How to enter to a badminton competition

License

You need a license for all the competitions found in Badminton Finland’s competition calendar. A competition license doesn’t include a sport insurance, but it is recommended to get one. If you are planning to compete only a few times per season, it is possible to buy one-time licenses.

Licenses are bought from Suomisport website. To buy a license for a junior, an adult needs to make a account to Suomisport and there it is possible to add a junior from a "Add a child" -button ("Lisää lapsi" in Finnish). When you have bought the license, you get a MemberID (pelaajanumero) from Suomisport which you will need when registering to the tournament software. MemberID can be found from the very bottom of the player's account front page. SportID is NOT the correct one, MemberID is a 4-5-digit number. There is an English version of Suomisport. And here you can find more detailed info about Suomisport(unfortunately only in Finnish).

You also have the option to buy a separate sport insurance. A sport insurance is a comprehensive accident insurance for those attending any competitions. Regular home insurances are usually limited in a way that they don’t cover accidents that have happened in a competition. Buying a sport insurance is done at the same time as buying the competition license.

Attending a ranking-event or cityjunnusulkis doesn’t require a license.

How does the competition entry actually work

Entering an official competition happens on Badminton Finland’s own Tournament Software -page. There you can find the competition calendar for the season and last dates for entries. As the competition date nears, you can find the draw and the schedule from the same place.

You need to create an account on the site before entering any competitions. That can be done on the Badminton Finland's Tournament Software -page. There are detailed instructions (here and here) for creating an account and how to do a competition entry at the Badminton Finland’s home page, but they can be found only in Finnish. You need a player number to be able to register. You get a player number from Suomisport when you have bought the license. It is called MemberID in Suomisport (Pelaajanumero in Finnish). License needs to be bought every year but registering to the tournament software needs to be done only once. If you need help or have any questions about competition entries, just ask any coach at the hall.

Here you can check your player number that you need for your entries if you already have one.

NOTE! Entries for a competitions usually closes three weeks before the competition is held so please be on-time with your entries. You also need to buy a license before entering is possible!

Competition day

• Draws and schedules for competitions are usually published a week before the event. The schedule indicates the times and opponents for matches. Draws can be found using your log in information in the tournament software web page, where you will have signed up for the competition.
• On the day of the competition it’s best to arrive with lots of time to warm up and get to know the venue. It’s also possible for matches to begin ahead of schedule. Small delays are also normal, so don’t be concerned if your own match hasn’t been announced yet.
• You should have with you a change of clothes, a track suit, a towel, food, and a water bottle. Matches are played in official match attire, a t-shirt and shorts/a skirt. Track suits are not meant to be worn during games, but you should have them with you for warming up. Put them on after finishing matches as well. As you break a sweat, you can easily catch a cold in the big halls, especially during the winter.
• In between matches it’s good to have some food to snack on, like bread or fruit, to have enough energy for the whole competition day. A bigger lunch should be eaten if you have a longer break between matches. Don’t forget to drink in between matches as well!
• Before leaving, check if you have made it through from the groups into the elimination rounds. Even if you haven’t won all your matches, you may still have made it through. In some competitions, all players continue to ether the higher or lower elimination rounds. Draws can be seen on the wall of the competition venue, where potential walkovers will also be written. Sundays usually consist only of semi-final and final matches.
• Competitions are played using the players own shuttlecocks, and you can usually buy them at the competition venue. Shuttlecocks can also be bought in advance from the club at Esport Center. They can be bought from ex. Lasse Lindelöf and Mikko Franssila.
• Remember to return the match card to the organisers’ table. It should be clearly labelled with the winner of the match and the points won in each game.
• If you fall ill before the competition or can’t attend for some other reason, inform the organizers that you’ll be absent from the tournament!