NEW SCORING SYSTEM TRIAL CONSIDERED A SUCCESS
Adoption As Official Scoring System Still A Distant Prospect
by Mike Grossman

October 9, 1996 (New Shuttlenws) - According to a statement issued by the press office of the International Badminton Federation yesterday, the trial of a new badminton scoring system at the recently-concluded Dutch Open was a success.

80% of the spectators surveyed at the tournament gave the nod to the experimental 5x9 scoring system over the current 3x15 system.

In the 5x9 scoring system, a match is played on a best-of-5 games basis with each game normally going to a maximum of 9 points (11 points if the game is tied at 8-8 and the first player to score 8 chooses to play to 11).

In 3x15 scoring, men's singles and all doubles matches are played on a best-of-3 games basis with each game normally going to 15 points (17 points if the game is tied at 14-all and the first player to score 14 chooses to play to 17, or a maximum of 18 points if the game is tied at 13-all and the first player to score 13 chooses to play to 18). Women's singles matches are played on a best-of-3 games basis with each game normally going to 11 points (12 points if the game is tied at 8-all or 9-all and the first player to score 8 or 9 chooses to play to 12).

The trial of the 5x9 system at the Dutch Open was the first one carried out at a major international badminton tournament. Previous trials had been at local and European events, primarily in Norway.

Aside from the spectators, the press, television and top players also gave the thumbs-up to the 5x9 scoring system.

Sun Jun of China, the men's singles champion at the Dutch Open, said that he would raise two arms in approval of the new scoring system.

Poul-Eric Hoyer-Larsen of Denmark, the Olympic men's singles gold medalist and runner-up at the Dutch Open, reaffirmed his support for the 5x9.

Despite the successful trial at the Dutch Open, the 5x9 scoring system still has a long road to travel before it replaces the 3x15 system (3x11 for women's singles).

A change in the rules of badminton to adopt 5x9 would require an 80% super-majority vote of the member countries of the International Badminton Federation. With the Asian powerhouse countries like China, Indonesia, Korea and Malaysia currently opposed to the change, any proposal to adopt 5x9 in the immediate future would fail, according to Martijn van Dooremalen, a leading member of the badminton body's executive council.

Trials and adjustments to the 5x9 system are expected to continue until its supporters in the badminton federation have gathered enough data and backing to get the rule change approved.

The next international tournament where 5x9 will be tried is the Norwegian International at Sandefjord in November.