What is racketlon? Racketlon is the sport in which you play your opponent in each of the four racket-sports table tennis, badminton, squash and tennis. The winner is the best all round racket player.
What are the rules of a racketlon match (at the British Championships)? You play your opponent in each of the four racket-sports, in the order of table tennis, badminton, squash and tennis. In each sport, the same scoring rules apply:
In each sport, one set until 21 points is played. Every rally results in a point to the winner of the rally. The winner of a set needs a margin of at least two points (21-20 or 20-21 is not possible)
After every five points, the serve goes to the other player (at the score of 20-20 or above, the serve changes every single point)
In tennis, the server has two changes - first and second service - just as in normal tennis
All other aspects of the game are regulated by the rules of the individual sports
The winner of a racketlon match is not the one that wins most sets but the one that scores the most points in total over the 4 sets
If, after 4 sets, both players have exactly the same number of points, the final tennis is extended with one single point which decides who wins the match. The winner of the lot decides who will serve, and there is no second service in the single point
Participants compete in several categories Men: Class A, B, C and D
Ladies: Class A and B
Veterans and Juniors.
Players may enter one or more categories.
Categories are determined based on international racketlon rules. For men: Class A = Elite Class, Class B = Advanced, Class C = Amateurs. Class D = Novice. For ladies: Class A = Elite Class, Class B = Amateurs.
If the British Championships 2006 is the first racketlon tournament, players should request to enter a category and provide information about the standards they have in each individual sport.
For the British Championships it is likely we will merge classes to hold a Swiss event, this guarantees more matches and means your last match will be facing off against someone who has achieved the same in the tournament.
Profiles - How good are you at each sport? EXAMPLES of each class.
Table Tennis - International standard, Badminton - beginner, Squash - played 10 times in last 5 years, Tennis - Club standard = CLASS A
Table Tennis - played at school once a week, Badminton - Play at a club, Squash - played a few times, Tennis - Play at a club = CLASS B
CLASS C = Club at 2, or county at one. Beginner at 2 sports is fine. Beginner at one sport = should consider class B.
Class D - Played 2 sports for one year. Not really played 2 at all. Brilliant at one, never played the others at all.
Ladies - Class B, play one sport only. Class A = Competent at 2 sports.
Age Restriction Categories - Youth and Veterans
Veterans
All players that turn 45 during the year 2006 and older Juniors
All players that turn 21 during the year 2006 and younger
How is the tournament organised? Men - Class A, B, C and D. Ladies Class A and Class B. Veterans and Juniors. Categories may be merged.
Maximum 16 participants per category - It is likely we will employ a Swiss System, where players square off in a pool of players EG 16 and end up with an eventual position EG 1st, 7th or 12th.
Saturday April 1st 9AM-7PM
Saturday Evening Buffet included in entry fee.
Sunday April 2nd 9AM-4PM
How to enter the tournament? Sign-in forms are available on the website www.racketlon.co.uk/britishchamps2006/enter.htm. The deadline is March 19th.
Participation fees
Subscription fees are £35.00. Includes participation, practice, facility use, t-shirt, buffet, ability to obtain/improve your British ranking, balls and feather shuttlecocks, prizes/prize money/trophies. £15.00 for each additional event.
How many British-ranking points can you win at the English Open? Because the British Championships is part of the British Racketlon Tour, a participant can win British-ranking points. Specifically, Class A will count as a tour event elite class (meaning 100 ranking points for every match victory), class B will count as advanced (10 points per victory), class C will count as amateur (1 point per victory) and class D will count as amateur 2 (0.1 points per victory). In addition, extra points can be gained for reaching the quarter finals, semi-finals or finals of each category. See www.racketlon.com for more information about the construction of the ranking.
