International Student Badminton Tournament

ISBTs of the world

International Student Badminton Tournament (ISBT) is a badminton tournament organised for students, by students. They take place all over Europe, in countries including Austria, England, France, Germany, Ireland, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russia and Scotland. ISBTs promote both the sport of badminton and the social aspect of the game.

ISBTs are open to all standards of player. Many of the student tournaments allow recent graduates to enter under their former clubs or as graduate teams. The players are divided into 4 categories - A (national to top regional standard), B (regional to top club standard), C (club standard) and D (recreational standard). Each player competes in two out of the three disciplines: singles, doubles and mixed doubles. Each match consists of 2 games, so that the result is either a 2-0 win, 0-2 loss or 1-1 draw.

The tournaments are usually 3 to 4 days long and consist of playing badminton during the day and partying at night. Competitors often sleep in the same sports hall where the matches are played and are typically woken up in the morning to the sound of themed music and announcements of the first match of the day. A good example of such a wake up song is "Guten Morgen Sonnenschein" by Nana Mouskouri, however, in the UK and Ireland, accommodation is arranged by the teams themselves. In the event that a player does not turn up for a match, their opponent will receive a walk-over and full points. ISBTs are almost always themed, with a fancy dress party on the last night. Past themes include

  • Wild West
  • 70's
  • Seven Deadly Sins & Seven Heavenly Virtues
  • 3
  • Hollywood

The 'Swiss ladder' system is used to rank the players. This means that players compete against others who have had similar results in previous games. A player does not normally play the same opposition twice. After the last round has been played either the player at the top of the table is the named the winner, or there is a play-off between the top two pairs of the division. Players do not enter with a set partner. Each player will be allocated a partner at random from the same section they have entered. This is to even out each section and also highlight the social aspects of these tournaments.

ISBTs have grown rapidly in popularity over the last few years. One of the largest ISBTs on record was the 2008 Irish ISBT that took place in Limerick, Republic of Ireland, at which over 250 players from all over Europe participated.

Team Newcastle (or otherwise known as Newcastle Old Boys) are the most successful franchise in the tournament history. They have won the team trophy, awarded for the best averaged individual player results, 5 times between 2002 and 2015.

International Solibad Badminton Tournament

In June 2013, London hosted the first annual International Solibad Badminton Tournament. The familiar ISBT format is applied, but this tournament is open to all adults, with the student focus being replaced by a charitable focus, raising awareness for the Solibad charity and including fundraising elements.

Upcoming ISBTs

2018

2017

Previous ISBTs

2016

  • ISBT London - London, UK, 25–26 June 2016
  • ISBT Utrecht - Utrecht, The Netherlands, 19–20 March 2016

2015

  • ISBT Amsterdam - Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 9–10 May 2015
  • ISBT Utrecht - Utrecht, The Netherlands, 21–22 March 2015

2014

  • ISBT Enschede - Enschede, Netherlands, 28 December - 1 January 2015
  • ISBT Limerick - Limerick, Ireland, 25–27 October 2014
  • ISBT London - London, UK, 21–22 June 2014
  • ISBT Amsterdam - Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 2–4 May 2014
  • ISBT Utrecht - Utrecht, The Netherlands, 8–9 March 2014
  • TTST 2014 - Rotterdam, The Netherlands, 31 January - 2 February

2013

  • ISBT Enschede - Enschede, Netherlands, 29–31 December
  • ISBT Ireland - Limerick, Ireland, 26–28 October
  • ISBT London (International Solibad Badminton Tournament) - London, England, 29–30 June
  • ISBT Maastricht - Maastricht, The Netherlands, 28–30 June
  • ISBT Amsterdam - Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 16–19 May
  • ISBT Utrecht - Utrecht, The Netherlands, 15–17 March
  • Victor TTST Rotterdam - Rotterdam, The Netherlands, 1–3 February

2012

  • TTST Rotterdam - Rotterdam, Netherlands, 3–5 February
  • ISBT Utrecht - Utrecht, Netherlands, 16–18 March
  • The Granite City ISBT - Aberdeen, Scotland, 4–7 April
  • ISBT Amsterdam - Amsterdam, Netherlands, 12–13 May
  • ISBT Maastricht - Maastricht, Netherlands, 22–24 June
  • ISBT Ireland - Limerick, Ireland, 27–29 October
  • ISBT Enschede - Enschede, Netherlands, 29–31 December

2011

  • ISBT Enschede - Enschede, Netherlands, 28 December – January 1, 2012
  • ISBT Ireland - Limerick, Ireland, 29–31 October
  • ISBT Tønsberg - Tønsberg, Norway, 10 – 14 August
  • ISBT Maastricht - Maastricht, The Netherlands, 24 – 26 June
  • ISBT Amsterdam - Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 7 – 8 May
  • ISBT Paris - Paris, France, 22 – 24 April
  • ISBT Aberdeen - Aberdeen, Scotland, 20 – 23 April
  • ISBT Utrecht - Utrecht, The Netherlands, 19 – 20 March
  • TTST Rotterdam - Rotterdam, The Netherlands, 5 – 6 February
  • ISBT Galway (GSBT) - Galway, Ireland, 21 – 23 January

2010

  • ISBT Enschede - Enschede, The Netherlands, 28 – 31 December
  • ISBT Pilsen - Plzeň, Czech Republic, 5 – 7 November
  • ISBT Ireland - Limerick, Ireland, 22 – 25 October
  • ISBT Tilburg - Tilburg, The Netherlands, 16 – 17 October
  • ISBT Norway - Tønsberg, Norway, 11 – 15 August
  • ISBT Maastricht - Maastricht, The Netherlands, 26 – 27 June
  • ISBT Amsterdam - Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 8 – 9 May
  • ISBT Poland - Warsaw, Poland, 1 – 2 May
  • ISBT Cologne - Köln, Germany, 2 – 5 April
  • ISBT Aberdeen - Aberdeen, Scotland, 1 – 3 April
  • ISBT Utrecht - Utrecht, The Netherlands, 20 – 21 March
  • TTST Rotterdam - Rotterdam, The Netherlands, 6 – 7 February

2009

  • ISBT Enschede - Enschede, The Netherlands, 29 – 31 December

2008

  • ISBT Berlin - Berlin, Germany, 10 – 12 May
  • ISBT Linz - Linz, Austria, 22 – 24 March
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