Adjustments to Tournament Sanction Policy – Grade 3 Tournaments 2023 – 2024

Please find enclosed important information related to the adjustments to the BWF Tournament Sanction Policy for Grade 3 Tournaments 2023 – 2024.

Please pass this on internally to the relevant staff.

Background

The growth, development, and sustainability of Grade 3 Tournaments (International Challenge, International Series, and Future Series) and their bridge to Grade 2 (BWF World Tour) continues to be an important focus of BWF and the Continental Confederations.

These tournaments are a critical part of the athlete development pathway and provide opportunities for players to earn prize money and World Ranking points towards qualification to higher level tournaments, such as the BWF World Championships and Olympic Games.

However, we have seen significant challenges emerge across different continents over the past several years due to impacts from COVID-19 and other factors.

BWF Tournament Sanction Policy

BWF is working closely with the Continental Confederations on long term structural solutions for sustainable, continuous Continental Circuits.

At the same time, it is important to ensure that there is continuity at the Grade 3 level in the short term—in particular, during the Olympic Qualifying Period in 2023-2024.

As such, several adjustments have been made to the BWF Tournament Sanction Policy (BWF Statutes, Section 5.3.1), as follows:

• Member Associations can host more Grade 3 tournaments than are normally allowed, depending on the number and level of Grade 2 and 3 tournaments. This includes the allowance, in certain circumstances, to host more than one International Challenge and/or International Series tournament in each of the 2023 and 2024 calendar years.
• Prize money levels for Grade 3 tournaments will remain at 2022 levels in each of the 2023 and 2024 calendar years.
• The application deadlines for Grade 3 tournaments, especially for those in the first half of 2023 have been extended, including for those in the Olympic Qualifying Period.

Attachment – Details of all the Adjustments

Attached is a document detailing all adjustments, including the tournament hosting allocation table. To download the BWF Tournament Sanction Policy (BWF Statutes, Section 5.3.1), please go to the statutes page of the BWF Corporate website at: https://corporate.bwfbadminton.com/statutes/

Contact

Please contact Deputy Events Director – Technical Events Management, Christopher Trenholme ([email protected]) if you have any questions.