Message from IBA
The IBA will be coordinating college badminton competitions throughout the United States starting in the fall of 2007. One of the goals of the IBA is to develop a standard team match format that will eventually allow men’s and women’s badminton to become an official NCAA and NAIA sport. The IBA does not include co-ed competition; instead, there are separate men’s and women’s teams.
The IBA match format is the same as college tennis: three doubles matches and six singles matches. At least three badminton courts are needed to host a match, and teams should have six or more players. Teams of four or five players may compete against full teams of six or more, but they will have to forfeit vacant positions.
All team members must be currently enrolled full-time students (undergraduate or graduate). Teams will schedule their own matches, and team contact information will be available on the IBA web site.
In order to compete in an IBA Regional Tournament, a team must play at least two dual matches against other IBA member teams before the Regional Tournament. This gives teams the entire fall semester and the month of January to play at least two dual matches. Two matches played against the same school will fulfill this requirement.
There are eight IBA Regions in the U.S., and each region will have an IBA Regional Tournament in February 2008. Regional winners willqualify for the IBA National Championships in April 2008. Dates andsites for the IBA Regional Tournaments and the IBA National Championships will be announced soon. There are no entry fees for the IBA Regional Tournaments or IBA National Championships.
The IBA web site, which includes announcements, rules, results and rankings, can be viewed at: ibabadminton.com