The Badminton World Federation, also known as the International Badminton Federation or BWF, was established on July 5, 1934, as way of internationally administering the rules of badminton. Subsequent to the establishment of this body, the laws of badminton are reviewed yearly at the BWF's Annual General Meeting, which is held variously in the BWF-member countries.
Court and Equipment
The racket used in badminton cannot be more than 680 mm long or 230 mm wide, and is composed of a grip, shaft, throat that connects to the head, and a stringed head.
For a shuttle to be approved by the BWF, it must have 16 feathers at the base that are no more than 70 mm long and form a circle at the base with a diameter between 58 mm and 68 mm. Shuttles that are made from a synthetic material must meet the same specifications.
By BWF standards, badminton is played on a rectangular court that measures 6.1 meters wide by 13.4 meters long, or 20 feet wide by 44 feet long. According to rule 1.10, the net must measure 1.524 meters, or 5 feet, vertically from the top edge to the center of the court and 1.55 meters, or 5.1 feet, from either side post to the court.
Service and Scoring
A player begins service from the right side of the court. When serving, the player must stand between the baseline, short line, center line and side line that delineate the service court. The receiver stands in the diagonally opposite service court. After the server begins a backward motion with his racket, the service must be completed. Upon hitting the shuttle, the server must be touching the service court with both feet, have his racket facing in a downward direction and connect with the shuttle below his waistline.
Once the service is within the laws of the game and clears the net into the receiver's court, a rally is begun. The server and receiver continue to hit the shuttle over the net and into the opponent's court. If a player fails to return the shuttle over the net into an area within the court, hits the shuttle twice consecutively, touches the net or crosses the centerline, her opponent scores a point.
If the server scores a point during a rally, she serves again from the other service court. If the receiver wins the rally, she gains a point and the service, which is conducted from the right-hand service court.
Matches
A badminton match consists of the best of three games, in which a game is won by the first player to score 21 points and hold at least a two-point lead. If the score becomes 20-all, the game continues until one player has a two-point lead or until one player scores 30 points. Players rotate court ends at the end of each game and when one player scores 11 points in a third game.
Doubles
Badminton can also be played by two teams of two players. The rules of the game remain the same, except that the serving player serves from the left-hand court anytime the team has scored an odd number of points. The receiving team does not rotate courts until the service is in its possession.
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