BWF registered players are allowed to deregister or retire from international competition.

Players are required to complete the attached “BWF Player Deregistration / Retirement Form” and submit, via their respective Member Association, to the BWF office for further action.

The following are explanations of these two statutes, and related BWF Anti-Doping Regulations.

For more information please refer to the complete BWF Statutes at the BWF Corporate website, or contact Yee Hon Jun ([email protected]).

DEREGISTRATION (GCR & PBGCR, Regulation 5.7)

1. Definition: Deregistration means the player no longer wants to be a “Registered Player for Entry”.
2. Participation: Deregistered players can participate in national competitions, but not in BWF sanctioned tournaments.
3. Integrity: Deregistered players remain under BWF rules and can be tested for doping.
4. Fines: Top committed players who deregister may be liable for fines if they are registered again within 12 months. (Not applicable to Para Badminton Athlete)
5. Return to international competition: Deregistered players must give a three-month notice before being registered again.

RETIREMENT (GCR & PBGCR, Regulation 5.8)

1. Definition: Retirement means that the player will completely stop playing in badminton competitions organised under the framework of the BWF.
2. Participation: Retired players cannot participate in any structured competitive badminton activity, except those that are purely recreational.
3. Integrity: Retired players will no longer be tested for doping, but remain subject to BWF rules for potential breaches that occurred before they retired.
4. Fines: Top committed players who retire may be liable for fines if they return to competition within 12 months. (Not applicable to Para Badminton Athlete)
5. Return to competition: Players who retire must give a six-month notice to the BWF before coming back to competition.

Once a player has retired and notified the BWF through their Member Association, there are certain requirements for returning to competition, and these relate to the BWF Anti-Doping Regulations – Clauses 5.6 – (5.6.1, 5.6.2) and 7.12.

BWF Anti-Doping Regulations

Please take note that, once a player has retired and wishes to return = competitive badminton again and compete in BWF sanctioned events, they are required to fulfill the following.

5.6 Retired Athletes Returning to Competition

5.6.1 If an International-Level Athlete or National-Level Athlete in BWF’s Registered Testing Pool retires and then wishes to return to active participation in sport, the Athlete shall not compete in International Events or National Events until the Athlete has made himself or herself available for Testing, by giving six (6) months prior written notice to BWF and their National Anti-Doping Organization.

WADA, in consultation with BWF and the Athlete’s National Anti-Doping Organization, may grant an exemption to the six (6) month written notice rule where the strict application of that rule would be unfair to the Athlete. This decision may be appealed under Article 13.
Any competitive results obtained in violation of this Article 5.6.1 shall be Disqualified unless the Athlete can establish that he or she could not have reasonably known that this was an International Event or a National Event.

5.6.2 If an Athlete retires from sport while subject to a period of Ineligibility, the Athlete must notify the Anti-Doping Organization that imposed the period of Ineligibility in writing of such retirement. If the Athlete then wishes to return to active competition in sport, the Athlete shall not compete in International Events or National Events until the Athlete has made himself or herself available for Testing by giving six (6) months prior written notice (or notice equivalent to the period of Ineligibility remaining as of the date the Athlete retired, if that period was longer than six (6) months) to BWF and to their National Anti-Doping Organization.

Please also see the BWF Anti-Doping Regulations clause 7.12.