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Classifications and the structure of competitive badminton

The Brussels International Badminton Club is registered with the Association of Flemish Brabant Badminton Clubs (VVBBC), which operates the Provincial Leagues in Flanders-Brabant. The VVBBC, in turn, is one of the five provincial Flemish badminton organisations of the Flemish Badminton League (VBL). The VLB and its francophone equivalent, the Ligue francophone belge de badminton (LFBB), together make up the Belgian Badminton Federation (BBF/FBB).

The VVBBC currently has five mixed leagues, four men's leagues (of which three are sub-divided into geographical zones) and two ladies' leagues. There are about 40 clubs registered with the VVBBC.

Classifications of players

Players are classified according to their level of play. There are six 'classes': D, C2, C1, B2, B1 and A. D is the lowest level, while A is for players at national and international level. Most 'new' players will initially be registered at the lowest level, although exceptions are possible.

Players can improve their classification by winning matches in the league or at tournaments. For each league match, the winning player gets a number of points, which depends on the classification of the opponent. One point is 'awarded' for beating a player of the same classification, two for beating a player classified as one level higher, three for winning against an opponent whose classification is two levels higher, etc.

For example, if a D player wins against another D player, they get one point. If they beat a C2, the next level up, they get two points, and so on. The maximum number of points you can get from one match (as a D player) is six - but that would mean beating an A player...

If a player loses a match, they may also find that points are deducted from their 'account'. Losing against a player of the same classification goes unpunished in this respect, but losing against a player in a lower classifications means a deduction of two points... Following this logic, losing against a player from two levels further down unsurprisingly means losing three points, and so on.)

Players are promoted to the next classification once they have reached 10 points within a period of two seasons (September - April/May). After one cycle of mixed/level seasons is over, every account is re-set to 0 points. If you have just below ten points at the end of the season, but still wish to go up, then an application can be made to the "promotion committee" of the Flemish League who may take other factors such as tournament results into consideration.

In addition, you can also improve your classification by winning a certain number of tournaments. How many wins are needed depends on your level and on the discipline you win a tournament in. For the full regulations on changing your classification, please consult the VVBBC website (only in Dutch).

So, having started as a D player, you can progress to C2, C1, B2, B1 and A.

Shuttles

As you improve, and when you become a C1 player, you are obliged to play with feather shuttles, if your opponent is ranked at C1 or above. If they are ranked below you, i.e. C2 or D, they have the choice of feather or plastic shuttles. Furthermore, all matches in the first provincial league are played with feather shuttles (for mixed teams, this also applies to the second league).