Hi, I was wondering what the minimum distance from a court to another court/wall is? I recently played at a gym where the courts were really close to the wall (about one meter (+- 3 feet)), but even worse, there were some kind of hooks attached to the wall (for storing the nets) which made me really afraid to hit the shuttle at the far back of the court. (My opponent, who plays at that gym all the time, knew this and played excessively to that spot on the wall, hence my frustration) I can't find anything in the BWF handbook about this. Thanks!
One of the courts I play at is under 1ft from the wall. 1m is actually a lot of space... I can list at least 3 clubs where there's less than 1m space around the court. Everyone has learned to deal with it, so should you. In fact, use it to your advantage, the wall is a great guide to help judge whether birds are going in or out.
How can you play on a court that's 1 foot from the wall? If it falls on the back line, there is no way to hit it, except maybe a dropshot. But getting behind the shuttle would be impossible in any case ...
the 1ft I was referring to was a side line. I've played on a court that was under 1m from the back wall. Intercept birds before they reach the back line. If they lift REALLY high and make the bird fall vertically on the base line, you'll have ample time to setup and judge your distance anyway. 1m is actually enough space for you to do a full smash from the baseline.
I played a match in a similar hall I had 1.5 foot to the wall, and there was basket ball nets overhanging the court, which we weren't told could be played as lets if it would interfere with our shots in the first game which the opponents kept aiming towards. A good drill to learn how to play in these halls is to stand with your back against a brick wall in your gym, and have a friend hit the shuttle anywhere within reach around you. If you attempt to pull your racquet back you will smack the wall, so you learn to adapt your shots pretty quickly.
Also the regulations don't give any details of the distance from court to wall, but I suppose there will be some unofficial rule for tournament court placement.
I don't think it's in the BWF rules. You might search in your local rules, in France there's "le règlement général des compétitions", in which are the rules the referees are supposed to apply (as opposed the umpire's ones)..
There's nothing in the rules about this. Similarly, the rules do not specify any minimum ceiling height!
This applies to non-BWF tournaments. For all BWF tournaments the minimum height must be 39 feet or 30 feet, the former for major tournaments and the latter fro other BWF tournaments.
It is under BWF Laws of Badminton & Regulations 2010/2011, Hand Book II, Part III, Section 1B, Appendix 2 Specifications for International Standards.
Thank you! I've always thought it a perplexing omission; now I see the rules do specify a ceiling height after all.
That part also specifies the recomended space between courts: But as I see it, its only recommended and only for major events ?
Great Find, I can't believe that they have to put it in an Appendix, it should be pretty standard. Though I suppose in league matches if it costs £10 to rent the hall then a club wouldn't move to a £20 hall just because it didn't fit the official rules
BWF tournaments I guess none of your regular gym or school/community boards could care less about this since they aren't expecting to have a SS, WC/EC/AG or Olympics in their place. They are simply not going to rebuild any facility to comply with BWF rules. Each competition organizer (national, county, club) should state under what condition the event is taking off. BWF have no say at all in this matter if it isn't a BWF sanctioned competition. Actually they could play 100 games to 2 points on a tennis court if they wanted there is no such thing as "official rules" under this circumstances...... In the OPs case I'd make a questionare to the powers that be, organizing the event, if they approve the court and that's it. If it was out of competition, just plying with friends, your only way to deal with it is to go to another place if it bugs you. No "rule" is going to help you. I sometimes play in a school gym with lines for badminton, tennis, basketball, handball, floorstick and volleyball. There are goals for handball at the side courts (short end walls) and baskets (8) hanging along the long walls + two in the ceiling etc etc. When playing leauge matches the teams agree upon rules for lets depending on interference from various items, this place is certainly not following any BWF rules....... /mats
comfortably, side line can be as little as 1 foot from the next court. or 2 feet from the wall. for back wall, it is not uncommon to see 1 meter and that to me is enough.
It can be dangerous if the sideline or back line is close to the wall especially if the wall is either made of brick or concrete. Recently in Hong Kong a tennis player died crashing his head into a concrete side wall in a desperate lunge to retrieve a shot.
I didn't mean 'it should be pretty standard... in all halls' I meant 'pretty standard in the handbook and not place out of the way in an appendix. I even stated that costs of the venue is the most important thing to small clubs and getting used to a small gap between court and wall would be in their intrest to save money. As far as the 100 games to 2 points on a tennis court, I know you were making a drastic point, but National and County tournaments in England need to fit certain rules to be insured and this all falls into the health and safety culture that we seem to be in over here.