Dublin League & Cup Entry Rules
Information about the Dublin League & Cup
DDLC Overview Information Sheet for 24/25 Season
1.0 : League & Cup Competitions
League Competitions
The following are some key points regarding the DDLC League for 2024/25 Season.
All Teams are due in by Friday 27th September.
Players need to be placed on teams at their Grade or above.
All Players and Substitutions must be Affiliated with BI and Leinster Badminton.
All Groups Stage Matches to be played by 31st March – Knock-Out Stages begin in April.
Clubs are encouraged to complete at least 25% of Group Matches pre-Christmas.
In League Divisions the Top Two Teams from each Section progress to ‘Knock-Out’ Stages.
For the season of 2024/2025 the following dates were scheduled:
League Play-Offs & 1/4 Finals 8th to 11th of April 2025
League Semis Finals: 14th to 17th of April 2025
Cup Finals: 23rd to 25th of April 2025
A Recap of the League Format / Key Dates:
In Mens & Ladies Doubles: Team shall consist of 4 players who shall play 4 Straight Doubles
In Mixed Doubles: Team shall consist of 4 players: 2 Ladies and 2 Men who shall play 2 Doubles and 2 Mixed Doubles
No 'Player' can take part in more than 2 Matches and no 'Pairing' can take part in more than 1 Match.
Cup Competitions:
It is proposed to hold the Cup Semis and Finals in January this Season, this leaves February and March totally free for completion of remaining Group Stage League Matches.
This requires all preliminary Cup Matches to be completed before Christmas, the following are the “Deadline Completion Dates” for each Cup Round and the Cup Semis and Finals.
Deadline for 1st Round Cup Matches Sunday 3rd November
Deadline for 2nd Round Cup Matches Sunday 24th November
Deadline for Quarter Finals Cup Matches Wednesday 18th December
Cup Semis Finals: 10th & 11 of January 2025
Cup Finals: 17th and 18th January 2025
To avoid requiring another “Preliminary Round” in the Cup – Our intention is to look to limit the entry to 32 Teams into any one Division. We would encourage Clubs to try not enter more than 2 Teams in any one Division and consider putting their best of such up one Division.
Where Team entry numbers are higher than 32 in any Division we will be contacting clubs with more than 2 Teams in same Division to consider moving a Team up for the Cup Only or seek them to play an immediate Preliminary Round.
Cup Match Format
Feedback from majority of Clubs re last season’s Cup Match Format was very positive so the “New” Cup Format of 6 Matches will continue this season.
A Recap of the Cup Format:
Teams shall play 6 Doubles Matches each consisting of 2 Games to 21 Only in each Match – There is No Setting in any Game.
The Cup is a Knockout Competition and Fixtures decided on Matches won, then Games won and then Points won (eg, can win by 3 Matches and 1 Game, ie 7 straight Games)
Mens / Ladies Doubles Cup Format:
All Cup Fixture consists of 6 Doubles Matches of 2 Games to 21 points each.
No Player can take part in more than 3 Matches and no 'Pairing' can take part in more than 1 Match.
All 4 players must play in the 1st two Matches / 2nd two Matches and 3rd two Matches.
Mixed Cup Format:
All Cup Fixture consists of 1 Men’s and 1 Ladies Doubles Match followed by 4 Mixed Doubles Matches all of 2 Games to 21 points each.
All 4 players must play in each pair of Mixed Matches, i.e. 1st and 2nd Mixed and then 3rd and 4th Mixed where no pairings can be the same.
2.0: Substitution Rules
2.1: General Principles
All Players within a club MUST have a Grade, MUST be Affiliated with BI and LB and MUST be Registered with DDLC in order to be eligible to Play or be a used as a Substitute.
Players can NEVER SUB ‘DOWN’ to a Team of a lower Division to their Grade.
The Grading of all “Existing” DDLC Players are those as issued to all Clubs individually for this coming season and Players cannot Play or Sub below their applied Grade. (Refer to note below re Grading of New Players to DDLC )
Where Club Teams are in the same Division, they MUST be ranked in order of strength i.e. M1 MUST be stronger than M2, M2 MUST be stronger than M3 and so on in descending order of strength.
Players within the Same Division can Only Sub Up onto the Teams listed above them, for example, Division 5 Ladies L1 Team cannot sub for the Division 5 Ladies L2 Team.
Players being used as a Substitute MUST be indicated / highlighted on the Match Sheets as a SUB.
2.2: Number of Times Subs Permitted
All Players can be used as a Substitute for 4 times in the Doubles Events – this includes League and Cup Competitions in that Event from Group Stage matches to the Finals.
All Players can be used as a Substitute for 4 times in the Mixed Events – includes League and Cup Competitions in that Event from Group Stage matches to the Finals
Where a Graded Player who is not on a Team and used to Sub on a higher Team – where they win 2 of their Matches (4 Games) at a higher division to their Grade they cannot sub below that level for the remainder of Season.
2.3: Operation and Monitoring of Subs
The DDLC Committee will be monitoring the Match Sheets. Where a substitute is being used for a Match, the Team Captain MUST mark on the score sheet with ‘SUB’ beside the Players name.
The onus is on the Club to inform all Team Captains and Players on the Rules associated with the use of Subs and to manage the number of times (max 4 Times) each Player is used to “Sub” on a Team.
The onus is also on the Club to also ensure “Non-Team” Player’s sub within or above their Grade and those that win more than 2 Matches at a higher Grade cannot sub below that grade for the rest of season.
2.4: New Players being introduced to your Club after Team Entry – Friday 27th September
Such Players will need to be Graded by the Club and that Grade submitted to and agreed with the DDLC Committee before that Player is permitted to be used as a Substitute.
Clubs need to allow 10 days for this “Submission and Approval Process” before a new player can be permitted to be used as a substitute.
2.5: Cut-Off Date for New Player / Subs
No New Players can be introduced to compete in all Leagues or Cups Competitions as follows:
For The Cup Events : No New Players may be registered to play after 17th December 2024.
For The League Events : No New Players may be registered to play after 17th March 2025.
NOTE: Where ANY of the above Substitute Rules (2.1 to 2.5) are found to be breached by Team – that Team will retrospectively be deducted the Points where Illegal Subs had won in a Match.
2.6: Replacement of a Team Player due to Injury
Any Team Player who is unfortunate to receive a ‘season ending injury’, or leaves the Club, may be replaced by another Player of the same grade or lower from within the club.
This will be a permanent replacement for the rest of the season. The replaced player cannot return to this team as player or sub for the remainder of the season”.
3.0: “No Walkover” Rule
Once all fixtures are agreed between Clubs, they must all be honoured and completed on the dates as agreed. With the new Substitution rules and an increase in times allowed there should be no reasons due to lack of players to seek a reschedule of an agreed Match.
There are only 5 Criteria for Postponing and agreed match as outlined in the rules, namely:
Hall Unavailability
Bereavement of a Club Member and or Family / Relative.
Severe weather conditions.
Clashing with International B.I. Events
Clashing with DDLC Cup Semis or Finals
Teams are expected to complete their agreed Fixtures and if necessary, play with a depleted Team.
This Season we are introducing a Penalty to Club Teams Postponing Matches.
The Penalty is: For any Club Team found to not honour and complete their agreed fixture – they will be deducted 2 points at the end of the Season.
They will also be required, at the discretion of the DDLC Committee, to complete that “Postponed” fixture at a later date – and at their expense should such arise.
This is a Deterrent to Fixture Postponements and simply put – There are NO WALKOVERS Permitted.
4.0: DDLC Clothing Rule
The following are the changes / clarifications to the DDLC Rules on Clothing.
Only appropriate Badminton clothing must be worn.
Shirts, shorts and skirts designed for leisurewear are not allowed and players will be asked to change them before the start of the game.
No GAA, Soccer or other sporting tops, and no casual clothing with large adverts on the front or back are allowed.
If a Player wishes to wear leggings, they MUST wear either Shorts or a Skort/ Skirt over the leggings as well.
For Semi-Finals & Finals, tracksuits may be worn during warm up but must be removed before the start of the Match.
5.0: Team Entries for 2024/25 Season
All Team Entries are to be submitted on or before Friday September 27th on the “Official Club Members & Team Entry Form” and by email and in Excel Format to : leaguesandcups@lbbui.ie
This “Club & Team Entry Form” can be downloaded from the Dublin & District section of the Leinster Badminton Website.
Leinster Badminton Website: https://leinsterbadminton.com/
Under “Competitions” and “Leagues” is the Dublin & District Leagues & Cups Section
The direct DDLC Section Link: https://leinsterbadminton.com/competition/leagues/ddlc/
On this Form not only it is required to insert the 4 players on each Mens / Ladies and Mixed Teams
Also required to complete and fill in the full Club Membership List.
6.0: Affiliation of Clubs and Players for competing in 2024/25 Season
All Team Players and Subs must be Affiliated with BI and LB to play in the DDLC Competitions.
We will be using Tournament Planner for posting results and to do so all Players entered will be “Validated”. Teams found to have Unaffiliated Players will be deducted points if repeatedly found.
Affiliation is through Badminton Ireland – contact Lauren Au: lau@badmintonireland.com
Handy site to check to see if a Player is Affiliated :