To incentivise events offering lucrative prize money at the upper tier of the HSBC BWF World Tour, BWF has initiated a few changes in the Regulations relating to World Ranking points. This was among several key decisions taken by the BWF Council on 11 November 2023 following five days of meetings of various committees and commissions in Kuala Lumpur.
The changes in the World Ranking system, to be implemented starting in Week 17 of 2024 – that is, the week after the Olympic qualifying period – will see a ramping up of ranking points for Grade 1 (Olympics and BWF World Championships), Grade 2 Level 1 (HSBC BWF World Tour Finals) and Grade 2 Level 2 (Super 1000 events on the HSBC BWF World Tour).
While points for the winners of Grade 1 have been increased from 13,000 to 14,500 points, the HSBC BWF World Tour Finals will now offer 14,000 points, up from 12,000 points. (Points for runners-up and other placings too have been proportionately increased).
Those Super 1000 events offering a minimum of US$500,000 additional prize money (over and above the minimum prize money of US$1.3 million) will have 13,500 points for the winners (compared to 12,000 points earlier). Those Super 1000 events that offer additional prize money between US$250,000 and US$499,999 will now offer 12,700 points to the winners, 10,800 points to the runners-up, etc.
From the Super 750 Level onwards, there is no change in the ranking points offered.
Other Significant Council Decisions:
Transgender Interim Policy
The BWF Council approved a ‘Transgender Interim Policy’, which describes the BWF’s interim position until further research is made in relation to the question of participation of transgender athletes in badminton at elite levels. Click here for details.
Draw Timeline
Effective for tournaments starting in Week 17 of 2024 (after the Olympic Qualifying Period) the date of the draw for World Tour, Grade 3, and Junior International Tournaments will move to one week before the start of the tournament, to assist in the minimisation of the impact of withdrawals on draws. In addition, the main draw seeding date for World Tour tournaments starting in Week 17 will move to one week before the start of the tournament.
Team Relay Event at Suhandinata Cup
The Team Relay will replace the current format for the BWF World Junior Team Championships 2024 (Suhandinata Cup) and beyond. The regulations are based on the successful relay team event competition in the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games.
Each tie will consist of 10 matches: two men’s singles; two women’s singles; two men’s doubles; two women’s doubles; two mixed doubles. The winner of the tie will be the team reaching 110 points first.
Click here to see changes (highlighted in yellow): https://corporate.bwfbadminton.com/statutes/
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