1.

Conditions for admission to Membership

1.1

All applicants for membership shall be required to complete the application form for membership provided by the Board in such form as the Board shall from time to time determine.  In signing the application form whether for a new application or a renewal, the official of the Club so signing agrees that all members, coaches and officials shall be deemed to be and be in fact bound by the Memorandum and Articles of the Union as well as these Rules and in particular the Disciplinary Rules contained in Article 17 of the Articles of Association, Codes of Conduct or Ethics, Doping Control Programmes and the other disciplinary rules hereinafter set out.  It shall be open to the Board in relation to any new application for membership to obtain any relevant information in support of such an application as they may deem necessary before admitting the applicant to membership.

1.2

In all cases the decision of the Board on applications for membership, renewal of membership and decisions on whether or not applications should be accepted is the sole responsibility of the Board and in the event that any application is refused the Board shall not be under obligation to assign any reason for such refusal.

2.

Constitution of Committees and Sub Committees of the Board and Conflicts of Interest

2.1

It shall be open to the Board of Directors of the Union to constitute committees or sub committees and to appoint to these committees or sub committees not only Directors but persons who are not Directors.  The Board shall also have the power to determine not only their constitution but the remit and the manner in which the committees may regulate their meetings as also provide specific duties to be implemented by each such committee or sub committee.  Minutes and reports of each committee or sub committee matters should be circulated to the members of the committee or sub committee and also to the Secretary for the Board of Directors as soon as practicable.

2.2

The Chief Executive shall have the right to attend any committee where this attendance is not already specified but will not have voting rights.

2.3

The chair of a committee shall be appointed by the Board and shall automatically have a right to attend the Board if not already a member in their own right but if not already a member in their own right shall have no voting rights at Board meetings.  The provisions in the previous sentence do not apply to the Selection, Investigation or Appeals Committees or the Disciplinary Panel.  Members of each of these Committees and the Panel shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting of the Union and the composition of each Committee shall be as determined by that Committee’s Terms of Reference.

2.4

If needs should arise the Management Committee or the Chief Executive shall have absolute discretion to call a meeting of any committee or sub committee.  Co-option to any committee will not be allowed.  Membership of any committee is a matter entirely for the Board of Directors. 

2.5

The agenda for every meeting shall be circulated to each member at least seven days before the date of the committee meeting.  Any member of a committee wishing to raise any matter at a forthcoming meeting shall give notice of the proposal where practical to the chair or the Chief Executive not later than two weeks prior to the meeting.  The chair will be responsible for appointing a Minute secretary from within the committee.  In the case of the Management Committee, the Minute secretary will be provided by the SBU office.

2.6

Committees may appoint sub committees as they deem desirable and while the chair of such a sub committee must be a member of the appropriate committee, the composition of that sub committee will be entirely at the discretion of the committee.

2.7 

All members of all committees and sub-committees appointed by the Board (whether or not directors of the Company) shall comply with the provisions of this Clause 2 relating to conflicts of interest and have an obligation to declare any interest which might arise in respect of dealings with the Company by themselves and/or by parties with whom they are connected or associated and where such arise to avoid conflicts of interest.

2.8 

If a proposed decision of a committee or sub-committee is concerned with an actual or proposed transaction or arrangement with the Company in which a member of the committee is interested or a matter where a member of the committee has a conflict of interest, that member is not to be counted as participating in the decision-making process for quorum or voting purposes and shall absent themselves from the meeting whilst the matter is discussed.

2.9 

All directors shall also comply with the provisions of the Articles of Association relating to conflicts of interest from to time and the provisions of the Companies Act 2006.

2.10 

 Subject to Clause 2.11, if a question arises at a meeting of a committee as to the right of a committee member to participate in the meeting (or part of the meeting) for voting or quorum purposes, the question may, before the conclusion of the meeting, be referred to the chairman of that committee whose ruling in relation to any committee member (other than the chairman) is to be final and conclusive.      

2.11 

 If any question as to the right to participate in the meeting (or part of the meeting) should arise in respect of the chairman of a committee, the question is to be decided by a decision of the committee members at that meeting, for which purpose the chairman is not to be counted as participating in the meeting (or that part of the meeting) for voting or quorum purposes.

2.12 

 In the event of any conflict between the provisions of these Bye-laws and the Articles of Association of the Company, the provisions of the Articles of Association of the Company shall prevail.

2.13 

 All provisions of these Bye-laws shall be read subject to the provisions of this Clause 2 relating to conflicts of interest.

3.

Committee Remits

3.1

The Management Committee

Composition

The Management Committee shall consist of the President, Vice Presidents, immediate past President, Finance Director, Company Secretary, Chief Executive and the chairs of Finance, Coaching & Development, Performance, Events, and Halls Committees.  The Management Committee may regulate their meetings as they see fit provided at least three meetings shall be held in each year.  Each member at a meeting shall have one vote on any resolution or amendment before the meeting and voting shall be by a show of hands except that a ballot may be held if requested.  The chair shall have a casting as well as a deliberative vote.  A copy of the Minutes of every Management Meeting shall be circulated to each Board and Management Committee member as soon as practicable.  The proceedings of the Management Committee shall be private and confidential except that decisions and minutes will be promulgated.  The President shall act as chair or in his/her absence one of the vice Presidents in order of seniority.  If none of these officers are present at the time that the meeting convenes, the meeting shall appoint its own chair.  The quorum for the Management Committee shall be seven.

Duties

The business of the Union shall be managed on a day to day basis by the Management Committee on behalf of the Board of Directors.  The Management Committee shall be presented with the Minutes of the Emergency, Finance, Coaching & Development, Events and Halls Committees and can approve, amend, defer, reject or refer back for further consideration any recommendation contained in them.  Where no meetings of the Committee have been held the Management Committee shall be presented with a written report, produced by the staff member and signed by the Chairperson.  It shall also receive reports from the Chief Executive.  The Management Committee shall be responsible for and shall have the power to deal with:-

(a) all matters of staff engagement, terms and conditions of employment;

(b) all matters relating to the Badminton World Federation, Badminton Europe, GB Badminton Ltd.

(c) the reference of matters to the Investigation Committee.

The Management Committee shall be required to approve all budgets submitted by the Finance Committee before expenditure is incurred.  The Management Committee may appoint sub committees comprising such members as it may determine from time to time and give the sub committee specific functions not covered by other committees.   It shall also have the power to deal with any other matters outside the scope of the other appointed committees.

3.2

The Emergency Committee

Composition

The Emergency Committee shall consist of the President, Company Secretary, Finance Director, Chief Executive and Chairperson of any Committee as appropriate to the particular business of the meeting.  The Company Secretary shall act as chair.  The quorum shall be three.

Duties

The Emergency Committee shall have power to deal with all matters of an urgent nature which may arise between meetings of the Management Committee or Board.

3.3

The Finance Committee

Composition

The Finance Committee shall consist of a Chairperson, the Finance Director and one appointed Member.

Duties

The Finance Committee shall deal with the financial administration of the Union and all financial planning.  It shall oversee the preparation of the annual accounts and budgets and recommend their approval by the Management Committee before any expenditure is incurred.  It shall monitor such budgets thereafter. 

3.4

The Events Committee

Composition

The Events Committee shall consist of a Chairperson, the Executive Administrator of BADMINTONscotland and one appointed Member. 

Duties

The Events Committee shall be responsible for the promotion and organisation of international fixtures and for teams invited to Scotland.  It shall also be responsible for:-

1. determining all the arrangements and regulations relating to the Scottish National Championships, Scottish Masters Championships and for all other events delegated to its management;

2. the management of the inter-group competition;    and

3. the appointment tournament directors and referees.

4. Provision of Competition Pathway in conjunction with the Coaching & Development Committee and Scottish Schools Group :

          4.1     Tournaments to support all participation levels
          4.2     International competition where appropriate

5. Liaising with the BADMINTONscotland Court Officials.

It shall be empowered:
          (a) to sanction or withhold sanction of any Scottish tournament or event to be held in Scotland;  and
          (b) to determine each season all ranking tournaments. 

3.5

The Coaching & Development Committee

Composition

The Coaching and Development Committee shall consist of a Chairperson, the Coaching and Development Manager of BADMINTONscotland and one appointed member.

Duties

1.         The Coaching and Development Committee shall be responsible for:

               1.1          School Badminton Development

               1.2          Club and Community Development

               1.3          Coach and Volunteer Education and Development

               1.4          Pathways

2.            Development of programmes and pathways to support the above.

3.            Continuous development/training of personnel to support above.

4.            Increase affiliation :

               4.1          Schools

               4.2          Junior and Senior Clubs

               4.3          Colleges and Universities

               4.4          Commerical Centres

5.            Provision of appropriate competition structures and pathway in conjunction with the Events Committee and Scottish Schools Badminton Union.

6.            Relevant Child Protection procedures

7.            Provision of Coaching Services:

               7.1          Coach education and development

               7.2          Coach register

               7.3          Coach insurance

               7.4          Disability Sport

8.         Liaising with appropriate partners.

3.6

The Performance Committee

Composition

The Performance Committee shall consist of a Chairperson (being the GB Board representative as elected at AGM), the Performance Manager and full-time National coaches.  The Committee may invited appropriate personnel from time to time.

Duties

The Performance Committee shall be responsible for discussing and endorsing the work of the Performance Department; play a key role in developing strategy for Performance Badminton in Scotland; be a key forum for discussion/agreement of developments/issues/decisions within Performance Badminton.  The Chair and/or Performance Manager shall report regularly to the Management Committee / AGM.

Meetings

The Performance Group will formally meet on a quarterly basis; when required, extra meetings will be convened.

3.7

The Halls Committee

Composition

The Halls Committee shall consist of a Chairperson, the Manager of the Cockburn Centre, whom failing an employee of BADMINTONscotland (to be nominated by the Chief Executive) and one appointed member.

Duties

The Halls Committee shall be responsible for the finances and operation of the Cockburn Centre and any other hall administered by the Union and they may make regulations in all matters concerning the management of the Centre subject only to amendment or rejection by the Board or Management Committee. 

3.8

Selection Committees

3.8.1

The Senior Selection Committee shall consist of three persons, one of whom shall be the Head Coach one of whom shall be the Performance Coach and the other elected at the Annual General Meeting of the Union.  The quorum shall be two.  The Senior Selection Committee shall be responsible for the selection of senior teams to represent Scotland in internationals and/or friendly matches.  They shall similarly be responsible for the selection of teams to represent Scotland in International and Cup events as well as players for the European Senior Championships, World Championships and Commonwealth Games. 

3.8.2

The Junior Selection Committee shall consist of three persons, one of whom shall be the Head Coach, one of whom shall be the Performance Coach and the other (who do not have a conflict of interest with any age group) elected at the Annual General Meeting of the Union.  The quorum shall be two.  The Junior Selection Committee shall be responsible for the selection of junior teams to represent Scotland in internationals and/or friendly matches.

3.8.3

Both Selection Committees in discharging their duties shall have regard to the following matters:-

3.8.3.1

Only players eligible to represent Scotland under the rules of the competition or event in which Scotland is competing will be eligible for selection.  In discharging their duties of selection, both Committees shall have regard to suitability to represent Scotland as well as to playing standard.  Both Committees shall advise the International Match and Tournament Committee and all competitors through the Chief Executive of the tournaments suggested as ranking tournaments for the ensuing season and will be entitled to take into account performances in current and previous seasons in their selection process.

3.8.3.2

All squad players will be expected to be party to a written agreement between Badminton Scotland and themselves outlining their respective roles and responsibilities and the level of commitment required.   Players will require to know of their obligations in relation to membership, suitability, doping control, code of conduct, obligations to sponsors and performance requirements and will be made aware in that agreement of the consequence of failing to meet their obligations.  The agreement will also set out the code of conduct and media obligations expected to be observed by the squad players and provide details of their right of appeal.

3.8.3.3

It is recognised that the Selection Committees will require to make arrangements to ensure freedom from unreasonable bias or conflict of interest in selection process and they will keep notes of their decisions for the Chief Executive.

3.8.3.4

The Chief Executive will promptly communicate selection decisions in accordance with the guidance of the appropriate selection committee.

3.8.3.5

3.8.3.4  There will only be two grounds for appeal:

(a)      that the selection was not made according to due process or in accordance with the agreed criteria;

(b)      that there was unreasonable bias or conflict of interest in one or more of the selectors. 

Any such appeal must be lodged within seven days from the date notification is received by the appellant.  The appellant will require to lodge a deposit of £25 with any such appeal.  If the appeal is successful, the deposit will be refunded.  Otherwise, the deposit will be fortfeit.  All appeals under this paragraph will be submitted direct to the Appeals Panel in terms of clause 3.12.

3.9  

The Investigation Panel

Composition

The Convener of the Investigation Panel shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting of the Union with power to co-opt whomsoever is required for a particular issue excluding members of the Disciplinary and Appeals Panels to investigate the subject matter of a complaint being made to the Board or the Management Committee about the conduct of any member, person or organisation who is subject to the Articles of Association and these Rules and Codes of Conduct or Ethics of the Union.  There shall be a minimum of three members of the Investigation Panel.

Duties

The Investigation Panel will investigate the subject matter referred to them by the President, either of the Vice Presidents, the Board, or the Management Committee or otherwise and shall be responsible for determining whether there is a case to be investigated or answered and on reaching that view shall so report to the Chief Executive.

The Chief Executive shall thereafter be responsible for referring the matter to the Disciplinary Panel of the Union appointed at the Annual General Meeting and they will instruct the appropriate arrangements for a hearing in terms of Article 17 of the Articles of Association.  The Disciplinary Panel will then arrange for the conduct of the hearing in accordance with Article 17 of the Articles of Association.

3.10

The Disciplinary Panel

Composition

The Disciplinary Panel shall consist of a Chairperson, the President, Company Secretary and three other Members elected at the Annual General Meeting of the Union with the Honorary Legal Adviser in attendance.  The quorum shall be three.

Duties

Where the Investigation Panel has reported that there is a case to be investigated or answered the Chief Executive shall be responsible for referring the matter to the Disciplinary Panel and they will instruct the appropriate arrangements for a hearing in terms of Article 17 of the Articles of Association and arrange for the conduct of the hearing in accordance with the said Article.

3.11

The Appeals Panel

Composition

The Appeals Panel shall consist of three persons -  an independent chair person appointed by the Financial and Legal Advisory Panel of the Scottish Sports Association and the sportscotland plus two members from those elected at the Annual General Meeting.  In the event of either of elected members not being available then the reserved elected member will be asked to attend by the Company Secretary who will service the Appeals Panel.

Duties

The Appeals Panel shall meet if an appeal has been lodged in terms of Article 17.7 against a decision or ruling of the Disciplinary Panel and the Company Secretary shall be responsible for dealing with the arrangements for the Appeals Panel in terms of Article 17.7 or 17.8 of the Articles of Association as the case may be.  Appeals against the Disciplinary Panel's decision shall be made within fourteen days in writing to the Company Secretary and shall be accompanied by a deposit of £25 which shall be returnable if the appeal is successful.

The Appeals Panel shall also meet in the event of any appeal under paragraph 3.9.3.5 of these Bye-Laws.  The Appeals Panel shall have a duty to hear such appeals within seven days of receipt of any such appeal.

4.

Rules for the Conduct of Hearings of the Disciplinary or Appeals Panel

4.1

The principal Rules of the Union as to discipline are contained in Article 17 of the Union's Articles of Association and the documents referred to therein.

4.2

Any allegation or charge made against any member, person or organisation subject to the jurisdiction of the Union shall be made in writing to the Chief Executive of the Union or may be made to any Director in the same way and the Director or the Chief Executive in receipt of the complaint will pass the matter to the President whom failing a Vice President.  The President, whom failing the Vice President, will refer the matter to the Investigation Panel of the Board to investigate the subject matter of the complaint and allegation with a view to determining whether or not there is a case to be answered.

4.3

If that Panel recommend that the matter proceed within fourteen days of such determination by the Investigation Panel the matter will be referred by the Chief Executive to the Disciplinary Panel of the Union containing the members appointed at the Annual General Meeting who will be responsible for making arrangements for the hearing.  Those persons serving on the Investigation Panel of the Union and any person involved in the subject matter of the complaint who is a member of the Board shall automatically be debarred from serving on the Disciplinary Panel or the Appeals Panel.

4.4

The Chairperson of the Disciplinary Panel on behalf of the Disciplinary Panel shall within a further 21 days invite the member, person or secretary of the organisation in question to attend the appropriate hearing by sending a recorded delivery letter to the last known address of the member, person or secretary of the organisation to arrive at least seven clear days prior to the date fixed for the hearing, said recorded delivery letter to detail the date, time and place fixed for the hearing and the names of the members of the Panel before whom the matter will be heard

4.5

The person or organisation against whom it has been resolved to proceed must be given notice of the charge or allegation, be given the right to be assisted at the hearing by someone of their choosing, be given an opportunity to state their case and be granted an equal opportunity to hear and deal with any evidence submitted.  The Panel will be responsible for ensuring that its proceedings comply with the rules of natural justice.

4.6

Within seven days of the hearing the Disciplinary Panel shall notify the member, person or secretary of the organisation in question of its decision in writing.  The Disciplinary Panel may dismiss the complaint, suspend, expel or disqualify the member, person or organisation or impose such other penalty whether financial or otherwise as it considers fit.

4.7

Any member, person or organisation aggrieved by a decision or ruling of the Disciplinary Panel may appeal against the said decision or ruling within fourteen days of its being intimated by writing to the Company Secretary advising of their wish to appeal and the grounds for that appeal, which appeal shall be accompanied by a deposit of £25 which shall be returnable if the appeal is successful.  It shall also be open to the member, person or organisation so aggrieved with the consent of the Board to ask that the appeal be dealt by with the Sports Dispute Resolution Panel Limited, Francis House, Francis Street, London SW1P 1DE to have the appeal determined by an arbitration panel appointed in accordance with the Rules of said Company and in either case the decision of the Appeals Panel or the Sports Dispute Resolution Panel Limited Arbitration Panel shall be final and binding on all concerned.

5.

Misconduct

For the purposes of Article 17 and the Bye-laws and Rules of the Union, the following may amount to misconduct, and may give rise to disciplinary action:-

(a)

a breach of the Rules of the Sport;

(b)

a breach of these Articles or any Rules or Regulations made thereunder;

(c)

the commission of a "doping offence" in terms of Article 17.2 of the Articles of Association of the Union or a contravention of the femininity rules of the International Olympic Committee;

(d)

a breach of any of the regulations governing players, coaches or officials;

(e)

a breach of any code of conduct or code of ethics adopted by the Union and published as such; and

(f)

any conduct, act or omission which in the view of the Board or the appropriate Committee is or was detrimental to the interests of the sport.

6.

Proposals for Alteration

6.1

Alterations to the annual subscription

Subscriptions and the structure thereof for each ensuing year shall be determined by the Board at the Annual General Meeting of the Board held in between 1 May and 15 June of the preceding season.  Any proposal to alter the rate or the method of levying the subscription shall be made in writing to the Company Secretary before 1 March for consideration at the Annual General Meeting of the Board.   The Secretary shall give notice of the proposed alteration to each member of the Board by 15 March.

6.2

Constitutional Alterations

Written notice of any proposed alteration to the Articles of Association shall be given by any member of the Board to the Company Secretary not less than fourteen days prior to the October/November meeting of the Board.  The Company Secretary shall give notice of the proposed alteration to each member of the Board not less than seven days prior to the date of such meeting and the proposal shall be considered at the meeting then held.  If the proposed alteration is supported at the Board Meeting at which it is considered by a majority of the members of the Board the Company Secretary shall submit the same to each group convenor for consideration at an Annual General Meeting of each group or to an Extraordinary General Meeting of a group called to consider the proposed alteration.  The group convenor shall report to the Company Secretary in writing the number of clubs attending and voting for and against the proposed alteration at the Annual General Meeting of the group or Extraordinary General Meeting called as above and if a majority of clubs voting in all groups support the proposal then the matter shall be referred to an Annual General Meeting of the Union or an Extraordinary General Meeting of the Union called inter alia for the purpose of formally approving such alteration by way of Special Resolution under the Companies Act.

7.

Tournaments and Events

Any club, group of clubs or Union member proposing to hold a tournament (as defined in the Tournament Regulations) must obtain the sanction of the Board for the same, which sanction may be given on such terms as the Board determine.  Application for such sanction must be made in writing to the Board not later than 1 April in the preceding season accompanied by such information as to the proposed conditions of the Tournament, the intended dates and the venue of play as are appropriate.  If the Board considers the proposed conditions of a tournament to be undesirable in the interests of the sport, it may withhold sanction.   Sanction may be given on such terms and conditions as the Board may consider advisable.  Any necessary application for the sanction of the Badminton Europe or Badminton World Federation shall be made by the Chief Executive of the Union.

8.

Tournament Regulations

8.1

Definitions

A Tournament is a meeting promoted by a club or other organisation where players shall be eligible to compete on level or handicap terms for prizes.  Any demonstration or exhibition match, public appearance or similar event designed for a spectator audience or for commercial purposes shall be deemed to be a tournament for the purpose of these Regulations.

8.2

Classification

Tournaments shall fall into the following categories:

(a)

Championship Tournaments:
Which shall be open to all players regardless of nationality, subject to Regulation 7.

(b)

Invitation Tournaments:
Which shall be limited to players of any nationality complying with Regulation 7 who may be invited to compete by the promoting organisation.

(c)

Restricted Tournaments:
Which shall be limited to members of clubs within the Group and/or Groups and Association and or Associations promoting the Tournament.

(d)

Senior or Veteran age group events:
It is recommended that these should commence at forty years of age.  Further groups should be considered at five year intervals.  Groups would therefore be forty and over, forty five and over, fifty and over etc.  The appropriate deciding date should be the first schedule day of the event concerned.

(e)

Junior Tournaments:
Which shall be open to all players under a stated age with a maximum of 19 years of age at midnight on the preceding 31 December.

(f)

Club Tournament
Which shall be limited to members of the Club promoting the Tournament.

Provided that the Regulations applicable to each category are complied with, there shall be no objection to two or more categories being held at the same time.

Any tournament may apply under Regulation 3 to be accorded the status of "Ranking Tournament" and if such tournament is so sanctioned it shall be conducted under the regulations for "Ranking Tournaments" contained in Regulation 20.

8.3

Sanction

With the exception of Club Tournaments, all tournaments and their titles, dates and conditions shall require to be sanctioned annually, under the following conditions.

(a)

Groups, Associations, Clubs or other parties proposing to hold any such Tournament shall make formal application each year of the sanction of the Board not later than April 1 in the preceding season.

(b)

Such application shall be accompanied by the proposed conditions of the Tournament, the intended dates and venue of play.

(c)

If the Board considers the proposed conditions of a Tournament to be undesirable in the interests of the game it may withhold sanction.

8.4

Unsanctioned Tournaments

No member of an affiliated club nor an individual member shall knowingly compete in any unsanctioned tournament without the consent of the Board, under penalty of suspension from participation in sanctioned tournaments.

8.5

Entries And Entry Fees

(a)

All entries for Championship Tournaments must close at least fourteen days before the first day of play in the tournament, and in the case of all other tournaments, except Club Tournaments, at least seven days beforehand.

(b)

No entries from competitors shall be accepted for any tournament unless they are made on the official entry form, which shall include the intended type and make of shuttle to be used.

(c)

No entry shall be included in the draw for a doubles event unless entry forms have been received from both members of a pair.

(d)

All entries must be accompanied by the appropriate entry fees, failing which they shall be automatically rejected.

(e)

No entry fees will be refunded in normal circumstances.  Any competitor who has been prevented by illness or injury or other unforeseen cause from playing in any particular tournament and who wishes to apply to have his/her entry fees returned may be required to produce a medical certificate or provide other satisfactory evidence to the Tournament Committee.

(f)

In no case shall any additional entry be accepted for any event at any tournament after the draw has been made.

(g)

A tournament committee shall, at its discretion be permitted to restrict the number of entries in any advertised event, subject to the right so to limit being stipulated on the prospectus.  Such restriction in a Championship Tournament shall only be permitted provided that at least sixteen entries are accepted and that these shall include the holder (or holders) if the latter shall have completed the formalities.

(h)

Qualifying rounds for Championship Tournaments shall be permitted provided that due notice of the intention to institute them shall have been given in the prospectus, and if they are not played off to a conclusion it shall be permissible to make a part refund of entry fee in the case of such competitors who may fail to qualify by virtue of defeat, for the championship proper.  In the event of any qualifying competition being advertised to be played to a conclusion, the event shall also rank, for purpose of prizes, as an entirely separate event.

(i)

In the event of it being established to the satisfaction of the Union Council that any competitor has failed to pay his or her entry fees due to any tournament sanctioned by the Union, such competitor shall be debarred from playing in all tournaments until the Council of the union decides otherwise.

8.6

Dates

Play in any tournaments shall not take place on days other than those specifically sanctioned.

8.7

Eligibility Of Players

No player shall be eligible to compete in any sanctioned tournament unless he or she is affiliated:

(a)

to The Scottish Badminton Union, or

(b)

to an Association in membership of the Badminton World Federation.  A declaration to this effect shall be signed by every prospective competitor.  To this end the entry form for every tournament shall contain a clause as follows:

"I am a player in good standing with my national association, and am a member of the [       ] Badminton Club, affiliated to the [       ] Badminton Association or Union."  For the purposes of these regulations, membership of a school club affiliated to the Scottish Schools Group shall be sufficient eligibility to compete in sanctioned tournaments

(c)

and is not a member of an unaffiliated club and has not played in an unsanctioned tournament or league.

8.8

Trophies

(a)

Trophies in Championship Tournaments may be held by the winner, or winners in the case of doubles, until again competed for, provided that the responsible tournament committee shall have the right to refuse permission for any trophy to be taken out of Great Britain. Holders of trophies shall be responsible for their care and maintenance, but the organisation promoting the tournament shall be responsible for their insurance.

(b)

All existing and any new Championship Trophies for Tournaments sanctioned by the Union shall be held and competed for under the condition that they cannot be won outright.

8.9

Prizes

Subject to the Regulations of the Badminton World Federation all tournaments may offer prizes of such kind and amount as the organisers may decide. Type and amount of prizes shall be notified to the Union when sanction for the event is granted.

8.10

Levy

Each competitor in each sanctioned event except a Club Tournament, shall pay a levy to The Scottish Badminton Union. Such levy shall be fixed at each Annual General Meeting of the Union.  Every Entry Form for any tournament falling within this Regulation shall provide for the payment of this levy, along with the entry fees for the tournament and the total of the levies so collected shall be remitted by the tournament organisation to the Finance Director of the Union within fourteen days of the last day of the tournament.

8.11

Junior and Age-Limited Tournaments

All entrants in Junior Tournaments and, where requested in Age-Limited Tournaments shall make a declaration of their date of birth.

8.12

Programmes

Wherever possible, one copy of the completed results of each tournament sanctioned by the Union shall be sent to the Chief Executive of the Union along with the levy.

8.13

Times Of Play

No competitor shall be obliged to commence a match before 9.00 am or after 11.00 pm ( 10.00 pm in events for juniors). Should the Tournament Committee find it necessary to arrange matches outside these times, any competitor who is not prepared to play outside the times of play shall be entitled to a refund of his/her entry fee. The period for knocking up before any match shall not exceed three minutes, and play shall commence on the expiry of this time.

8.14

Umpires, Service Judges And Line Judges

Wherever possible, a suitable number of umpires, qualified if possible, shall be available during play in case of need, and the referee only shall have the power to appoint an umpire and/or a service judge and/or line judges for any match. Similarly, any competitor shall be entitled to apply for such official or officials ( should they not already have been appointed) for any match in which he/she may be competing, and such request shall be permissible either before or during such match. Under no circumstances shall any competitor make such appointment or appointments himself/herself or make any stipulation as to the identity of such officials.

8.15

The Draw

The draw for all events at all tournaments conducted on the knock-out system may be made in the manner previously approved by the Union, details of which may be obtained from the Chief Executive of the Union.  No dummy entry in singles or dummy pair in doubles may be included in the draw of any event. There shall be no alteration in the published draw of any event, unless permitted under exceptional circumstances by the tournament committee, and then only in doubles events.

Under no circumstances shall any player be permitted to compete more than once in the same event at any tournament.

In no event shall the draw be arranged, except that seeding shall be permitted.

8.16

Substitution in doubles is permitted to allow a player to have another partner provided:

(i)

The original player is prevented from competing through illness, injury or other unavoidable hindrance;

(ii)

the substitute pair would not have attained a seeded place higher than the original pair;

(iii)

the constitution of no other doubles pair is affected (except if substitutes are permitted in two doubles pairs, the remaining players shall be permitted to partner each other).

In deciding substitute pairs, the wishes of the players concerned shall be given priority.

If remaining players do partner each other, and one of the original pairs has drawn a bye, that place in the draw shall be filled by the new pairing otherwise the place shall be drawn by lot.

8.17

The Tournament Committee may organise the event on the basis of a number of groups to produce qualifiers for the final stage which may be organised as a round robin or in a knock-out format.   Each player shall play all the others in his group, the final order being determined by the number of matches won by each player.  If this results in two or more players being equal in the number of sets won as a percentage of sets played shall be reckoned.   If two or more players are still equal after this calculation then the number of points won as a percentage of points played shall be reckoned.  If this fails to break the tie, then the results of matches between the players involved shall be used to do so if necessary applying the above procedure to those results alone.  Matches completed or started by a player subsequently disqualified from the event shall be declared void for scoring purposes.

8.18

Handicap Events

Where handicap events are to be included in any tournament they shall be played in accordance with the Regulations available from the Chief Executive of the Union.

8.19

Ranking Tournaments

(a)

Grade 1 and Grade 2 Ranking Tournaments will be played on at least two days.

(b)

No competitor will be asked to commence a match before 9.00 am or after 11.00 pm. A programme will be provided for each competitor and will state starting times of all matches up to, and including, quarter‑final ties. The starting times of the Finals and Semi‑Finals will also be publicised.

(c)

The draw will be restricted to a maximum of 32 in any event.  Qualifying rounds may be played if necessary.

(d)

In the event of withdrawal of a player, substitution will be allowed in the main draw of singles, only from players whose entries have been refused or who failed to qualify provided those players have not yet lost a match. If qualifying rounds are played, a list of reserves will be drawn only from those entries.

(e)

On site catering should be available at each tournament venue.

(f)

Nets should conform to the laws of badminton.

(g)

Umpires who shall be provided by the Badminton Umpires Association of Scotland should be used at least for the finals.

(h)

It is mandatory that line-judges and scorers be provided on request during all rounds of Ranking Tournaments.

(i)

These regulations shall be in addition to all other regulations when a tournament is granted sanction as a "Ranking Tournament".

(j)

It is essential that facilities are of as high a standard as is reasonably possible.

8.20

Dress And Advertising Regulations

In all events organised by or sanctioned by The Scottish Badminton Union, players shall comply with the current IBF Regulations relating to dress and advertising.

9.

Inter-County Championship

Any group taking part in the inter-county championship organised by the Badminton Association of England shall do so only after receiving written permission from the Board.

10.

Leagues

10.1

All league constitutions must be submitted for sanction to the Union by 1 October in each session or fourteen days prior to the commencement of play in the league.

10.2

Full lists of entries for the league and the name and address of the league secretary shall be submitted when requesting sanction of the league by the same 1 October deadline or fourteen days prior to commencement of the play whichever is the earlier.

10.3

To receive sanction all clubs taking part in leagues must be members of The Scottish Badminton Union.

10.4

All league matches will be governed by the Rules of Badminton adopted by the Badminton World Federation subject to any local rules necessary for hall construction.

10.5

Players playing in an unsanctioned league competition may be banned from playing in a sanctioned league competition or other event under the aegis of The Scottish Badminton Union for a period of six months during the playing season.

10.6

Sanction will be withdrawn from any league which knowingly permits participation by an ineligible player.

10.7

The Management Committee shall have power to mitigate or waive the penalty provided above when they are satisfied that a breach was inadvertent or that extenuating circumstances apply.

11.

Standing Orders for the Conduct of Meetings of the Board of The Scottish Badminton Union

11.1

In this Rule "Member" means any person present at a meeting who has a right to take part in the proceedings.

11.2

The business of the meeting shall be conducted in accordance with the Articles of Association of The Scottish Badminton Union and these Rules and in cases not provided for the Chair shall decide in accordance with normal Board procedure.

11.3

If a quorum is not present within half an hour of the time fixed for holding a meeting, the chair shall declare the meeting adjourned until further notice.  If after commencement of business a quorum is not present, the chair shall adjourn the meeting.

11.4

These Rules may be altered on motion of which notice has been given as after provided.

11.5

On leave being granted by the meeting, strangers be admitted; but they must withdraw on being requested to do so by the chair.

11.6

At Board Meetings, the President shall be the chair;  in his absence the senior Vice President, whom failing the junior Vice President and if none of these officials are present, the meeting shall elect its own chair.

11.7

No motion bringing on a subject for discussion shall be considered unless notice has been given or leave to move has been granted by a two thirds majority of the meeting.

11.8

A notice of motion shall be in writing and shall be sent to the Company Secretary to reach him before either September 1 or March 1 for consideration at the meeting of the Board of the Union next following.  The Company Secretary shall intimate the motion to the members of the Board at least seven days before the date of the meeting.