School Badminton Rules

Prior to the establishment of an official governing organization, such as the Badminton Association of England (BAE) in 1893, the sport was played on various court sizes and with different racket types. After the BAE was founded, official badminton rules and regulations were created. Since 1934, the Badminton World Federation (BWF), formerly known as the International Badminton Association, has operated as the sport's international governing body. The BWF designs regulations to ensure consistency in equipment, court specifications and playing rules across the sport.

  1. Court Specifications

    • The official badminton playing court must be 44 feet long and 17 feet wide if you are playing a singles game. The court is required to be 44 feet long and 20 feet wide if you are playing a doubles game. A court should be leveled and smooth. The net must be 5 feet in height.

    Equipment and Game Attire

    • Rackets are to be made of lightweight material like wood or plastic. Birdies or shuttlecocks must be made with feathers or plastic and have a cork or rubber base. Shoes with non-marking soles must be worn on the court. Players are required to wear shorts and a shirt. The only headgear allowed is a head band.

    Serving

    • One player or team tosses a coin or spins the racket at the start of the game. The called symbol on the coin or on the racket spin determines who serves first. Servers must lower the birdie below their waist before they serve. The birdie must remain in bounds and move diagonally across the court in order to be good. If you miss the birdie, the serve goes out of bounds or the birdie touches the net, you must attempt the serve again. Low, high, flick and drive are the four serve types. Players and teams score while serving and during a rally which occurs when the birdie is hit continuously back and forth across the net without an error occurring. Women's singles games are played until the first player scores 11 points while men's singles games are played until the first player scores 15 points. Doubles games are played until a team scores 15 or 21 points. The BWF instituted the new 21-point scoring rule in August 2006. However, the BWF permits schools to set doubles game wins at 15 or 21 points.

    Service Court Error

    • If a player serves out of turn, serves before the receiving team is ready or serves from the wrong side of the court, it is considered a service court error. A service court error must be called before the next serve is delivered. A late called error will not be corrected. When both teams commit an error during a serve it is considered a "let."

    Birdie In or Out of Play

    • A birdie is out of play if it strikes and gets stuck in or atop the net. A birdie is also considered out of play when it goes over the net but falls to the court just on the other side of the net. A birdie is also out of play if it strikes the court before a player on the other team hits it with his racket.

    Game Officials

    • Referees are responsible for overseeing the entire tournament. Umpires report to referees and have responsibility for officiating matches. Service judges call service faults committed by team servers. Line judges call birdie landings and determine whether the birdie is in or out of bounds.