Grading System

 
 

Why is this getting introduced?

As the club has grown over the years with more and more people playing badminton, the range of skills and ability of our club has also naturally increased, resulting in some players feeling unmotivated with the level of games they are set up with on club nights. Our club does not currently have a robust or objective system in place to assess when players are ready to move up a grade to play more challenging games in order to upskill their games.

What’s in it for you?

By having a more objective process to grading, it will hopefully mean you play more challenging and enjoyable games when you come along to club nights. Having this new process will also foster greater transparency in our system and players knows exactly what they need to work on in order to move up a grade. 

What are the changes?

Here are a few initiatives we would like to try this year to see if it works for our club and our players in terms of our grading system. A recent survey has shown more than 50% of the respondents feels they should be playing in a higher grade than the one they are currently in and a large portion of respondents have no idea what grade they are currently playing in.

Our Grading Table

Grade Title Description
A1 Top Club Player Top players in all aspects of the game with no discernible weaknesses. Able to play all shots with a high level of consistency and very few unforced errors.
A2 Strong Player Strong players able to play the majority of shots well including steep powerful smashes and strong backhands. Strong footwork and doubles court cover with good understanding of doubles tactics.
A3 Advanced Has mastery of all shots and able to play a variety of shots in a game, with good understanding of doubles tactics and court movement. Able to stay in a competitive rally with other A graders but lacks a little consistency.
B1 Upper Intermediate Good players with competitive edge, able to rally and employ some tactics. Backhand and court position are potential weaknesses. Have a range of shot selections but not always executed well in a game.
B2 Intermediate Sound players, able to have competitive rallies with other B graders. These players have a good grasp of basic skills but with room for improvement. Typically, smashes lack power and accuracy, backhands are weak, and shots can be inconsistent.
B3 Lower Intermediate Able to receive all badminton shots and hit a range of shots when not under pressure. Can be inconsistent and inaccurate but capable of sustained rallies with other B graders.
C1 Strong Social Player Social players who typically have more than a year of experience. Able to execute basic shots and sustain rallies. Working on control and power. Typically lack footwork and struggle with backhand shots.
C2 Social Player Ability to execute and receive all badminton shots with basic control and rudimentary tactics.
C3 Novice Learning to execute and receive the fundamental badminton strokes.
D1 Beginner Little or no experience in playing badminton.