8 COMMON DIFFERENT VIOLATIONS OR FAULTS WITH DESIGNATED HAND

SIGNALS

What is a fault in Badminton?

A Badminton fault is simply an act or an event that ends the rally. A fault awards
a point against the player/pair that committed the fault.

A fault is decisive and can only be called by the umpire or the service judge in a
professional game. When there are no judging officials the players are
responsible for knowing and adhering to the rules.

So now we know what a Badminton fault is let’s jump right into the details of
service faults.

1. Service not below the waist level - When the service judge deems that the
shuttle, as a whole, was not under the level of the waist while it was struck
during serving, the service judge has to keep the palm horizontally facing
downwards at the level of the abdomen, followed by moving it to the left
and right below the level of waist, while at the same time calling “fault!”
a. SJ – rule 9.1.5
2. Feet not in the service line or even off the ground – when serving the
server’s feet can’t touch any other lines of the court and both feet should
be firmly on the ground and not in the air.
a. When the service judge deems that one or both feet of the
player were not in the service court when the service took place, the
service judge has to extend the right leg and pointing the hand
towards the foot, while calling “fault!”
b. SJ – rule 9.1.2
3. Shaft of the racket not facing downwards - When the service judge deems
that the racket was not facing downwards when hitting the shuttle during
serving, the service judge has to raise the right arm in front slightly,
flexing the elbow and keeping the palm vertically facing the opposite
direction, while at the same time calling “fault!”.
a. SJ
4. Server fails to hit the base of the shuttle - When the service judge deems
that the first point of contact with the shuttle was not the base of the
shuttle, the service judge has to rest the palm of the right hand on right
 side of the abdomen, keeping the palm facing the left side of the body,
with fingers pointing downwards and pointing the fingers of the left hand
to the palm of the right hand with the palm of the left hand facing the
abdomen, while at the same time calling “fault!”.
a. LJ – rule 9.1.4

5. Undue delay of service – when the server takes too much time to serve, or
delays service for undue reasons then it is called fault.
a. When undue delays occur, the service judge will swing their right arm
to the left to indicate that a player has been penalized for undue
delay.
b. SJ – rule 9.1.1
6. Outside – when the shuttle falls outside the lines of the court, the line’s
judge will give an indication to the player as well as the referee that the
shuttle has landed outside
a. When the line judge deems that the shuttle has landed outside of the
relevant lines, the line judge has to extend both arms horizontally to
the sides and call “out!” to signal that the shuttle has landed out of
boundaries.
b. LJ
7. Inside – when the shuttle lands inside the court, the line’s judge gives an
indication to the player as well as the referee to show the same
a. When the line judge deems that the shuttle has landed in, the line
judge has to point the right hand towards the line.
b. LJ
8. Unsure - There might be instances where the line judge might be unsure
whether the shuttle landed in or out. This usually happens when a player is
in the line of view.
a. On this case, when the line judge isn’t sure whether the shuttle has
landed in or out, the line judge has to signal that by putting both
hands (with the palm facing the eyes) in front of his/her eyes.
b. LJ

UMPIRE

The ‘main judge’ for the particular badminton game. He/she has the power to
overrule any decisions made by the service judge or line judges. The umpire is
the person ensuring that the badminton game is run smoothly and prevent any
players from delaying the game play.

Whenever a player requests to change the shuttle, the umpire will need to
approve that the change could be made.

The umpire also looks out for faults committed around the net area such as
whether a player touched the net when returning the shuttle.

Besides, the umpire is responsible to make a ‘fault’ call when the shuttle touches
the player or the players’ attires except for the badminton racket. In badminton, it
will be a fault/foul to a player if the shuttle touches any part of that player’s body
or attire

SERVICE JUDGE

The service judge is responsible in making a ‘service fault’ call and to provide
shuttles to the players

LINE JUDGES

Line judges sit beside the badminton court (right in front of every in/out lines) to
determine whether the shuttle is inside or outside the boundaries of the court.