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Officiating Progressions

  1. Umpire in Training
  2. Regional Umpire
  3. Provincial Umpire
  4. National Umpire
  5. Pan American Umpire
  6. BWF Umpire

To start your umpire career, you must attend a beginner umpire & rules clinic run by MBA

  1. Referee in Training
  2. Provincial Referee
  3. National Referee
  4. Pan American Referee
  5. BWF Referee

Individuals may start their Referee in Training once they have become fully certified as a Regional Umpire


All About Officiating

There are three types of officials in the sport of Badminton.

  1. Referee
  2. Umpire
  3. Linesman

The Referee takes responsibility for making sure the tournament is run according to all the rules, is fair and that sportsmanship is being upheld.  There must be one Referee at all MBA Sanctioned Events.

The Umpire takes responsibility for running individual matches.  He or she is responsible for making all final decisions for points awarded in a match.  Umpires are mandatory for final matches in the MBA Provincial Closed and Junior Closed, as well as any Badminton Canada or World Badminton Federation tournaments.

Linesmen take responsibility for making line calls on shuttles that land on the floor of the badminton court.  They are there to assist the umpire in making the best decision possible.  Linesmen are not mandatory for any provincial tournaments, but are frequently used in more important matches.

How do I become an Official?

Official hopefuls must go through the following steps to be certified as a regional umpire.

  1. Attend Rules/Official's Clinic
  2. Pass Examination
  3. Complete Training Hours

*The current official's development program is under review for the purpose of improving development opportunities.

Why should I become an Umpire?

This is your opportunity to contribute to the sport of badminton! There is always a need to train new officials as changes in circumstances, age, or other factors deplete our numbers. This is not a time consuming job. In most cases you officiate the finals of a tournament on the occasional Sunday. Because some officials may not be available for the finals of a specific tournament, it’s important to have adequate numbers to avoid this problem. This is where you can really contribute!

In addition you also get compensated for your time and should you choose to pursue achieving a higher level of Umpiring you will benefit from many opportunities to travel across this great Country of ours ensuring the smooth operation of Tournaments across Canada. Badminton played at a high level is very exciting!

Why wouldn’t YOU want the best seat in the house?