Wheelchair Badminton: faults and the extra interval
Faults specific to the wheelchair, a shuttle caught in the net that becomes a fault, and the extra interval allowed.
Why read this
Wheelchair Badminton keeps the usual faults and adds some of its own (BWF Laws of Badminton, edition in force 26 April 2025).
Faults specific to the wheelchair
- At the moment the shuttle is hit, no part of the player's trunk is in contact with the seat (Law 13.4.6.1).
- The fixation of a foot to the footrest is lost (Law 13.4.6.2).
- During play, the player touches the floor with any part of the feet (Law 13.4.6.3).
A shuttle caught in the net
In standard play, once the service has been returned, a shuttle caught on top of the net, or caught in the net after passing over it, is a let (Law 14.2.3). In Wheelchair Badminton, it is a fault (Laws 13.3.10, 14.2.3.1.1 and 14.2.3.2.1). On the service itself, the fault is the same as for everyone (Law 13.2).
The extra interval
A wheelchair player may be allowed to leave the court for one additional interval during a match in order to catheterise, accompanied by a BWF appointed Technical Official (Law 16.5.3). It is an exception to the continuous-play rule (Law 16.1).
Equipment repairs
In Para badminton, repairing the additional equipment (Law 5.2) may be considered a special circumstance: the Referee may instruct the umpire to suspend play, the existing score stands and play resumes from that point (Laws 16.3.2 and 16.3.3).
Limits
- The Laws do not say how long the extra interval lasts, nor how many times it can be used beyond "one additional interval".
- "May be allowed" and "may be considered" leave the decision to the officials.
- The Laws do not describe how a medical need is shown; this is outside the Laws.
General practice advice: play within your limits and stop if something hurts.