Shuttle speed selection procedure for olympics?

[twobeer]

Watching the games in Tokyo it seems the selected shuttle-speed was rather slow in the first rounds and extremely fast in the quarter-finals..

What procedure are followed each round to select the shuttle speeds of the F90's? Does the teams have any say, approval, veto or is it the organizers sole responsibility to conduct the speed test and select the batch with the correct speed?

 

[lurker]

not so much privy to the whole procedure... but i hv seen prior to tournament proper (for the day)
There are invited/selected players who would hit the shuttle baseline to baseline for that purpose

 

[phihag]

Yup, the ITTO state:

§3.5.4.1 Prior to the start of the first day’s play, the Referee shall oversee the testing of shuttles.
The shuttles should be tested by an active player in the tournament, preferably a male player.

(I have no idea where the sexism is coming from – maybe at lower levels it's more likely that female players come short. At the Olympics, every female athlete will be proficient in shuttle testing.)

There is nothing in the Olympic regulations that would would override this procedure; overriding technical regulations like this would be very unusual for the Olympic regulations of any sport.

Differences in speed can arise by:

1. Different player hitting the shuttle on different days. Referees are humans too, and often select a high-profile player for tests. Also it can just be somebody who happens to be on court when the referees test shuttles.
2. Different referee evaluating the shuttle flight path. The regulations are clear, but some referees may not account for players hitting the shuttle in front of or behind the baseline.
3. Different weather/AC settings between shuttle testing and play. For example, on a particularly cold morning, faster shuttles may be selected.
4. Variations in batches of shuttles.

 

[stradrider]

Watching the games in Tokyo it seems the selected shuttle-speed was rather slow in the first rounds and extremely fast in the quarter-finals..

What procedure are followed each round to select the shuttle speeds of the F90's? Does the teams have any say, approval, veto or is it the organizers sole responsibility to conduct the speed test and select the batch with the correct speed?

Making sure shuttle speed is correct is the sole job of the referee (with the consultation with umpires only, if they noticed any speed problems). Here are some more rules in addition to mentioned by @phihag

Shuttle Testing
3.5.4. Prior to the start of the first day’s play, the Referee shall oversee the testing of shuttles.
3.5.4.2. All available speeds shall be tested from both ends of the court.
3.5.4.5. Communicate the shuttle speed decision to Shuttle Control.
3.5.4.6. Do not communicate the decision regarding the selection of the shuttle speed to be used to the shuttle tester or ask his opinion.
3.5.4.7. Retest the shuttles, if necessary, on a given day if playing conditions change substantially (e.g. temperature and humidity) or it is warranted based on visual observations and/or feedback from Umpires.


3.6.3. Shuttle Speed
The Referee shall at all times, when observing play, consider whether the shuttle speed selected before play started still appears to be correct.

The teams cannot be allowed to interfere in speed selecting process because they might (and will) try to influence the speed that is more favorable to their player/s.