I've posted in other threads with the same response, I've heard some quite weird responses from referees to them.

    Most lets allowed are for service though.
     
  8. drifit

    drifit newbie

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    how low is that ceiling?
    how easy can we hit that ceiling?
    for leisure, normally is "replay" the point.
    if it is so easy to hit that ceiling, make it as a "fault". i will be hitting the ceiling whenever i cant make a good return. :D
     
  9. Dave1011

    Dave1011 Regular Member

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    For league matches we always tell the opponents that the ceiling is a fault, the beams are a fault if on your side or a let if on the opposite side.
     
  10. craigandy

    craigandy Regular Member

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    It shall be a ‘fault’
    13.3.4 touches the ceiling or side walls;
    13.3.6 touches any other object or person outside the court

    (Where necessary on account of the structure of the building, the local badminton authority
    may, subject to the right of veto of its Member Association, make bye-laws dealing with
    cases in which a shuttle touches an obstruction)
     
  11. LD rules!

    LD rules! Regular Member

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    Where I sometimes play, it's a let if you ht the ceiling (or supporting bars) on service, and during a rally if you hit it it's a fault.
     
  12. chris-ccc

    chris-ccc Regular Member

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    It is a fault !!!

    .
    It doesn't matter how low or high the ceiling is;
    It is a fault whenever the shuttlecock hits the ceiling and/or hitting a fixture that hangs from the ceiling.

    Why? It is to prevent players from claiming a "Let".

    Can you imagine if this rule is not implemented?

    Players will;

    * when trying to recover from their out-of-wind situation, they would purposely hit the ceiling again and again and again (when on Service).

    * when under pressure/disadvantage at a certain moment (during a Rally), they would hit the shuttlecock towards the ceiling and/or a fixture on purpose just to claim a "LET".

    * etc, etc, ......
    .
     
    #12 chris-ccc, Jul 24, 2012
    Last edited: Jul 24, 2012
  13. CantSmashThis

    CantSmashThis Regular Member

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    That's why it's not always a let on service. There's a bunch of different variations I hear from different referees in tournaments I go to.

    It could be 1 let for service throughout the whole match, 1 let per service per side after the shuttle changes sides (So I hit the ceiling, it's a let, I win 3 points in a row, I cannot hit the ceiling and get another let until the opponent wins a point and I get it back)

    and the list can go on depending on the referee. The situation I explained above have all come from Charlotte Ackerman BWF referee, 2008 Olympics Deputy Referee, 2012 All England Referee, and 2012 Olympics Deputy Referee is just a few of the tournaments she's gone to.
     
  14. techno79

    techno79 Regular Member

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    Thank you for everyone's reply. It seems fairly clear that the official rules do not cover the situation 100% and it is down to what the house/competition rules layout.

    It's something I'll make sure I'll ask about from the outset if joining a new club or participating in a competition.
     
  15. pcll99

    pcll99 Regular Member

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    deleted. wrong post
     
  16. StefanDO

    StefanDO Regular Member

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    I guess it depends. There is one situation in which it can really be a problem to call it a fault whenever the shuttle hits the ceiling: It's when you want to return the shuttle high to the backcourt - either by playing a clear or if a lift is the only way you can return a really tight netshot. In the second case, you need to hit it really high to reach the backcourt, otherwise you would give the opponents a perfect opportunity to smash from midcourt area. With respect to clears (in singles): If the ceiling isn't high, you 1) don't get much time to get back to base position if you can't play a high clear, and 2) without a high clear, the opponent can smash even from baseline, because he would hit the cork first (instead of the feathers as in high clears, which would result in a slower return, making it easier to return it). I think on an advanced level, it really has a big influence especially in singles games. I see it at our sportshall which has a rather low ceiling. Singles games on advanced levels usually turn out to be ruled by an attacking style most of the time, because the shuttle can't be cleared to a high level in order to prevent powerful smashes from the baseline. You may say that's okay as long as it's the same circumstances for both players. But it's really annoying if you play in such sportshalls most of the time - you never learn how to play a really good clear.
     
  17. ucantseeme

    ucantseeme Regular Member

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    It depends on the height of the ceiling. Under 9 metre rerun over 9 metre fault. At least it's written in the rules of our association.
     

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