Welcome to the all new Isle of Man Badminton Singles League 2024/25.
The big difference this year is that it is one, large, continuous league, with all players together. This should mean that there are more varied games and the ability for juniors to take on seniors from time to time.
The main premise is that we wanted to vastly reduce the administration around the leagues, and in doing so, we have come up with a very simple format.
You will have a starting position in the league (please do not over think these as they will primarily be drawn at random initially, outside a few seeded positions, just to get things going and start some interesting matches).
From here you can challenge people above you and you can be challenged by people below you.
It will be one game to 21 points, with setting (first to 30 points wins), and if you go jump up ahead of the player you beat and shift everyone in between down a position.
If you were already above the player you beat, then you simply retain your position
You are obviously also able to be challenged by people below you.
In general, you can be challenged by players up to 4 positions below you, and you can challenge people up to 4 positions above you. If fewer players turn up during your time slot, then you are able to challenge people outside the 4 below/4 above rules………it is just a guide you should try to follow is possible.
We have broken the league down into 3 zones, as this will largely tell you when you need to turn up. This is to help you have a focused hour or so to play your matches, meaning there is less time hanging around waiting.
As such, you simply need to turn up based on the diagram below (roughly 1st, 2nd or 3rd hour, with some cross over for those at the bottom of one zone), and start to challenge people in your ‘4 above’ area and play as many games as you can in that hour or so. You can then write your planned game down on the ‘Order of Play Sheet’ that will be there on the night.
Once you have finished a match, record your result on the sheet that will be there, and change your position on the physical league board that will have a card for each player.
Position changes will take place simply in the order that matches have been completed, so if you challenge someone 4 above, but they are playing someone above them before your game and win, then you continue with your match after, and in theory could jump 6-8 places in one game!
This is planned to be a fun, social league and players should not take it too seriously. The point is that we want people to have the opportunity to play more singles badminton, try their luck against a wider variety of players, whilst also not having to hang around for 3 hours on a Saturday or Sunday.
We will have people on hand to help guide things on the days, however we do want to encourage players to talk to each other, set up their own games and just have fun, with a competitive edge.
In summary………..
- Turn up on time for your zone/position
- Challenge players 4 above (approximately)
- Arrange games on Order of Play sheet
- Play games in order of the Order of Play sheet
- Record results on Order of Play sheet
- Move your position on the physical Singles League Leaderboard
- Play next game
- Stop when next zone starts
- Enjoy your time, come again the next week!!!