TEAM ELIGIBILITY 1. Members must be in good standing. 2. Member teams must have timely submitted the required Official Team Entry Form. 3. Member teams must have timely submitted the required payment. 4. Member teams must have timely provided proof of insurance. 5. Member teams must have timely submitted an eligible Official Team Roster. 6. Member teams must have timely notified MSBL of their home-court schedule for games. 7. Team rosters must consist of at least 10 and no more than 15 eligible players. Eligibility is described under PLAYER ELIGIBILITY. Recognized programs may petition to the MSBL board for an exception to allow 8 or 9 players on their roster, provided that program is in good standing and has not entered a similar team for that division within the last three (3) years. Independent teams/programs as defined in number 12 below are not eligible. Programs entering additional teams in a division may utilize this rule, provided they are entering a larger number of teams in that division than they have in any of the three (3) previous years. 8. Teams that knowingly select an ineligible player for inclusion on their roster are subject to immediate disqualification for the remainder of the season. 9. Teams that have been disqualified for any reason will only be accepted for re-entry in a future season upon submitting a team entry to MSBL together with a petition for acceptance. The Board will rule on the petition. Any Board member who is also a participant in the offending Members program shall abstain from such ruling. 10. Teams representing a Boys and Girls Club or YMCA member are permitted provided that all players 1) are current members, 2) reside within the geographic membership area, 3) do not constitute a team described in items #11 and #12, and 4) are not recruited to become a member of the team prior to becoming a member of the organization. Public notice of a try-out will not be considered recruiting. 11. School teams are not permitted in the Grade 7/8 division. 12. Teams sanctioned solely through AAU, YBOA, CYO, or other similar body and not organized through a locally based recreation department, athletic association, YMCA, or Boys and Girls Club, are not permitted. Independent teams, defined as those not officially representing one of the groups as defined above, may be accepted by the Board on a case by case basis, provided all other membership criteria are met. These teams shall be restricted solely to the geographic boundaries of their organizing town for the purpose of selecting players for their team. 13. Independent programs may petition the membership for recognition as an official town representative or other representative organization provided that they meet the following criteria 1) They have previously participated in MSBL for at the immediate prior season; 2) They are organizing multiple teams for MSBL and are under the direction of a single Program Director; 3) They have held open tryouts for each age group and can define how multiple teams in the same age group were differentiated. 14. Teams are permitted 3 non-player bench personnel consisting of a Head Coach and Assistant Coaches. The Head Coach, including any replacement designated by the Head Coach, must be at least 18 years of age. Assistant coaches should be prepared to provide first aid to any medical issues that arise during the game. PLAYER ELIGIBILITY 1. Players must reside within the town represented by the Member s team. Exceptions must be disclosed and selection circumstances described to the Division Coordinator at the time the Official Team Roster is submitted. Failure to properly disclose any exceptions and describe the circumstances leading to selection of an otherwise ineligible player will disqualify that player from future competition and result in a forfeit of all games played for the offending team.
2. Players that are members of a Boys and Girls Clubs or YMCA, are eligible to compete with either a Member team from the town in which they reside, if available, or with either of these organizations in which they must be a member. 3. A player that resides in a town that does not enter a team to MSBL in a division in which that player is eligible to participate, is eligible to participate with any team entered in MSBL provided that all other eligibility requirements are met. 4. Players shall compete in their grade specific division or any division older than their respective grade division. Regardless of actual birth date, players may not compete in a lower grade division. Grade division is determined as of September 30 of the current season. 5. Players that receive two technical fouls during the course of a scheduled game for infractions that are other than administrative infractions shall be ejected for the remainder of that game and are further ineligible for the next scheduled game. 6. Players that are ejected from any two scheduled games during the course of the regular and post seasons are ineligible for the remainder of the entire regular and post season. 7. Submission of false information by a player to a team that leads to the wrongful qualification of such player as eligible for participation with that team shall result in the player s immediate disqualification for the remainder of the season and all future seasons. 8. Players must have participated in at least one-half of the regular season game schedule to be eligible for post-season participation with a team. POST SEASON COMPETITION 1. Post season competition will be provided for each team that is currently entered, paid, and in good standing. Teams that may become disqualified during the course of the regular or postseason are not entitled to a refund of their entry fee. 2. A pool play or modified pool play format will result in qualifying teams for placement into a single elimination championship bracket or similar arrangement. Each team will be guaranteed a minimum of two post-season games. 3. Playoff rosters may only contain players who have participated in at least one-half of the team s regular season games. The board will address this rule prior to the playoffs on an individual basis. In case of injury, the coach should notify the Division Coordinator. 4. Seeding will be determined based first on the winning percentage of all teams in the division and including all games played except as described in item #5 below. Tie breakers are described in items #6 and #7. 5. Divisions that include a re-assignment of teams, either to or from the division, following the evaluation period prior to the winter break, will omit the results of games played during the evaluation period that included a team that has been re-assigned following the evaluation period when determining the seeding for post-season competition. The seeding for such divisions will be determined using only the results of games played amongst current division opponents. Teams reassigned to a division will enter that division with an 0-0 record. 6. Two teams having an equivalent winning percentage will be seeded based on the results of head-to-head games. If the two teams played twice and split their regular season games, their winning percentage amongst only common opponents will become the tie breaker. If the two teams remain tied, the team with the highest cumulative point differential from games played against only common opponents, to a maximum of 15 points, will receive the higher seed. Should the teams remain tied, the team allowing the least points cumulatively amongst only common opponents will receive the higher seed. If a tie remains, a coin flip will determine the higher seed. 7. If three or more teams have equivalent winning percentages, the first tie-breaker includes the winning percentage of the tied-teams amongst only each other. If any teams remain tied, the second tie-breaker
will include the winning percentages of each of the remaining tied-teams amongst only their common opponents. If any of the teams remain tied, the team with the highest cumulative point differential from games played against only common opponents, to a maximum of 15 points, will receive the higher seed. Should any teams still remain tied, the team allowing the least points cumulatively amongst only common opponents will receive the higher seed. If a tie remains, a coin flip will determine the higher seed. DIVISION ASSIGNMENTS 1. Division assignments are the responsibility of Division Coordinators subject to the approval of the respective Vice President. 2. Divisions will consist of a minimum of 6 teams and a maximum of 12 teams. 3. All divisions must select a Coordinator by the conclusion of the second scheduled meeting of the current season. The Coordinator receives and inspects team rosters to determine the eligibility of players, develops and prepares the regular season game schedule, certifies the final results and standings of the regular season, develops and prepares the post-season play-off schedule, certifies the results of the post-season competition to the Board for the distribution of awards, and assists with the investigation of complaints and protests and administers any penalty or sanction. 4. There is no limit to the number of divisions that will be organized other than that which is imposed by item #2 and following these guidelines: a. 6 11 teams = 1 division b. 12 24 teams = 2 divisions c. 25 36 teams = 3 divisions d. 37 or more teams = 4 divisions 5. All Members must designate at least one team for assignment to Division 1 unless a) a specific exception exists, or b) a request for re-assignment is submitted to and approved by MSBL. Assignment is determined based on the following criteria: a. Division I All teams not otherwise eligible to compete in any other division. All Members must designate at least one team to Division I. Teams otherwise eligible to compete in another division may nonetheless request assignment to Division I. b. Division II All teams that are a) one of a group of more-than-one-team entered by a Member to one grade division, and, b) that have not been designated as the Member s Division I entry are eligible for Division II c. Division III This Division is only available if the total number of entered teams to a Grade Division exceeds 24 teams. All teams whose roster consist solely of lower-grade players within their respective grade divisions, e.g. 3rd, 5th, and 7th grade players on teams entered to Grade 3/4, Grade 5/6, Grade 7/8, respectively, are eligible for Division III. Other teams that might not qualify for Division III under this criteria, may nevertheless be assigned to Division III to balance the total entered number of teams within a Grade Division. Division III eligibility will be re-determined in coordination
with Division II criteria if MSBL organizes a Division IV. d. Division IV This Division is only available if the total number of entered teams to a Grade Division exceeds 36 teams. All teams that consist solely of lower-grade players within their respective grade divisions, e.g. 3rd, 5th, and 7th grade players on teams entered to Grade 3/4, Grade 5/6, Grade 7/8, respectively, are eligible for Division IV. 6. Teams that are otherwise required to be assigned to a specific Division may be reassigned to another division based on EXCEPTIONS (described below) and as may become necessary to balance the number of teams within a division and amongst all divisions within the Grade division. Teams must present a request for re-assignment under any exception. 7. EXCEPTIONS: a. Teams that are initially assigned to either Division I, II, or III may be eligible for reassignment to another Division if, following the conclusion of at least three but no more than five games, the Division Coordinator determines that the caliber of the team is better suited to another Division. b. Teams that are only eligible to be assigned to Division I may be assigned to Division II provided that the majority of a team s roster consists of lower grade players and that the respective Vice President is notified of and approves of the re-assignment. c. Teams that are only eligible to be assigned to Division II may be assigned to Division III, if available, provided that the majority of a team s roster consists of lower grade players and that the respective Vice President is notified of and approves of the reassignment. d. Consideration for assignment to a lower division may be given to teams that represent Members of Small populations such as Auburn, Brookline, Hollis, Litchfield, or Pembroke. Members that include a combined, cooperative, or regional roster are not permitted this exception.
GENERAL RULES OF PLAY - Grade 3/4 Rules and Regulations 1. New Hampshire High School Federation rules apply in all instances except as noted below. 2. Coaches will meet with referees before the start of every game to review any specific rules for that age group/division. Coaches will have this rule sheet available at games for referees to reference. Coaches should encourage the referees to call tight games (little to no leeway for age). 3. Games will consist of four 8-minute quarters using stop time for the entire game. Period breaks will be one minute with a five-minute half time. 4. Every player must play a minimum of 8 minutes of game time. 5. Each team will be allowed 5 time-outs (three full & two 30-second) to be used at anytime during the game. One additional full time-out will be granted for each overtime period. 6. There will be a jump ball at the start of the game followed by alternating possessions. 7. Full court press is allowed only in the last 2 minutes of the fourth quarter and the entire overtime period(s). (See in season attachment for division specific rules on this). 8. In the event of a tie at the end of regulation, teams will play one 3-minute overtime period beginning with a jump ball. Each team will also be awarded an additional time-out for the overtime period. If there is still a tie and there is no time constraint within the gym, the teams will go into sudden death beginning with a jump ball. 9. Foul shots will be taken from behind the regulation foul line. However, players are allowed to cross the line in the course of taking the shot as momentum may carry their body over the line. (See in season attachment for division specific rules on this). 10. The one-and-one bonus foul shot will take effect on the 7th team foul of each half. The double bonus two shot foul is awarded for the 10th team foul of each half. 11. All technical fouls will be two shots. 12. The 3-point shot is not in effect since most gyms do not have a 3-point line. 13. The regulation 10-foot basket height will be maintained and a 28.5 diameter basketball is the official size ball. 14. All games must start promptly at the scheduled time. A 10-minute grace period will be allowed for a team to arrive before a forfeit is declared. 15. All players are required to wear a numbered jersey or t-shirt, shorts and basketball shoes. Numbers on both sides of the jersey are strongly recommended. 16. Home team will be responsible for providing a scorekeeper, a clock-keeper, and two qualified referees. 17. Coaches are responsible for the conduct of their players and fans. 18. Teams should make every effort to not run up the score. 19. This league is for the players. Please keep this in mind at all times. 20. Any player, coach, or manager ejected from a game by a referee will automatically be suspended from participating in his team's next game. 21. Any player, coach, or manager ejected from a game by a referee for the second time in the same season will automatically be suspended for the remainder of the season (including tournaments and playoffs). 22. All ejections and un-sportsmanlike or derogatory acts must be reported in to the division coordinator as soon as practical thereafter the incident.
GENERAL RULES OF PLAY - Grades 5/6 & 7/8 1. New Hampshire High School Federation rules apply in all instances except as noted below. 2. Coaches will meet with referees before the start of every game to review any specific rules for that age group/division. Coaches will have this rule sheet available at games for referees to reference. Coaches should encourage the referees to call tight games (little to no leeway for age). 3. Games will consist of four 8-minute quarters using stop time for the entire game. Period breaks will be one minute with a five-minute half time. 4. Every player must play a minimum of 8 minutes of game time. 5. Each team will be allowed 5 time-outs (three full & two 30 second) to be used at anytime during the game. One additional full time-out will be granted for each overtime period. 6. There will be a jump ball at the start of the game followed by alternating possessions. 7. In the event of a tie, teams will play one 3-minute overtime period beginning with a jump ball. Each team will also be awarded an additional time-out for the overtime period. If there is still a tie and there is no time constraint within the gym, the teams will go into sudden death beginning with a jump ball. 8. The one-and-one bonus foul shot will take effect on the 7th team foul of each half. The double bonus two shot foul is awarded for the 10th team foul of each half. 9. All technical fouls will be two shots. 10. The 3-point shot is in effect within the 5/6th & 7/8th Division only when the gym has a 3-point line. 11. A regulation men s full size basketball (29.5 ) is the official size basketball for BOYS games. 12. A regulation women s full size basketball (28.5 ) is the official size basketball for GIRLS games. 13. All games must start promptly at the scheduled time. A 10-minute grace period will be allowed for a team to arrive before a forfeit is declared. 14. All players are required to wear a numbered jersey or t-shirt, shorts and basketball shoes. Numbers on both sides of the jersey are strongly recommended. 15. Home team will be responsible for providing a scorekeeper, a clock-keeper, and two qualified referees. 16. Coaches are responsible for the conduct of their players and fans. 17. Teams should make every effort to not run up the score. 18. This league is for the players. Please keep this in mind at all times. 19. Any player, coach, or manager ejected from a game by a referee will automatically be suspended from participating in his team's next game. 20. Any player, coach, or manager ejected from a game by a referee for the second time in the same season will automatically be suspended for the remainder of the season (including tournaments and playoffs). 21. All ejections and un-sportsmanlike or derogatory acts must be reported in to the division coordinator as soon as practical thereafter the incident.
Coaches Code of Ethics I will place the emotional and physical well being of all players ahead of a personal desire to win. I will treat each player as an individual, remembering the large range of emotional and physical development of youth in the same age group. I will do my best to provide a safe playing situation for all players. I will promise to review and practice basic first aid needed to treat injuries of players. I will do my best to organize practices that are fun and challenging for my players. I will provide a sports environment for my team that is free of the use of profanity, drugs, tobacco, alcohol and I will refrain from their use at all sports events. I will be knowledgeable in the rules of basketball and I will teach these rules to my players. I will use coaching techniques appropriate for all skills and ages. I will remember that I am a youth sports coach, and that the game is for children and not for adults. I will utilize a variety of game strategies, plays, and defenses which allow for highest level of skill development for both my team and the opposing team. Parents Code of Ethics I hereby pledge to provide positive support, care and encouragement for my child participating in youth sports. I will encourage good sportsmanship by demonstrating positive support for all players, coaches and officials at every game, practice or other youth sports event. I will place the emotional and well-being of my child ahead of my desire to win. I will work to help ensure that my child play in a safe and healthy environment. I will support coaches and officials working with my child, in order to encourage a positive and enjoyable experience for all. Players Code of Ethics I will respect my coaches, officials, teammates and opponents. I will not abuse or damage equipment, fields or facilities. I will refrain from obscene, abusive, racist, sexist language or gestures. I will demonstrate good sportsmanship to all players, coaches, officials and fans. I will at all times try my best and encourage and support my teammates. Rules as modified on 10/5/09 and 11/2/09.