RPS

Home	NORTH FORELAND REGIONAL BADMINTON ASSOCIATION
	Rally Points Scoring System
(Posted 7th February 2010) Rally Point Scoring Is it time for change in our region? I have seen many rule changes in our game over the 50 plus years that I have played badminton – some I welcomed – others I detested. When I was a junior, the wood rule applied – you had to call out “wood” if the shuttle hit your racket frame – this was a fault. Then came the “Sidek” serve - the unseeded Sidek brothers won the All England doubles title in 1982 with a feathers first strike that swerved so severely that good returns were nearly impossible - within a year the serve was banned. In tournaments, rest periods have been introduced between games when not so long ago play had to be continuous. At one time coaching was not allowed, even between games – now it’s allowed between rallies. The hand above the racket-head rule during service was recently abolished. Love the changes, or loathe them, where it was practicable to do so, they were all accepted throughout the badminton world. This ensured the game’s integrity and gave cohesion to the future development of badminton at all levels. Rally point scoring is not my personal preference - I prefer the ebb and flow of traditional scoring that I am accustomed to. Therefore, I was happy to see that not everyone jumped onto the RPS bandwagon when it was first introduced for a trial period in 2006 by the International Badminton Federation - perhaps its fate would be the same as the “best of 5 games to 7 points system”, abandoned after only one year in 2003 - this didn’t happen. The far eastern countries have the major influence in the IBF and as the Chinese won all 5 All-England titles in 2009 with the Europeans nowhere in sight, it appears that the traditional scoring system is now truly a relic of the past. Our North Foreland District is one of Kent’s most progressive, with a well developed junior section, many tournaments for adults and juniors, a solid league structure and an active Committee keen to promote the further development of coach education, badminton in schools and our junior and senior leagues. Also, Canterbury has recently been selected by Badminton England as one of three regions in Kent to start a “Community Badminton Network” which will help promote and develop badminton at all levels in our region. A Badminton England supported “Performance Centre” is also being considered. So when deciding on a scoring system for our senior league which is an vital link in our development chain we should not only consider the above points but also that rally point scoring is taught in our schools, colleges and universities, it is taught by our coaches in adult and junior courses and sessions, it is taught in Adult Education classes, it is taught to our coaches on coach education courses, it is used in our junior and senior tournaments, in our junior and senior county squads and cells, and in all other tournaments and competitions in Kent and England. We are the only major senior league in Kent still using traditional scoring, and using it is totally incongruous with all else that is happening on the badminton scene in our region and elsewhere. I believe we should now embrace the change that will help us move forward and best serve our region. Please give these issues some thought and if like me you feel that development and cohesion in our region should be prioritised then why not seek support from other members of your club, for it is only through club members that changes can be effected in North Foreland. Edward Strilesky - The King’s Badminton Club January 2010
(Posted 3rd July 2008) The proposed use of the rally points scoring system in senior league matches was voted on at the NFRBA AGM on the 1st July 2008 and as last year defeated, this time by a slightly higher margin 10 votes to 7.
(Posted 24th April 2008) The rally points scoring system will again be voted on at the NFRBA AGM on the 1st July 2008. Following a Committee Meeting a couple of weeks ago these are the comments that were raised regarding the issue. As a league we are not under any pressure from Badminton England to change to Rally points. In Kent only North Foreland and Rainham are still playing to the old scoring system. Internationally, the Far Eastern players are not happy that the Europeans are doing so much better using Rally Points that there is talk that the scoring system may be changed again which is why the clause forcing everyone to change last year was dropped from the International agenda. Rumours had reached us that a number of players would not play at all if the scoring system changed. Dave asked around at the Inter-regional and the regions who have changed said that there was not a noticeable drop in the amount of people playing badminton as a result. I am aware of a couple of small clubs who are unlikely to join if we go to rally points with the members preferring to play amongst themselves. A couple of other clubs are also struggling for members and people to run the club. Some clubs were concerned that the length of the match would be drastically shortened and that they would then spend more time travelling to the match than actually playing. This is particularly so in the ladies where only six games are played. This would also be dependent on how many courts the match is played on. Should rally points be voted in the Committee would look to lengthen the games sufficiently so that it is worth travelling to a match. Court Hire times would need to be adjusted as less court time would be needed. Are members prepared to pay the same match fees for shorter games. We have spoken to Juniors who play in both the Senior and Junior league and they encounter no problems swapping between the two scoring systems. Would changing to Rally Points and hence having shorter games get more people playing? North Foreland has successfully run its tournaments using the Rally Points Scoring for the last two years. Junior League is run using Rally Points and with the adjustments to the number of points played to this year the games are lasting a reasonable length of time – however the younger players would prefer to have a scorer. At the AGM there will be a vote to decide whether the league changes to Rally Points – 1 vote per club and there is no proxy votes allowed. Please make sure that your club representative represents the majority club view. If your club has any other comments to add to the above, club secretaries please let me know and I will prepare a list in readiness for the AGM so that the pros/cons are available for discussion within clubs and hopefully cut down on the lengthy discussions at the AGM. Many thanks Kathy
(Posted 30th Sept 2007) Although this system will not be used in next seasons(2007-08) senior league the debate will no doubt continue at all levels. Information on this debate, where available, will be held in this section. Some information and comments on the new rally scoring system. Extracts from the debate prior to the 2006/2007 inter regional tournament and a letter dated 14 March 07 from Badminton England on the subject. extracts and letter>... Letter dated 7th June 07 from Adrian Christy about listening to the views of its members.more>.....