Announcement

Key Decisions – BWF Council Meeting – Kuala Lumpur

The key decisions of the BWF Council at its meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Friday 11 October 2019:

  1. Events Related Regulations
  2. Amendments to Section 3.1 Judicial Procedures – new clause 2.2
  3. Development & Sport for All – Membership Grants Programme
  4. Gender Equity and Diversity Policy – New policy for the BWF
  5. BWF Strategic Plan 2020 – 2024 – approved plan to be circulated in December 2019
  6. Council Proposals – BWF AGM 2020 – approved some proposals for the 2020 AGM
  7. Awards Regulations 2020 onwards – greater engagement of stakeholders
  8. Other

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  1. Events Related Regulations

Please find attachment of documents here:

  1. Summary of Regulation Changes for Members – 16 October 2019
  2. Summary of Regulation Changes – Coaches Clothing – 16 October 2019
  3. Summary of Para badminton Regulation Changes – 16 October 2019

The attachments provide a detailed summary of recent changes to regulations, as approved by BWF Council at its meeting on 11 October 2019.

Please see Chapter 5 – Technical Regulations of the BWF Statutes (linked here) for the full copy of the regulations in force following these decisions of Council.

The key changes are highlighted below.

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Regulations – Immediate Effect

In particular, we would like to highlight the following regulations that take immediate effect:

General Competition Regulations

  • Refugee Participation
    • GCR 5.6.7 – BWF may allow players classified as refugees or stateless persons to participate under a neutral BWF nationality flag.
  • Deregistration / Retirement
    • GCR 5.7 & 5.8 – A player can either “deregister” which allows him/her to compete in non BWF sanctioned events, or a player can “retire” which means he/she no longer competes in any badminton activity. The parameters around returning to competition are also noted.
  • Wildcard Eligibility
    • GCR 7.11 – Mixed nationality pairs are eligible for wildcards by the host Member Association.
  • Notional Ranking after Three Months
    • GCR 11.6.1.1 – Players paired together in BWF sanctioned team tournaments are eligible for a notional ranking after three months.
  • One Advertisement in the Band of Uniform Width
    • GCR 24.2.3 – The band of uniform width can only contain one advertisement.
  • Vaping Related Advertising Prohibited
    • GCR 24.5.5 – Advertising of vaping related companies and products is prohibited.

 

BWF World Tour Regulations

  • No More than Two Title Sponsors
    • Clause 1.2 – No more than two “brands” as title sponsors is allowed (e.g. “DAIHATSU YONEX Japan Open 2019”).
  • Wildcard Eligibility
    • Clause 6.4.2 – Mixed nationality pairs are eligible for wildcards by the host Member Association.

 

Junior Tournament Regulations

  • Substitutions
    • Clause 7.3.4.1 – First priority for substitution goes to the same Member Association.

 

Player Commitment Regulations

  • Mixed Zone is Mandatory
    • Clause 1.4 – Players must go through the mixed zone after each match.
  • Flags on the Podium
    • Clause 1.9 – Flags are only allowed on the podium at Grade 1 Team Tournaments. They are not allowed at Grade 1 Individual Tournaments and not allowed at Grade 2 Tournaments.

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Regulations – Effective January 2020

The following regulation takes effect 1 January 2020. This was originally communicated to Member Associations in November 2018 (see summary attached):

General Competition Regulations

  • Advertising Restrictions for Coach Clothing
    • GCR 24 – The attached regulations will effect coaches, team managers, and/or other participants who sit in or around the coaches’ chair behind the competition court and who enter onto the court in a coaching capacity, for a match.

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Competition Format for the BWF World Junior Team Championships 2020

As part of BWF’s discussion with the host Member Association for the BWF World Junior Championships 2020, BWF Council has decided to postpone implementation of the previously approved Relay Team Format for the team competition.

As a result, the current Sudirman Cup-style competition format will be used for the BWF World Junior Team Championships 2020.

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Para badminton Regulations

  • Names on Player Shirts
    • Para Badminton General Competition Regulation 18.4 – The naming protocol for player shirts matches that of what is used for Badminton: The last name (with the initial(s) of the first name, if applicable) as per the First and Last Name fields of the player database.

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  1. Amendments to Section 3.1 – Judicial Procedures

The Council approved the following amendment to the Judicial Procedures (to insert a new clause 2.2).

Please see the below for the amendments and see Section 3.1 – Judicial Procedures of the BWF Statutes (linked here) for the full text of the Judicial Procedures.

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  1. APPLICABILITY

2.1. These Regulations are applicable to all Covered Persons.

2.2. A person who ceases to be a Covered Person for any reason shall for all purposes under these Procedures and under the Statutes be deemed to be and to remain a Covered Person in respect of any investigation or allegation into conduct while that person was a Covered Person.

2.3. These Regulations are not applicable to doping related cases which are dealt with under the BWF Anti-Doping Regulations.

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  1. Development & Sport for All – Membership Grants Programme

The Council approved a membership grants programme and budget for 2020 linked to the building of the capacity on BWF members. The Development and Sports for All Committee was tasked with exploring possible models of how BWF could directly assist the structural development of BWF Member Associations through a BWF Grants programme.

The details of the programme will be communicated to the membership in late in 2019 or early 2020.

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  1. Gender Equity and Diversity Policy – New policy for the BWF

The Council approved a Gender Equity and Diversity Policy  – Section 1.2.8 of the BWF Statutes (linked here), which is based on the following principles:

  • Equal opportunities
  • Diverse representation
  • Good governance
  • Inclusive leadership and organisational culture.

BWF recognises that the best way to fully reflect the interests and needs of its stakeholders is through fair and representative participation across the organisation. This applies to players, coaches, technical officials, staff, board members and others. Just as we have an even male-female split across our singles and doubles events, we need to find ways to foster gender balance in all our activities. Clearly gender equity and diversity should be an inherent part of everything we do.

The BWF Gender Equity & Diversity Policy describes the aims and principles that guide the organisation in achieving this greater balance, through inclusive leadership and practices, as well as a welcoming organisational culture reflected throughout the different areas of our sport.

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  1. BWF Strategic Plan 2020 – 2024

The BWF Council approved the Strategic Plan 2020 – 2024 with some minor modifications to reflect the final feedback from stakeholders.

The BWF Strategic Plan 2020 – 2024 will be published before the end of the year and made available to the membership. This will replace the current plan.

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  1. Council Proposals for the BWF AGM 2020 – Aarhus

The BWF Council approved the following to go forward to the Annual General meeting to be held in Aarhus, Denmark in May 2020:

  • Council proposal to the 2020 AGM to reappoint BDO PLT as the BWF Auditors for 2020.
  • Council proposal to the 2020 AGM for the Subscription Unit amount for 2021 to be US$200 per Unit.
  • Council proposal to the 2020 AGM to approve the amendments to the constitution to allow the inclusion of Para badminton Athletes Commission Chair as a member of Council.
  • Council proposal to the 2020 AGM to approve the amendments to the constitution to limit the term of elected officials to a maximum of 4 terms commencing from the next election in May 2021.

The Council next meets on 18 and 19 February 2020 and may approve further proposals to the BWF AGM 2020.

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7. Awards Regulations 2020 onwards – Player of the Year Awards

To approve the amendments to the Award Regulations for the player awards to come into effect in 2020. The amendments will introduce a process to ensure greater engagement of stakeholders in selecting those for the annual Player of the Year Awards.

The amendments to the Award Regulations are attached as:

  • BWF Award Regulations – Amendments Approved by Council – 11102019 – Effective 2020

These amendments will only come into effect in 2020. The BWF office will communicate this again early in the new year.

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8. Other Council Decisions

  • To appoint new members to the External Judicial Experts Group to supplement the number of members currently on the Group (link here to see the current members).
  • To extend the term of Alexander McLin as the BWF Referral Officer for another two years (linked here).

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