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Rules & Regulations

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Leeds & District Basketball League Rules

This page covers the full regulations for the Basketball England – Leeds League competitions.

The Leeds & District Basketball League (LDBL) exists to provide amateur community basketball for adults (16+) in the Leeds & District local area. LDBL welcomes teams from outside the area, however any team from outside the area accepts the challenges that geography can provide.

Rules of play for LDBL shall be the current rule of Basketball England (BE) with the additions and exceptions contained in the League Rules.

Three points shall be awarded for a win, two points for a loss and zero points for a forfeit. Results must be submitted by BOTH teams within 48 hours of the game finishing. If a team does not submit they will not receive their points. Results can be submitted by telephone call, text or email to the division secretaries. The only exception to this is where the division secretary is at the game and happy to accept a verbal confirmation. This is at the discretion of the division secretary.

Division winners shall be the team securing the greatest number of league points on a completion of the competition. In the event of an equality of points, ties shall be broken by head to head results, then the point’s difference. If both teams are still tied then a play-off will decide the winner.

The League Committee shall decide the organisation and formation of the League and divisions. Promotion and relegation from season to season will be at the discretion of the League Committee based on results and information gathered from clubs as to their expected team strength for the upcoming season. New teams will normally enter at the lowest tier of competition, but the Committee can place new teams higher up the ladder based on knowledge of the strength of teams. At all times the balance of competition and number of fixtures for each team in the league will be the guiding factors.

Trophies shall be awarded each season. These trophies shall remain the property of the League. The trophies shall be returned immediately upon request and in any case no later than 14 days after the written request. Any damage shall remain the responsibility of the club in possession at the time and cost of repair/replacement must be made by that club.

The home team must confirm the fixture with the away team and referees at least 5 days prior. Confirmation should be via phone call or text only and confirm venue and time as a minimum.

Postponements and fixture alterations will only be granted in exceptional circumstances. Any game cancelled without notifying the division secretary will be considered an unauthorised postponement and a forfeit.

Any cancellations or rearrangements should be made as soon as possible via a phone call to the other team, division secretary and all officials. If less than three days’ notice is given then the team being cancelled on has the right to claim the game and submit a request for any costs incurred to the league. The league would encourage games to be played. Exceptions will only be given in extreme circumstances, for example a sports hall flooding.

Any team that does not attend a fixture shall be considered to have forfeited and be required to cover the costs for facilities, referees and table officials.

In the event of a colour clash the team listed as the home team shall change.

Teams must register all participating players and coaches with BE.

Where a player, coach or official has registered with Basketball England through another organisation, evidence of registration must be provided to the league before participation in the league’s competitions will be permitted.

Any new players joining the league throughout the season must register with the BE prior to participating in their first game. No new players can be added to the current season after the end of January without approval from the league.

Clubs with more than one team shall provide the League with a list of their top seven players for each team except the lowest on the ladder – so a club with three teams shall provide two lists of seven players. Each player included on a list may play only for the team they are listed for and any above them in the ladder. The Committee may request that a club changes their lists of players if they feel that the club are going against the spirit of the rule by ‘playing down’ their stronger players. The Committee may also impose retroactive penalties, i.e. forfeiting affected games, if they feel that a team has benefited by flouting this rule. Where a club has two teams in the same division they must run two separate teams. No play should play for both teams in the same division without prior approval from the league

Where it is apparent that teams are consistently struggling to field the minimum number of players required the Committee may require the team to take actions to address the situation or withdraw that team from the league completely.

A player may only play for one club within the league. Players wishing to transfer from one club to another must first request approval from the League. A player must not play for the new team until approval has been granted. A ban of that player and possible forfeit of the fixture may occur if this rule is broken.

Officials shall be appointed by the Referees secretary to all fixtures; this may include newly qualified officials who are taking ‘qualification’ games.

LDBL considers all officials to be independent, regardless of local club affiliations or geography.

Any team who refuses to accept an appointed official will be deemed to of forfeited the game.

The referee’s secretary reserves the right to appoint any official within the LDBL referee pool. Where this results in an official needing to travel a ‘considerable’ distance their match fee will include a travel fee. At the time of writing the travel fee is £10. The referee’s secretary will deem what is considerable and notify the team in advance. The fee is not per game, so where two or more games are officiated at the same venue the travel fee is paid once. This point is particular relevant to teams who join LDBL from outside the Leeds & District local area.

All officials must be paid their fee before the start of the game by the home team. The fee is split 50/50 between the home and away teams for all Cup games.

Where an appointed official fails to arrive, a suitable replacement if available should be found to ensure that the game proceeds. If a substitute referee cannot be found the other referee may opt to officiate the game on their own. In such circumstances the lone referee shall receive half of what would have been their co-officials’ game fee. It is not the decision of the home or away team as to whether a game is played with one referee. Either team coach has the right to sign under protest before tip-off.

The referee’s secretary will always attempt to appoint two officials, where only one is available the referee secretary will notify both clubs in advance.

If the game does not take place due to the failure of official(s) to turn up, the Division Secretary must be informed within 48 hours and a further date will be arranged for the game to be replayed.

The home team must provide table equipment and table officials. As a minimum this should include a visible clock, an official score pad, directional arrow, foul markers and a cumulative visual record of the scores throughout the game. Both teams must provide the table officials with a written team list.

All teams shall wear a consistent kit with clearly marked numbering.

Both teams shall provide a suitable match ball for their games. The preferred match ball of the league is the official ball of Basketball England, if one of these is not present, the referee will choose a match ball from those available.

Where the scoresheet has been signed under protest a written explanation must be sent within 48 hours to the League. The referee is also required to send a report within this timescale. Other officials are not required to submit a report unless requested to do so by the League.

Cup competition(s) will be held during each season the format to be decided upon by the Committee. Any format differing from the previous season will be confirmed prior to the first game. For example in the Men’s Handicap Cup Competition teams in the Premier division will receive normal points for baskets scored, teams in division one will receive an extra point per basket, teams in division two will receive double points. This still applies when teams from the same division are drawn against each other.

The first team drawn in any cup tie will receive home court advantage. This is the team listed above on the cup section of the website.

Under no circumstances will a player be permitted to play for more than one team in the cup competitions. This includes players within a club with more than one team. Each player may only represent one of the teams in knockout competitions. Players who transfer to a new club after having played in a knockout game will be ‘cup tied’.

A game may be forfeited by the offending team in any of the following situations – o Non-attendance at match o Playing a player under a false name o Team walk off from a match or other inappropriate behaviour o Cancelled or rearranged games with less than three days’ notice o Playing an individual not registered with the league o Failing to pay league and/or referee fees.

The league committee shall decide on any forfeits, associated or separate fines. All disciplinary matters will be dealt with by the League Committee.

All fines must be paid within 14 days of receipt. Failure to comply could result in the fine being increased every 14 days until payment is received.

The table officials are responsible for ensuring that the scoresheet is correctly filled in with the names of the players to allow the League to ensure that only registered and eligible players participate in games.

All disciplinary matters should be sent to the League for consideration by the League Committee. The committee members must not have any connection to the incident which they are judging. The Chair has the power to cast a deciding vote.

For in game incidents (including any disqualification) reports by the game officials are to be sent to the League within 48 hours of the incident in writing/Email.

All disqualifications, including Unsportsmanlike or Technical fouls, will carry an automatic one-match ban, which the Committee will notify the team concerned / match officials of the game in which the player is to miss. This ban cannot be appealed against.

All participants of the League are also subject to the League’s Social Media Policy and infringements of this policy are to be dealt with by the committee in a similar manner to as described above.

Any issue not covered by the rules listed here or the current rules of Basketball England (BE) will be decided by the league committee.

All committee decisions are final. Leeds & District Basketball Social Media Policy The term ‘social media’ is used here to describe dynamic and socially-interactive, networked information and communication technologies, for example Web 2.0 sites, SMS text messaging and social networking sites. This policy refers to the term ‘Friend’. This is used be social media networks and websites to describe a member of your network. For example ‘Friend’ on Facebook or ‘Follower’ on Twitter. Purpose The purpose of this social media policy is as follows:

Encourage good practice

Protect members, coaches, volunteers, players

Promote effective use of social media as part of the league and any associated club’s activities whilst protecting the integrity of the league and maintaining a high standard of communication with users of Social Media.

1. Personal accounts

1.1. Whilst this policy is to govern the use of the league and club accounts, we would ask that those with personal social media accounts are mindful of who can view their profile and act accordingly.

1.2. If you are friends with colleagues, volunteers, players or prospective players, staff or league partners you should consider carefully before posting comments regarding the club or it’s members or associates that could cause offence or be viewed as contravening confidentiality rules.

1.3. If you identify yourself as a member of the league within your personal or club accounts please remember that your actions or comments could be construed as those of the league.

2. Usage policy

2.1. The Internet and Social Media are exciting opportunities for us to engage with existing members and supporters of the league, your club and potential new members.

2.2. Before setting up a new URL / webpage or social media account on behalf of any associated club please consider the purpose of the account and what benefits you feel it may have. For example when setting up accounts with Facebook you may choose between a ‘group’ and a ‘page’ depending on your requirements. No new URL / webpage or social media account should be set up on behalf of the league without prior written consent from the league committee.

2.3. In line with schools and youth organisations, league and associated club staff (paid or voluntary) must not be ‘friends’ with any junior member unless you have a clear and transparent reason, for example; they are a relative, family friend etc.

2.4. In the same way as we would not pass on our personal address or contact details to junior members, staff members must not become ‘friends’ with junior members on their own personal social media accounts.

2.5. This is a commonly recognised as best practice in order to promote a safe and transparent online environment that protects the league your organisation, the members and also your interests and reputation.

3. Intellectual Property

3.1. Social Media users are reminded that they must consider intellectual Property rights, copyright and ownership of data.

3.2. Intellectual property (IP) law is the law protecting the rights of creators and owners of intellectual creativity. IP law also regulates the creation, use and control of a protected work. The main branches of IP law are copyright, patents, trademarks, designs, passing off and the law of confidential information. For latest information please visit http://www.ipo.gov.uk/

4. Conduct

4.1. We believe in free speech, however on social media accounts for example Facebook pages we reserve the right to remove certain content that you may post on league owned and administered websites and pages. As a general rule users can post content freely on a social media account except when content could be considered illegal, obscene, defamatory, threatening, infringing upon intellectual property rights, invasive of privacy or otherwise injurious or objectionable.

4.2. Users cannot use the league name to promote or endorse any product, opinions, cause or political party. Stating that the league endorses your personal opinion is prohibited.

4.3. Users should understand that content posted becomes the sole responsibility of the individual who originally posted the content.

4.4. All opinions expressed by users of social media sites are expressed strictly in their individual capacity and not as a representative of the league.

4.5. The league will not be liable, under any circumstances for any errors, omissions, loss or damages of any kind incurred as a result of use of any content posted on social media sites.

4.6. Remember that you are required to protect confidential and proprietary information regarding the league members and staff.

4.7. Possible responses to any contentious issues identified in unofficial social media sites should be referred to the league secretary for further investigation.

5. Disciplinary Action

5.1. The league reserves the right to administer sanctions and other disciplinary measures for the breach or misuse of the league social media policy. The sanction will be determined by the committee and may include a fine, suspension, written warning, referral to the Governing Body or outside agencies including the local police authority and any other disciplinary deemed appropriate.

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