BADMINTON

HAND SIGNALS
HAND SIGNALS

For a sports referee it is essential to know the

rules and understand how to apply them. No one
would ever question this. However, almost as
important to good officiating is the use of clear,
confident signals.
 Signals are a referee’s way to communicate. In
any game situation, the players, coaches, fans, scorers
and fellow referees need to understand the call. When
a referee or umpire makes a call in applying a rule,
nothing happens until a signal is made. The value of
good signals should never be underestimated.
 UNDUE DELAY OF SERVE

When the server takes too

much time to serve, or
delay service for undue
reasons then it is called a
fault.
FEET ON THE SERVICE LINE OR
EVEN OFF THE GROUND

When serving, the server’s

feet cannot touch any other
lines of the court and both
feet should be firmly on the
ground and not in the air
 SERVICE TOO HIGH

If the server strikes the

shuttle above his waist
(now 1.15 from the ground)
it is called as a fault and
the judge will give this
hand gesture to explain
why he/she called a fault.
RACKET HANDLE SHOULD FACE DOWN WHILE
SERVING

At the time of service, the

handle of the racket must
be facing down while
hitting the shuttlecock. If it
is not facing down, it calls
for a violation of the service
rules.
 WHEN THE SHUTTLE FALLS OUTSIDE THE
LINES OF THE COURT / (OUT OF BOUNDS)
When the shuttle falls
outside the lines of the court,
the line judge will give an
indication to the player as
well as the referee that the
shuttle has landed outside.
WHEN THE SHUTTLE LANDS INSIDE THE LINES
OF THE COURT / (INBOUNDS)

When the shuttle lands

inside the court, the line
judge will give an indication
to the player as well as the
referee that the shuttle lands
inside.
IF THE LINE JUDGE DOES NOT SEE
If the line judge can’t see the
shuttlecock clearly (because their
view is blocked by the player’s body
or other unavoidable situations) as
they were unable to see whether the
shuttlecock landed in or out they
should cover the eyes with their
hands to let the umpire know.
 SERVER FAILS TO HIT THE BOTTOM OF THE SHUTTLECOCK

According to rule 9.1.4, a player’s

racket face should hit the bottom of
the shuttlecock. If the players fails
to hit the bottom of the shuttlecock
when serving, the line judge will
open their right hand and lightly
touch the palm with their left hand
to indicate service fault.