Knowledge

The official terms of badminton judges you need to know!

Badminton beginners should understand the rules and official terms before compete a game. It can help you avoid to be panic when the judge says some technical terms.

According to the laws of badminton which published by BWF 9.1.8--the flight of the shuttle shall be upwards from the server’s racket to pass over the net so that, if not intercepted, it shall land in the receiver’s service court (i. e. on or within the boundary lines).

So, the serve must land in a designated area behind a line two meters away from the net; if it lands before this line the umpire will call “Fault” (Figure 1. meaning against the rules) because the shuttlecock has failed to reach the designated area, however this is commonly referred to informally as “Short” by the average player (as in short of the line).

If the serve lands beyond the base line the umpire in a formal competition will call “Out” (Figure 2. out of the designated area). Some English commentators will say “long on the baseline.”

If the shuttlecock lands near the sideline the line judge will decide if the shot is valid and will say “In” if inside the line(Figure 3. inside the line) and “Out” if outside the line(Figure 4. outside the line).

Situation The shuttlecock lands in... Official Informal term
In service action The shuttlecock lands in front of the short service line Fault Short
In service action The serve lands outside the designated area Out Long on the baseline
In service action The shuttlecock lands outside the sideline Out No in
In service action The shuttlecock lands inside the side line (effective points-scoring area) In Inside
In the game The shuttlecock doesn't land in the effective points-scoring area Out  
In the game The shuttlecock lands in the effective points-scoring area In  

(Figure 1. meaning against the rules)
Official term : Fault
The shuttlecock lands in front of the shortservice line

 





(Figure 2. out of the designated area)
Official term : Out
The serve lands outside the designated area

(Figure 3. inside the line)
Official term : In
The shuttlecock lands inside the side line (effective points-scoring area)

Left:in singles game
Right:in doubles game


(Figure 4. outside the line)
Official term : Out
The shuttlecock lands outside the sideline

The above rules apply in formal competitions where there’s a serve judge but even though this is the case some players still try to get around them, for example, “above waist height” is a foul often called by the serve judge.

Because badminton is a very fast sport and the shuttlecock lands in an instant the correctness of the line umpire’s calls have a large impact on the mood of the players in a competition;in the past it was common to see a player question a line umpire’s call and the BWF was asked to introduce a review system like Eagle Eye used in tennis to ensure fairness a. The BWF eventually introduced the Instant Review System in 2013 in response to these calls. We will talk about this revolutionary development next time.

( Edit by VICTOR Badminton )

 

 


Mackinglis
- Well-known badminton blogger - http://campus999.blogspot.tw/
- Obsess in international badminton event since 2008 Beijing Olympics
- Specialize in analyzing world badminton players’ affair
- Worked in international news agency as editor and reporter
- Translated a lots of international badminton news and interviews
- Interviewed many top badminton players and coaches in the word