Constitution


  1. The Club shall be known as ‘Firefly Badminton Club’.

    2.

  2. The Club website address shall be ‘www.fireflybc.org.uk’.

    3.

  3. We shall aim to be a friendly yet competitive Club catering for most levels & abilities.

    4.

  4. All members shall observe the laws & regulations laid down by the International Badminton Federation *.

    5.

  5. All members shall encourage a friendly atmosphere.

    6.

  6. We shall provide & encourage a social aspect to the Club as well as Badminton.

    7.

  7. Members should wear suitable apparel that conforms’ with the guidelines of the BA of E * and the Venue of 8.

  8. Our Venue shall be the ‘Hurst Leisure Centre’, Baughurst.

    1. Unless unavailable for whatever reason.

    2. The equipment of the said venue shall be used.

    3. Where the Venue &/or equipment are found to be at fault / lacking, these deficiencies should be reported to the staff.

    4. In order to maintain a professional outlook, the club shall provide it’s own nets as is deemed necessary, due to 8.3.

    5. The rules of the venue (refer to 8) should be followed:

    i.e. Non-marking trainers

  9. Club nights shall be Monday’s, 8.30 to 10.30pm, throughout the Year, except Bank holidays and any other dates the venue (refer to section 8) is shut/unavailable.

    1. The order of play shall be decided by the spinning of the racket (rough or smooth), tossing of shuttle, etc…, between those sitting out.

  10. Both Club & Match nights shall be played with corked based, plastic shuttles, conforming with any League rulings *.

    1. Sufficient shuttles shall be provided, throughout the Clubs season (refer to section 9), to provide new shuttles for all matches & a good quality used shuttle for club nights.

    2. Feather shuttles can be used from time to time, as required for match practice or for shuttle change testing.

  11. The match season stipulated by the League/s generally runs from mid-September to the end of April / first week of May. So close season is May to September.

    12.

  12. AGM:

    1. An AGM shall be held once a year, during the close season (refer to section 11). The date should preferably be closer to the end of the match season:

      1. But not before any League AGM/s, so that any relevant points raised can be discussed.

      2. So it is prior to the League/s requiring team registrations.

    2. At least two weeks prior to the AGM, all members shall be informed of the date, time, venue & agenda.

    3. The Clubs finance situation shall be disclosed at the AGM.

    4. As required any fees (Sub’s, Match & Visitor’s) shall be amended & agreed by attending members.

    5. Members of the committee shall either be elected or volunteers.

      6. i.e. Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer, Match Secretary/s & Social Secretary/s

    6. This Constitution can only be amended at the AGM & on the agreement of the members.

    7. Any change of shuttles shall also be discussed & agreed.

  13. Membership:

    1. Full members or Visitors.

      1. A list of all visitors shall be kept for insurance purposes *.

    2. All fees shall be decided at the AGM (refer to 12.4).

    3. Full membership fees are payable quarterly, starting in September. The September fee is higher than the others in order to cover BA of E registration.

    4. Payment method of Full members is at the discretion of the Treasurer.

      5. i.e. Total year, Total Quarterly, etc…

    5. Refunds of any fees shall be at the discretion of the Treasurer.

    6. All members willing to play matches shall be affiliated via the County Association to the BA of E (includes insurance), unless done so via another club prior to the start of the season *.

    7. All members willing (actual team players & reserves) to play matches shall be registered with the respective Leagues prior to the start of the season. This list should be kept up to date throughout the season (refer to 17.5).

    8. New members (refer to section 14).

    9. All Team players must be Full members *.

  14. Prospective New Members:

    1. Shall be given a Trial period of 6 weeks to assess the Club.

    2. During the period specified in 14.1, the Club members shall also assess the ability and/or potential ability of the new member. A reasonable standard of play must be maintained to ensure continued enjoyment of existing members and indeed the future success of the Club.

      3. This is the fairest and most impartial way of assessing any new players and hope it is understoodd the reasoning behind it.

    3. At the end of the Trial period, or before you will be notified of the Clubs decision.

    4. During the Trial period, visitor’s fees shall be paid to the Treasurer, although the first week is free.

    5. If you are then eligible to join & still wish too, all visitors fee’s paid, falling in the current quarter will be deducted from the usual quarterly fee. This shall be paid to the Treasurer.

  15. Teams (refer to section 11):

    1. Enough teams shall be made available to allow all members:

      1. Who wish to play,

      2. To at least have the opportunity,

      to play matches.

    2. The main focus of the Club shall be the Basingstoke League & shall contain the First teams in each section.

    3. Whether there are enough members or not to run a second team in the League of the Clubs main focus (refer to 15.2), the second team shall be entered into a neighbouring area’s (i.e. Newbury) League.

      1. Where there are insufficient other members, a team should only be entered providing there are sufficient First team players who are willing to make up the numbers.

    4. The goal of the First teams (refer to 15.2), shall be to maintain the highest position possible, within the rules of competition & player eligibility (refer to 17.5).

    5. The goal of any non-First team/s (refer to 15.3) in any given section shall just be to provide match play, for players not of the First team/s (refer to 15.2).

    6. Once any League entries have been confirmed, a handbook or similar will be supplied to the Club, detailing most importantly:

      1. League rules

      2. Division/s & Section/s of entry

      3. Opposition per section/s

      4. Date, Time & Venue of all matches

  16. Team Play (refer to section 11):

    1. Match Secretaries shall be selected as detailed in 12.5.

    2. Match Captains shall be the Match secretary (if playing), else shall be nominated by the Match Secretary, on a game by game basis.

    3. Players should declare themselves willing to play matches, prior to the start of the season.

    4. Players should declare themselves eligible to play matches (refer to 17.5).

    5. Players should state any team preferences they may have.

      6. i.e. Any Men’s, Mixed only, Newbury League only, etc…

    6. Throughout the season Match Secretaries should be kept informed of players availability & eligibility (refer to 17.5).

    7. Players should be aware that reserves shall almost certainly be required for all teams throughout the season.

      1. See player eligibility, section 17.5.1.

      2. Not having any or enough reserves could result in not fielding a complete team of 6 players, resulting in forfeiting games/points *.

      3. Any illegal players fielded should be declared to the opposition prior to the start of any match. Any illegal players not declared could result in League action with possible fines *.

      4. Any games won by illegally fielded players should be forfeited to the opposition *.

    8. Each team shall play all other teams in the same division twice, once at Home (refer to section 18) and once Away (refer to section 19) *.

  17. Team Selection (refer to section 11):

    1. The Match Secretary/s of the respective team/s will pick & arrange players on a match by match basis.

    2. Being a Match Secretary does not automatically give you the right to pick yourself for any team. All other rules should be used to prove eligibility.

    3. First teams entered into the League of the Clubs Main focus (refer to 15.2), shall consist of:

      1. The 6 Best players, by all round ability, per section.

      2. Conforming to the Player eligibility rules (refer to 17.5).

    4. Any non-First teams shall consist of (refer to 15.3):

      1. Any non-First team members.

      2. Conforming to the Player eligibility rules (refer to 17.5).

      3. If there are more than 6 other players, they should be selected by all round ability, per section.

    5. Player eligibility:

      1. Players not playing for another Club in the same section.

        2. i.e. A Player shall not play for more than one Club in any section of a particular League, throughout the whole of a season, except at the discretion of the League *. This also includes changing clubs mid season.

      2. Must be a Full member (refer to 13.9) *.

      3. Members must attend Club Nights at least 2 in every 4 weeks.

        1. Dispensation can be given for illness, injury, work commitments, etc…, providing its not a common occurrence.

        2. However players should respect that other members attending club night more regularly, should be given the opportunity to play, instead.

      4. Players affiliation (refer to 13.6 & 13.7).

      5. Longer serving members should be picked in preference to New er members, unless previously agreed by existing match players in advance.

      6. New members joining during close season (refer to section 11), shall be considered eligible.

      7. New members joining after the season has started (refer to section 11), shall be considered on an individual basis, due to the fact that affiliation shall be required and other members may be available. Also respective League/s should be kept informed, about new players (refer to 13.6 & 13.7).

    6. If there are no other players eligible to play for a particular team then the rules can be overruled, except 17.5.2 & 17.5.4.

    7. Players should recognise any decline in results, standard, ability, etc… and should step aside, where other members are available to play and/or of a higher standard.

  18. Home Matches (refer to section 11):

    1. All matches should be played in a fair, sporting manner and in a respectable, safe & clean (floors, etc…) environment.

    2. The venue shall be as 8, unless unavailable for any reason.

      1. The League/s & opposition for the current season shall be informed of any change of venue or time subsequent to any League registration *.

      2. Matches should only be rearranged within the rules of the League/s *.

    3. Match nights shall be Friday’s from 8pm, onwards.

    4. With 2-3 hours to complete match.

    5. Played on a minimum of 2 courts.

    6. Played with Shuttles as per 10 above.

      1. Warm-up shall be with used shuttles.

      2. The first games of the match will be played with new shuttles and there after shall be changed as is required.

      3. At least 9 new shuttles should be available for each match, such that each rubber (refer to section 21) can be started with a new shuttle, if required.

    7. Each match should consist of a maximum of 6 players, split into 3 pairs. Each pair shall play each of the opposition’s 3 pairs.

      1. The order of play shall be as defined by the League/s and can only be changed on agreement by both teams *.

    8. Each match shall consist of 9 rubbers (refer to section 21), assuming both teams have a full compliment of 6 players.

    9. At the start of each rubber (refer to section 21), a method shall be employed to decide who starts. See methods employed in 9.1.

      1. The winner of each game shall start the next game of the same rubber.

    10. The ceiling shall be declared a Fault, prior to the start of the match *.

    11. Any beams (i.e. Basketball fixings) suspended from the ceiling shall be declared a Let, prior to the start of the match *.

    12. Played within the rules of the BA of E and that of the appropriate League *.

    13. Match fees shall be paid, as agreed at the AGM. Any expenses should be deducted and the remainder passed to the Treasurer, with a breakdown of costs.

    14. Refreshments (drinks & biscuits) shall be provided as part of the match fees.

    15. Match scoring & Results (refer to section 20).

  19. Away Matches (refer to section 11):

    1. Away matches can occur on any evening of the week or in some cases at weekends.

    2. The number of courts available for the match influences the playing time:

      3. i.e. 3 courts approx. 2 hr, 1 court approx. 6hrs

    3. The date, time & venue of which shall be as detailed in 15.6.

  20. Match Scoring (refer to section 11):

    1. All match teams & results shall be recorded in the supplied match book/s.

    2. For Home matches a Match card should also be completed. This should be signed by both Match Captains and be posted A.S.A.P. to the appropriate Leagues Match Secretary *.

      1. Match cards must also be completed for Conceded matches, stating the offender.

      2. Match cards should be completed as detailed by the appropriate League rulings *.

        3. i.e. Full name (Fore & Surname), Team & Division, Results, etc…

      3. Late posting will probably result in no mention in press releases.

    3. For Away matches, the Match captain should sign the opposition’s Match card.

    4. Game Scoring, Conceding Matches, Point scoring, Promotion & Relegation shall be as defined by the respective league.

  21. During matches the term ‘Rubber’ is used to denote the best of 3 games, in our case. In the Newbury League this is often just the best of 2 games.

    22.

  22. Any items marked with an asterix (*) are extracts from the Leagues own constitutions or general comments made.



Created for and on behalf of ‘Firefly Badminton Club’ by Steve Webb

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