1. Activities 

The Competitions Sub-Committee shall be responsible for running leagues and other associated competitions.

2. Eligibility and Affiliation

Subject to the approval of the Competitions Sub-Committee, affiliation can be accepted from any club or organization within the area of Suffolk and its environs.

3. Fees for Competitions    

a) Clubs will pay an annual membership fee as determined by the Competitions Sub-Committee. If a club fields more than one team in a competition then an additional fee will be required; this shall be 50% of the annual fee.
b) League entry fees will be paid when an application form is submitted. All applications must be made by the AGM of the appropriate year. Late applications will only be accepted at the discretion of the Competitions Sub- Committee; an additional £5 administrative charge will be requested.
c) Each individual club shall be responsible for its own players, referees, coaches and officials being registered with England Basketball either directly or through an application to the Suffolk Registrar. 

4. The Officers    

The officers of the Competitions Sub-Committee shall be: Chairman, Honorary Secretary and Honorary Treasurer. 

The function of the Honorary Secretary will be:   

a) To produce and circulate the fixture lists of approved competitions to participating clubs and Officers of Suffolk Basketball.
b) To receive and publish results from all competitions promoted by Suffolk Basketball. These results will also be relayed to the Publicity Officer. 
c) To receive and give judgement on complaints about the handling or results of any matches. In the event of appeal against such judgement the full details will be placed before the full Executive Committee of Suffolk Basketball.
d) To receive notice of postponement of matches and determine whether the offending team shall forfeit the points. (see addendum for each specific League’s rules). 
e) To act in an advisory capacity where appropriate
f ) To call meetings as required by the Constitution 

5.  Management Group 

The affairs of the Sub-Committee shall be run by a Management Group. The Management Group shall consist of:

The Officers
Each club shall, as a condition of membership offer an official to serve as required.

a) The Management Group shall meet at least twice during the winter season. Further meetings may be called at the discretion of the Honorary Secretary or Chairman.
b) A quorum shall consist of at least three Management Group Committee members
c) On any motion put forward at a Management Group Meeting there shall be a majority of one to decide the matter and in the event of a tie the Chairman shall have the casting vote.
d) The Management Group has the power to co opt members. Co opted members will have voting power.
e) The Management Group shall have the right to suspend, for a period, a player, coach or team whose conduct has been unacceptable and in such circumstances may fine the club and or player.
f) The Management Group shall have the power to act on matters not covered by the constitution.
g) No committee member shall vote at a Management Group  on any matter involving their own club.
f) The Management Group shall deal with disciplinary matters, as outlined in Article 6.        

6. Discipline

a) Matches must be carried out according to the FIBA rules and as far as possible within the limits of the club facilities and at the discretion of Suffolk Basketball. 
b) In the event of a complaint of a general nature, those involved must follow the published ‘Complaints Procedure of Suffolk Basketball.’ 
c) The Management Group will deal promptly with any disciplinary matters arising during matches under its jurisdiction. Any decisions arising from such matters will be made known to the club and officials concerned. In the event of repeated disciplinary offences on an increasing sliding scale of penalties should be expected and will be imposed.
d) In the event of a complaint about a specific incident in a Suffolk Basketball competition this must be sent in writing to the Competitions Secretary not later than five days after the event. The Secretary shall seek information from all involved parties and forward the Management Group’s decision in writing within fourteen days. A club, player, coach or referee has the right to Appeal should the secretary's decision be contested. This appeal will be made to the Executive Committee of Suffolk Basketball and accompanied by a non-returnable fee of £10. Such fee will be returned in event of the appeal being upheld. A written appeal must be made within five days of receipt of the Competitions Sub-Committee's decision and this shall be made to the Honorary Secretary of Suffolk Basketball who shall call a meeting of the Executive Committee within fourteen days of receipt of the aforesaid appeal. All involved shall have the right to a personal hearing.

7. Trophies   

At the discretion of the Executive Committee, individual trophies may be obtained and presented to the winning teams and runners up of each Suffolk Basketball competition.   

8. Dissolution

In the event of the any organized competition ceasing to function, its affairs shall be placed at the disposal of the Suffolk Basketball.

9. Liability   

Financial liability incurred by the Sub-Committee’s Officers, acting within their constitutional powers, shall be the responsibility of the member teams and not the elected officers. 

10. Addendum – specific regulations:

1)  Suffolk Senior League:

1 RULES 

All games will be played in accordance with the rules adopted by FIBA and published in England by the England Basketball with additions and amendments as may be deemed necessary by the Executive Committee to meet local circumstances.

No team will be allowed to tip off before 7.30pm, Monday-Friday and not before 6.00pm at weekends

2. THE PLAYING SEASON 

The playing season shall be within the dates 1st October and 30th April. Entry will not be accepted from any club in debt to the Association or  England Basketball   

Games played after 30th April shall be void and not  entered in the final league table, except where the Competitions Sub-Committee have agreed 

3. HOME COURT 

The venue of matches shall (if necessary) be inspected by a representative appointed by the Executive Committee prior to the start of the season to ensure suitability of such premises for the game of Basketball. 

4. SCORING & TIMEKEEPING 

a) The home team shall provide a non playing scorer and a separate timekeeper along with the necessary table equipment and the official scoresheet shall be used for all games.

b) The home team shall ensure that there are two carbon copies of the game record.

c) The top copy of the scoresheet shall be despatched by the home team to the Secretary within 48 hours of the game being played. A stamped addressed envelope for this purpose shall be provided by the home team. There will  be a fine of £5 should a scoresheet not be received within 7 days.

d) The second copy of the scoresheet shall be given to the winning team

e) The bottom copy of the scoresheet shall be given to the losing team.       

5. MATCH POINTS – LEAGUE WINNERS

a) Two (2) match points shall be awarded to the winning team, one (l) match point to the losing team and no (0) match points to the defaulting team if the game is forfeited.

b) On forfeiture the final score shall be recorded as twenty points to nil (20 0) against the forfeiting team. In the case of a defaulted game the score shall be two points to nil (2 0) against the defaulting team.

c) The claiming of match points shall be made in writing to the Honorary Secretary, should a club fail to turn up without explanation.

d) The team with the greatest number of match points shall be declared the League Division champions. In the event of a tie in match points in the League, positions will be decided by the results of games played between the teams involved. If a further tie results, this will be resolved according to England Basketball rules.

e) In the event of teams not completing 50% of its fixtures, the records of that team shall be deleted from the league table and the club shall forfeit its surety fee. 

6. POSTPONEMENT

Notice of postponement shall be given to opponents, referees and Secretary by the team responsible for the postponement at least EIGHT days prior to the match. Failure to do so may result in forfeiture of the game by the offending team plus the appropriate fines. In the event of a team being unable to give 8 days notice through circumstances beyond their control, the details shall be sent to the Secretary immediately. The Secretary shall decide whether the fixture shall be rearranged or the offending team forfeit the game. 

7. MATCH OFFICIALS

Official will be appointed, or provided dependent on the competition, as follows:

a) The Secretary will nominate neutral officials to officiate all fixtures. The officials will be specified on the fixture list.

b) Each club must nominate an official for each team it enters, this to be at the minimum of Approved status. A team without such an official must ensure a member attends the Referees course. In this case a referee will be temporarily allocated to the team. This situation will last for a maximum of one season.

c) Teams who find the above requirements not being met should report the matter immediately to the Honorary Secretary. Offending teams may be fined for not supplying the required officials.

d) Matches begun by mutual consent of both teams without the stipulated officials cannot be claimed by appeal on the grounds that the required officials were not available.

e) PAYMENT OF OFFICIALS - Match officials shall be paid the following rates: Minimum Level 2 Rate as set out by England Basketball. Travel costs of 15p per mile for journeys in excess of 10 miles, to a maximum of £6.00, will be paid if requested. All fees are payable by the home club before the commencement of play. 

8. PLAYER REGISTRATION AND TRANSFERS   

a) All players must be registered with England Basketball and Suffolk Basketball. Registration fees are due from 1st October each year and shall be sent along with the completed England Basketball application forms (in triplicate) to the Registrar of Suffolk Basketball.

b) All players must be registered on or before 31st October of each year. Any club found to have used an unregistered player in any game organised by the Association shall lose the game by default.

c) Players wishing to transfer clubs must obtain the necessary forms from the Suffolk Basketball Registrar which must be completed by the player and both clubs concerned. This form will then be forwarded to England Basketball   

d) Players transferring when in debt may be barred by the Executive Committee from further play until the debt is cleared.

e) All England Basketball registration numbers shall be entered on game scoresheets   

9) PLAYER ELIGIBILITY 

a) Clubs entering more than one team into the two divisions will be required to name their best SIX players in writing prior to October 1st.

b) The nominations will be approved and circulated by the Competitions Sub- Committee. The approved players will be ineligible to compete in the club's second team.

c) No player may play for more than one team in any one week.

d) No club may play  more than two players holding a Senior Licence and a National League Competitions Licence as a player in any competition organised by the Association

h) No club may play more than two players who hold other than E.C.Nationality

10. DRESS

Teams shall wear distinctive uniforms and vests shall be numbered in accordance with the rules of England Basketball

In the event of a clash of colours, the visiting team shall change unless the clubs involved mutually agree to some alternative arrangement.

11. FEES

a) An affiliation fee of £25.00 shall be payable by each team registering with Suffolk Basketball Senior League and £12.50 for additional teams registered by the same club.
b) A surety fee of £ 15.00 per club shall be levied on all member clubs of the League shall be paid to the Treasurer when affiliating to the League. This is in addition to the normal affiliation fee and is a fee to cover fines.   Suffolk Basketball may fine clubs up to a maximum of £15.00

A further £ 15. 00 shall be paid within seven days of written confirmation that the original or previous surety fee has been forfeited. if this is not complied with, the club may be excluded from the Association's competitions immediately.

12. OBJECTIONS

Objections shall be made in writing to the Honorary Secretary in accordance with procedure detailed in item 6 of the playing rules.

13. INTERPRETATION   

The power of interpretation of these rules shall be vested in the Executive Committee and their decision shall be final.

2)    Suffolk Cup/Plate:

1) Eligibility

The Competitions Sub-Committee shall organize a knock-out competition for the Suffolk Cup. It may also, at its discretion, organize a Plate Competition for first round losers. All clubs registering with England Basketball through Suffolk Basketball may enter these competitions with no charge. Entries from clubs registering through some other Association shall be charged an entry fee of £50.

2) The Final Tie(s)

The first drawn team shall be the home team and all referees will be appointed by Suffolk Basketball for all rounds (as per the Senior League) but Suffolk Basketball will stage the final tie(s). 

3) All other necessary rules

 These will be identical to the Suffolk Senior League (Above)

3) Suffolk Under 16s:

1) League Organisation:

The League shall be organized in monthly triple headers – where each team will play two games. Home venues will be rotated.

If there are five, six or more teams there will be two such three team tournaments each month between October and March.

All games will be played in accordance with FIBA rules – each team allowed to play up to 12 players.

The home club will play first and third. The team travelling furthest will play second and third. The team travelling least will play first and second.

2) Registration:

All clubs and players shall be registered with the English Basketball Association before playing. All players shall be under 16 years of age on the first of September. There will be no exceptions to this rule. All player registration numbers shall be entered on the scoresheet.

3) National League Players:

Teams may play two National League registered players per game.

4) Officiating:

Each team shall supply a referee for each tournament who will referee their own games. All referees shall be qualified. Referees who have attended an Apprentice Referees course shall be permitted, providing they are in the process of attaining grade three status.

5) Scoring/Timekeeping:

The home club shall provide non-playing scorers and timekeepers for each of the three games they are hosting.

The top copies of the score sheets shall be posted by the host secretary to the League Fixture Secretary (Garth Mclean) within 48 hours of the tournament taking place.

6) League points:

Two league points shall be awarded to the winners of each game. The losers shall be awarded one point and a defaulting team awarded no points. Results, league tables etc will be posted regularly on the Suffolk Basketball Association website.

7) Dress:

All teams shall wear distinctive matching uniforms. Colours shall be notified to the league secretary prior to the commencement of the season. In the event of a colour clash, the home team will change.

8) Fixtures:

Fixtures will be drawn up by the Secretary after consultation with the clubs. There will then be a two week negotiation period for rearrangement after which the fixtures shall be deemed finalized.

9) Default:

Any club defaulting on a tournament with less than two weeks to go shall be liable to pay two thirds of the cost of hiring the facility. (This represents the cost of hiring the facility for two games which will not take place.)

10) Fees:

The entry fee for the Under 16s League shall be £15 per team.

4) Suffolk Roadshow:

1) Timings:

 The number of teams entered into each competition tends to vary and so timings and length of each game will vary from Roadshow to Roadshow

2) Eligibility:

All competitors must be under 14 on 1st September of the year of commencement of the season.

3) Game regulations:

Games will consist of two halves with a running clock. (This is the most efficient way of keeping to time on the day). Teams may have one time out per game lasting one minute when the clock will be stopped. There will be three minutes between each game and two minutes for half time. 

4) Subtitution Rules:

 Paserelle rules will not be used. Each team can make as many substitutions as they wish but must wait for an appropriate stoppage in play.  It should be stressed however that the days aim is about development and encouraging all junior players to participate, so coaches are urged to give all players good, and where possible, equal amounts of court time.

5) Results:

Teams will be awarded 2 points for a win and 1 point for a loss.

These points will then go on to a league table that can be viewed on www.suffolkbasketball.net. In the event of a tie we will start the game again with a tip and a “golden basket” will win the game. This should make for an exciting finish and will help us keep to time.

6) National League Players:

Teams may play two National League registered players per game.

7) Fouls:

Individuals will be allowed four personal fouls. Each side is allowed to commit four team fouls in each half. Two free throws will then be awarded for each additional foul.

8) Defensive restrictions:

If a team has a 20 point lead they can then only play half-court defence, i.e. no more pressing defence.

These rules were ratified at the Inaugural Meeting of Suffolk Basketball  on Thursday 13th September 2007 at Holbrook High School.

Signed:

Bernard Ball, Secretary, Suffolk Basketball

Issue  Status  Date                 Comments      

0.1     Draft    13/09/2007       First draft   

0.2     Draft    14/09/ 2007      Updates from review at AGM    

1.0     Issue   15/09//2007      First issue