BADMINTON

OFFICIALS

Presented by:
Belarmino, Mary Ann S.
Monroy, Jayzell A.

Introduction: Badminton officials play a very important role in the badminton matches.
Even though they are not as crucial as they can be in other sports such as football or
basketball due to the lack of physical contact between players, they still are required in
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order to ensure a smooth and fair match. The badminton officials are divided into
different roles or positions:
 Referee
 Umpire
 Service judge
 Line judge
In this report, we will explain the roles and responsibilities of each official.

REFEREE
 Is the overall in charge on and off the court (in terms of
players, officials, facilities, schedule, laws, etc).
 Levels of Referee:
1st : Depends on the country
2nd : National Level Referee
3rd : European Continental Referee
4th : BWF Accredited (BWF or Badminton World
Federation, is the international governing body
for badminton recognized by the international Olympic
Committee)
5th : BWF Certificated

Explanation: Basically, the referee shall ensure that the tournament is conducted in
accordance with the Laws of Badminton, the Rules and Regulations of the BWF and
any other regulations pertinent to the specific competition. The referee shall ensure that
the players are given facilities (including practice) and playing conditions of an adequate
standard and safety, approval of the programed of play and practice schedule, ensuring
an appropriate transport setup and overall monitoring of matters related to the fair
proper conduct of the players. The referee shall also ensure that there is an adequate
panel of technical officials of requisite ability and appropriate international
representation.
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Reference : https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-functions-of-the-referee-in-badminton

UMPIRE
 The umpire is considered as ‘main judge’ who is in charge of
the court in a specific match.
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 The duty of the umpire is to make sure that the specific
match is conducted following the Laws of Badminton, the
regulations of the Badminton World Federation and/or any
other regulations that might be relevant in that specific
competition.
 Levels of Umpire:
1st : Depends on the country
2nd : National Level Umpire
3rd : BEC Accredited Umpire (BEC or Badminton
Europe Confederation, is the governing body of
badminton in Europe and is one of the 5 continental
bodies under the flag of the BWF)
4th : BEC Certificated Umpire
5th : BWF Accredited
6th : BWF Certificated

Explanation: Specifically, It is the umpire’s responsibility to judge service faults and

Reference: https://www.masterbadminton.com/who-are-the-officials-of-badminton.html

SERVICE JUDGE
 The service judge is responsible for making a ‘service fault’
call and to provide shuttles to the players. Due to the way
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badminton is played, the serve is one of the most important
and perfected shots of the player and, especially when
playing doubles, players will bring the serve to the limit of the
legality in order to gain as much advantage as possible.
 The levels of service judge are the same as to become an
umpire.

Explanation: Literally, looking at the picture, the service judge will sit on a low chair,
located at the middle of the court (directly opposite the umpire). In addition to the main
responsibilities of service judge aforementioned, the service judge usually takes care of
the shuttles, providing the players with new shuttles whenever required. In smaller
championships, when there is no service judge, the umpire takes the role of the service
judge.
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Reference: https://www.thebadmintonguide.com/badminton-officials/

LINE JUDGES
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 The line judges are responsible for indicating whether a
shuttlecock landed “in” or “out” if the shuttle lands near the
lines he/she is assigned to control. 
 Depending on the level of the tournament, there may be as
many as 10 line judges assigned to a court for a particular
match. This is the number recommended by the BWF. When
10 line judges are available, they are positioned as follows:
o 2 line judges for the short service line (one on each
side of the court)
o 2 line judges for the center line (one on each end of
the court)
o 4 line judges for the side lines (two on each side of
the court). Please note that the exact location will
depend on whether a singles match is being played
(and they would follow the singles side lines) or a
doubles match is being played (and they would follow
the doubles side lines
o 2 line judges for the back boundary lines (one each
end of the court). Please note that, in the case of the
doubles match, these line judges check both the back
boundary line and the long service line.

Explanation: As you can see in the picture, line judges sit beside the badminton court
(right in front of every in/out lines) to determine whether the shuttle is inside or outside
the boundaries of the court. Due to the fast speed of the game and the skill of the
players, this is a very challenging job and, as a result, the line judges are the officials
that usually get more pressure from the players. Furthermore, their calls are usually
very subjective and are often controversial.

Reference: https://www.thebadmintonguide.com/badminton-officials/
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