Norwich and District Badminton Association Constitution

1. NAME

The Association shall be called the Norwich and District Badminton Association (hereinafter called the Association)

2. OBJECTS

The objects of the Association shall be the promotion of matches between badminton clubs in the Norwich and District area and to promote club membership.

3. MEMBERSHIP

Membership is open to any club who wishes to play league badminton in the Norwich and District area. Each club who wishes to alter the teams in the league must notify the Secretary by 1st July each year. All new teams joining the league must start at the lowest division.

4. AFFILIATION

The Association shall be affiliated to the Norfolk Badminton Association (and hence to Badminton England) by the 1st September. Each club who is a member of the League must be affiliated to the Norfolk Badminton Association (and hence to the Badminton England.) by the 28th October. Any club failing to do so may incur penalties as decided by the Committee

5. SUBSCRIPTIONS

The annual subscription is payable by all affiliated clubs at an amount per team. The level of subscriptions is decided on at the AGM and must be paid by 1 September following the AGM.

6. MANAGEMENT

The management of the Association shall be vested in a Committee consisting of the following officers:

Chairman
General Secretary and Treasurer
Mixed League Secretary
Ladies League Secretary
Mens League Secretary
NBA Representative And elected representatives of clubs to a maximum number of 10 people.

The Committee shall be elected annually in the manner described below and shall take office from the date of the AGM.

7. ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

Date and Purpose The AGM shall be held for the purpose of
1. Electing the Officers for the ensuing year
2. Receiving the report of the honorary secretary
3. Receiving the Accounts
4. Fixing the membership fee
5. Any other business
Notices Printed or written notices convening the AGM shall be sent to the Secretaries of all affiliated clubs, and the members of the Committee. This notice shall contain particulars of all proposed amendments to the rules and other resolutions for discussion and shall be sent to those entitled to receive it not less than fourteen days before the date of the meeting. Particulars of all matters which affiliated clubs or members of the Committee wish to have included in the agenda shall be sent to the General Secretary of the Association not less than 21 days before the date of the meeting
Chairman The Chairman shall be Chairman if present at the meeting
Voting and Quorum Each affiliated club may appoint one member of the club to vote at the meeting. The Chairman shall have a casting vote in addition to an ordinary vote. Voting shall be by show of hands unless a ballot is provided for by the rules or is (a) directed by the Chairman, or (b) demanded by not less than five members. Nine members may form a quorum.
Carriage of Motions Motions shall be considered carried if a majority of the votes properly cast shall be for the motion.
Election of Officers
1. Nominations of Officers of the Association may be received from affiliated clubs at or before the AGM. With the exception of the Chairman all these nominees must be members of affiliated clubs.
2. Each nomination must be received in writing to the Secretary not less than three weeks before the AGM.
3. If more than one nomination for the positions of General Secretary and Treasurer, NBA Representative, Ladies league Secretary, Mixed League Secretary, Mens League Secretary is received, or if more nominations are received for general committee positions than are allowed according to the constitution, then the contest elections shall be by ballot.
4. If the number of nominations is equal to, or less than the number of vacancies, the nominees shall be elected and any remaining vacancies may be filled by late nominations made by appointed members at the meeting. If the number of late nominations exceed the number of vacancies, election shall be by ballot, and if the number of late nominations is insufficient to fill the vacancies the Committee shall have the power to fill these.

8) EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL MEETING

At the request of the Committee or upon receipt of a request in writing (which shall include the purpose for which the meeting is to be convened) from five affiliated clubs, the General Secretary shall within twenty-eight days convene and Extra-ordinary General Meeting of the Association. The rules governing: Notice, Chairman, Voting and Quorum and Carriage of Motion shall be the same as those for Annual General Meeting. No other business apart from that for which the meeting is called shall be transacted.

9) COMMITTEE

Meetings : Notice and Quorum Any member of the Committee may instruct the General Secretary to arrange a meeting. Written notice of the meeting is not required and the meeting may be arranged at a date to suit all Committee members. Three members shall form a quorum.
Chairman: Voting and carriage of motions Each committee members shall have one vote. A motion shall be carried if a majority of those voting are in favour. The Chairman shall have one vote and in addition shall have a casting vote.
Powers of the Committee The Committee shall have the power to:- - fill any vacancies not filled at the AGM - appoint sub-committees and to delegate tasks thereto

10) ALTERATION TO RULES

No alteration or amendment shall be made in the rules of the Association except at a General Meeting where the proposed alteration or amendments have been fully set out in the notice convening the meeting and where a two-third majority of those present and entitled to vote shall vote for the proposed alterations or amendments.

11) DISCIPLINARY ACTION

Failure to complete all fixtures shall result in a £20.00 fine (see Mixed and Mens/ladies Rules for details)

12 REGISTRATION FORMS

A match played by a club whose registration form has not been received by the General Secretary shall be awarded to the opposition. February 2001.

RULES FOR MIXED LEAGUE COMPETITION

The league to be run in divisions the number of teams competing in each not to exceed seven. A list of all the registered players must be sent to the League Secretary before the first match of the season. If a member joins a club after the beginning of the season he/she must be registered with the mixed league secretary by phone or in writing before playing representative matches for that club.
Teams in each division shall play every other team in that division twice during the season, one match at home and one away.
A match shall consist of five mixed doubles, two ladies doubles and two mens doubles each team to comprise three men and three ladies. The players must be nominated before the commencement of the match but they need not be placed in order of strength. Each event to consist of the best of three rubbers to fwenty one aces with setting.
The team winning the match shall score one point.
Start Times Matches shall commence at the time agreed between the two clubs. Matches on weekdays may not commence before 7.00p.m. without the prior consent of both teams. Any team not ready to commence play within 15 minutes of that time is liable to be scratched, their oponents being awarded the point. This rule will be strictly enforced. In the event of an undecided match the facts should be forwarded to the Mixed League Secretary for the decision of the committee.
The results of the matches together with the names of the players shall be forwarded by the home team to the Mixed League Secretary within 48 hours of the conclusion of the match. The result shall show the exact score obtained by each team i.e. the number of events, sets and games won and lost. Failure to send in score sheet could result in the away team being awarded the match and a fine to the home team.
Where two or more clubs finish on level points only the matches involving those teams will be considered when deciding which team is placed highest in the league table. This will be decided on the basis of points, followed by games aggregate, then rubbers aggregate (mixed only), followed by points aggregate, in the in the matches involving those teams a gainst each other only.
Promotion and relegation will be as follows:
1. Division 1
  - 1 down
2. Division 2
  - 1 up
  - 2 down
3. Division 3
  - 1 up
  - 1 down
4. Division 4
  - 1 up
No player shall play for more than one club (in the Mixed League) of which he or she must be a registered player. Applications for transfer from one club to another during the season must be submitted to the Committee via the League Secretary for approval.
In the case of Clubs entering more than one team, no player having played for any senior team on more than two occasions in total shall be eligible to play for a junior team during that season. (Note. the above rule means that i/a third team player plays 2 matches/or the second team and one for the first team they can not return to the third team but may continue to play/or the second team until such time as they play a third game/or the first team)
Where a club has 2 or more teams in the League, then it must nominate to the League Secretary, before the first match of any team, those players who will comprise the first team. Having been so nominated these players shall not be eligible to represent any lower team. Failure for any such nominated player to play in 6 or more of the first team matches, (or six tenths of the total games, rounded down, where there are less than 6 teams in the division), may incur a penalty of the deduction of one point. The discretion of the committee is allowed in cases where nominated players are injured or leave the club during the season. Where this occurs the club must inform the Mixed league Secretary of the problems in writing before being asked to explain the situation by the committee.
Unless mutually agreed by the two teams concerned matches may not be postponed, except for unavoidable reasons i.e. loss of hall, bad weather conditions. Matches must be played 10th April unless agreed by mutual consent and consent of the committee is obtained.
Where a match is cancelled with less than 24 hours notice, costs to a maximum of £20 may be claimed by the opposition team, where they have experienced a financial loss as a result. Any fine imposed by the league will be reduced by the amount claimed
Where a match is cancelled and not played on the date specified at the start of the season the defaulting club shall be deducted 0.5 points. For the purposes of this rule the start of the season shall be set as 01/10 and any match dates changed before this date but after the AGM will not result in the deduction of points provided the Mixed League Secretary is informed by 01/10. ( Where matches are cancelled due to loss of hall or weather this penalty shall not apply). All clubs will have the right to appeal to the committee in writing against the deduction of points. Any appeal must be lodged with the league secretary within 14 days of the date the match was due to be played. Where the match has been cancelled by mutual agreement the committee will waive the deduction of points penalty provided that a revised match date is provided to the Mixed League Secretary within 14 days of the date on which the match was scheduled to be played. If no revised date is provided then the club requesting the cancellation shall be deducted 0.5 points.
To complete a fixture a club must field a team which contains at least 4 people registered for that club. Guest players are allowed but their points will not count in the final match score.
Failure of a club to complete its fixtures without the consent of the committee will result in a £20.00 fine and relegation of that team to a lower division. If a team is already in the lowest division it will be expelled from the League and the Clubs playing record will be deleted. All fines to be paid before 1St June.
Where a team submits a match sheet which has not been completed correctly they shall be deemed to have committed one fault. On occasion of a second fault being incurred by a team in that season they shall receive a written warning. If a third fault occurs then the team shall be deducted 0.5 points. The following errors will be deemed as a fault:
1. Failure to correctly provide team names including which team i.e Wanderers II
2. Failure to specify the date of the match and the original date where different
3. Failure to specify the section and division
4. Failure to provide first and surnames of all players.
5. Failure to provide scores for all games
6. Failure to provide total rubbers won by each team
7. Failure to send sheet to Mixed League Secretary within 7 days of the match.
The Committee shall have the final decision in any case of dispute. Causes of dispute between clubs shall be forwarded to the Mixed League Secretary without delay.
If a club withdraws after the deadline of 10th July, then it may incur penalties as decided by the Committee February 2001. The following mens and ladies rules are abridged - a complete set of rules may be obtained from the League Secretary.

RULES FOR MENS LEAGUE COMPETITION

The rules for the mens league are as per those for the mixed league with the exception of the following.

A match shall consist of nine Mens doubles, each team to comprise three pairs to play best of three rubbers of twenty one aces (with setting) against each opposing pair. The players must be nominated before the commencement of the match but they need not be placed in order of strength.
The team winning the match shall score two points. In the event of a draw, one point will be awarded to each team.
Promotion and relegation will be as follows:
1. Division 1
  - 1 down
2. Division 2
  - 1 up
  - 2 down
3. Division 3/4
  - 1 up
No player shall play for more than one club (in the Mens League) of which he or she must be a registered player. Applications for transfer from one club to another during the season must be submitted to the Committee via the League Secretary for approval. 24. No ladies are allowed to play in Mens matches except as guest players for which points gained will not count in the final match score. February 2001.

RULES FOR LADIES LEAGUE COMPETITION

A match shall consist of eight Ladies doubles, each team to comprise four ladies playing a total of 8 rubbers each, in pairs as specified in accordance with the match sheet. Each rubber shall be of twenty one aces (with setting). The players must be nominated before the commencement of the match but they need not be placed in order of strength.
Promotion and relegation will be as follows:
1. Division 1
  - 1 down
2. Division 2
  - 1 up
  - 1 down
3. Division 3
  - 1 up
No player shall play for more than one club (in the Ladies League) of which he or she must be a registered player. Applications for transfer from one club to another during the season must be submitted to the Committee via the League Secretary for approval.
No men are allowed to play in ladies matches except as guest players for which points gained will not count in the final match score.

February 2001.