Medway Basketball Association Regulations

1. The Association and its individual members are subject to the Basketball England Regulations as published from time to time. Where these Regulations conflict with the Basketball England Regulations, these Regulations shall apply. Participation in the Medway Basketball Association Competitions signifies acceptance of these Regulations and agreement to abide by them.
2. All Club Secretaries have a duty and responsibility to administer their Club in an efficient and effective manner, in order to contribute to the smooth running of the Association’s competitions. As part of this, they are required to notify the Management Committee of all relevant information in a timely fashion.

The Association and Management Committee, separately, shall have power to pass a Resolution (by at least a 50%/75% majority, respectively) that any member of The Association cease to be a participant in any particular competition. Such Resolution shall take effect from the conclusion of the meeting at which it is passed or from such later time as the Association or Management Committee decide.

If any Member Club wishes to resign as a participant in any Competition of The Association, then they should write to the General Secretary and the Management Committee may accept that resignation on payment of all subscriptions and fees (if any) then due and owing by that Member Club. In the event of default by a club, each player in that Competition must pay a proportion of the sum owed by their club, before they will be permitted to play in any of the Association’s competitions.

3. Competition Membership & Club and Player Registrations

1. a) All Clubs must apply for entry into each relevant competition at each AGM for the following Season (or direct to the Management Committee in the case of late entries). The Management Committee shall have the discretion to admit new Clubs to any particular competition after the AGM, providing such Clubs meet any conditions and pay any such fees or costs as the Management Committee shall in its absolute discretion determine. Member clubs may enter the relevant competitions on payment of the following entry fees determined at an Annual General Meeting:

Annual Entry Fee

• Senior Club = £110.00
• Junior Club = £20.00 (to be charged to all Junior Clubs wishing to compete only in Junior Competitions run by the Association.)
• Plus a £30.00 guarantee fee (which is refundable at the end of the season subject to there having been no fundamental breaches of the Association’s Rules. Please note, ordinary default fines are payable separately and will not be taken out of the Guarantee Fee.)

The Management Committee shall have authority to allow entry by and to set fees for non-member Clubs wishing to participate in the Association’s Competitions.

All entry and guarantee fees must be received by the Association’s Treasurer within a week of the AGM. Failure to do so will result in a 50% surcharge being added to all fees payable. Any Member Club withdrawing after 31 July will forfeit their Entry Fee. Any Member Club whose Fees have not been received by the Treasurer by 1 September will be expelled from the Association and shall forfeit any guarantee fees held by the Association.

1. b) Each Club, player and official must be registered with Basketball England to participate in the Association’s Competitions. Where a Club/player/official has not registered through the Association, evidence of registration must be provided to the Management Committee before participation in the Association’s competitions will be permitted.
2. c) Registration numbers for players, coaches and referees must be shown on the score sheet. The referees must ensure that this is done before the match starts.

4. Administrative Penalties & Fines

The Management Committee shall have full authority to impose such fines and penalties for any breach of the letter or spirit of these regulations or those of Basketball England, the Competition Rules or conduct which brings the game into disrepute, as it sees fit, such fines/penalties to be based upon:

• The nature of the matter and any relevant circumstances (including the consequences, actions of the party concerned before and after the matter, whether the matter has occurred previously etc.)
• Precedents.
• An appropriate type and severity of penalty to deter the party concerned from future misconduct.
• Recent conduct of the party.

Notwithstanding the above, the following penalties/fines shall be imposed in the circumstances described, unless the Committee determines that a different penalty is appropriate:

1. Failure to register Club prior to the start of the season – suspension until registration.
2. For a Club which registers direct with BE or through another Area: Failure to supply club and player registration details to the MBA Registrar – suspension until details are supplied.
3. Playing a player not registered with BE – £20.00 fine and loss of the game by forfeit.
4. Failure to send a representative to an Officials or Pre-Season seminar – £30.00 fine.
5. Failure to attend a General Meeting – £30.00 fine.
6. Failure to comply with a Management Committee ruling or failure to reply to correspondence from a Management Committee Member – £10.00 fine.
7. The Disqualification of a player [which for the avoidance of doubt includes a disqualification for committing two technical fouls; two unsportsmanlike fouls or one of each], a coach, a team follower or a club official will result in an automatic ban from participating in their team’s next 2 Medway Basketball Association matches (in any capacity) as well as a £10 fine. Each situation will then be considered by the Disciplinary Officer to determine whether a higher or lesser penalty is warranted or whether the matter should be referred to the Disciplinary Panel. A coach or player under suspension for a match may not play in the match, act as team coach (or assistant coach), sit on the team bench as a team follower, or communicate with the team from 15 minutes prior to the scheduled starting time of the match, until after the end of the match. They may be present in the arena as a spectator unless otherwise stated by the Disciplinary Officer. The Disciplinary Officer may also take action in respect of the outcome of a game (e.g. order replay, deduct points, declare void, etc.) as he sees fit.  In the event of a fine being levied for a disqualification, the individual concerned is not eligible to resume their participation in any MBA matches until such fine has been paid.
8. Clubs, coaches, players, team followers and club officials may be fined and/or suspended as considered appropriate for any other breach of these Rules or conduct which brings the game into disrepute. The Disciplinary Officer may also take action in respect of the outcome of a game (e.g. order replay, deduct points, declare void, etc.) as he sees fit.

Fines not received within 14 days of the official letter imposing the fine will be doubled. All outstanding fines must be paid immediately prior to the AGM for a Team to be eligible to participate in the Association’s Competitions in the following Season. Club officials and coaches bear a special responsibility to set an example of good behaviour.

5. Clubs

In the event of a club fielding two or more teams in the same competition:

1. a) It must distinguish between first and second team etc., the first team playing in the higher Division if applicable.
2. b) Where the teams play in different divisions, the club must inform the Fixtures Secretary before the start of the season of their seven best players who will play in the first team only – not transferable unless they have the Management Committee’s authority. The remaining club players may play for any of the Club’s teams. However, if a player appears on a first team score sheet more than three times, he will be deemed a first team player and thus not transferable. If a “first team” player plays for their second team after this, the game is awarded to the other team as a default and a £20 fine will be imposed. Where the teams play in the same division, players may only play in one team in any particular season and the Club Secretary must notify the Fixtures Secretary which team each player will play for before the start of the season.

6. Club Details to be Submitted to the Association

Clubs must supply the MBA Management Committee with such information as it may reasonably require, in whatever format and timescales as are requested.

7. Player Transfers

No player shall represent a club during the current season if he has already played for another Club during that same season unless prior written permission is obtained from the MBA Management Committee and the player’s former club.

8. Disciplinary Matters

 

1. a) Disciplinary Matters related to misconduct by Players, Coaches, Match Officials, Team Followers and other Club Officials occurring during or immediately prior to or following matches shall be the responsibility of the Disciplinary Officer. The Chairman, or Vice Chairman, or in the case of a Central Venue League or One Day Tournament the Competition Organiser or a Member of the Management Committee present, may exercise the authority of the Disciplinary Officer in his absence.
2. b) For Simple matters requiring disciplinary action, the Disciplinary Officer shall impose an appropriate penalty. The Disciplinary Officer may consult one or two other Committee Members if he considers it appropriate.
3. c) For Complex or serious matters the Disciplinary Officer shall convene a Disciplinary Panel, consisting of at least three independent members of the Management Committee, which shall have full authority to take disciplinary action and to make recommendations for the future. A Disciplinary Panel may conduct its business by telephone or exchange of e-mail if appropriate. The Management Committee may also consider any disciplinary matter brought before it (in which case any Committee member with an interest in the matter at hand shall not take part in the decision making process)
4. d) Matters that are considered excessive will be passed directly to Basketball England for action.
5. e) Each referee is required to submit a written report in respect of any disciplinary matter and each club and any individual may also submit written reports if they so choose, all such reports to be submitted within 5 working days of the incident. If a person is guilty of misconduct not involving disqualification, which any of the match officials consider to be of sufficient gravity to warrant consideration by the Association, a report should be submitted by them as soon as possible and the Club concerned notified accordingly.
6. f) Disciplinary matters will be considered as soon as practicable.
7. g) It is not the normal practice for a personal hearing to be given by the Disciplinary Officer/Disciplinary Panel, although a personal hearing may be requested in the case of an appeal.
8. h) The reasons for imposing a fine or penalty will be documented in the notification of the fine/penalty.
9. i) Appeals
10. There is a right of appeal against any automatic penalty or against any fine or decision of the Disciplinary Officer, Disciplinary Panel or Management Committee, such appeal to be received by the Disciplinary Officer within 7 days of notification (or the incident in the case of an automatic penalty), accompanied by written grounds for the appeal and an appeal fee of £30.00. Appeals may only be considered where the Chairman of the Appeal Panel considers that the appellant is directly affected by the decision.

1. In the event of an appeal being lodged, all fines and penalties which are the subject of the appeal will be suspended, until the appeal is heard, except in exceptional circumstances.

• Appeals will be heard by 3 neutral senior basketball personnel drawn from a panel appointed by the Management Committee. The Chairman of the Appeal Panel will be appointed by the Chairman of the Association.

1. If the Appeal Panel so decides, the appellant together with any other party or parties who may be affected by the decision may be granted a personal hearing at the sole discretion of the Appeal Panel. Normally a personal hearing will be granted in cases relating to disciplinary action. In the case of a personal hearing, the appellant may be accompanied by one person of their choice. The expenses incurred by the appellant and anyone accompanying them are their responsibility.
2. Decisions of the Appeal Panel are subject only to appeal to BE. Any other party adversely affected by the decision may still exercise a right of appeal to the Appeal Panel provided they were not a party to the original appeal.
3. At the conclusion of the Appeal Panel Hearing, the Appeal Panel shall determine whether the Appeal Fee is returned to the appellant in full, in part or not at all. In addition the appellant may be liable for such of the costs and/or expenses of convening the Appeal Panel Hearing, up to a maximum of £70. Liability to pay such costs and expenses will be determined by the Appeal Panel based upon the extent to which the appeal was successful.

• The Appeal Panel may determine the procedures it shall adopt.
• The Appeal Panel Chairman shall notify all concerned of the date, time and place for the appeal, which shall be determined after having due regard to the urgency of the matter and with reasonable regard to the availability of all concerned.

1. Upon an appeal being lodged the Disciplinary Officer should provide the Appeal Panel with a written statement setting out:
   • The alleged offence;
   • The proposed penalty;
   • Any justification or explanation that was considered relevant in reaching the decision;
   • The information that was considered in reaching the original decision (e.g. regulations, reports, correspondence etc.).

 

9. CVL Rules

a.) All players, coaches and referees involved in Medway Basketball Association CVL games must be licensed with Basketball England.  Referees must be qualified up to at least level 1.  This is required for insurance purposes

b.) A size 5 ball is to be used for U10 competitions; a size 6 ball is to be used for the U14 and girls competitions with size 7 balls to be used for all other competitions.

c.) Man-to-man defence must be played at all times in U14 competition.  Principles for what should be considered zone defence are based on the guidance within Basketball England’s “No Zone Defence regulations” under the “Downloads” section of the Officiating section of the Basketball England website. However, the basic principles are that a violation has occurred when

• One or more players are not in a normal man-to-man position in relation to their player and the basketball (help defence is permitted, as would a double team on a press).
• A player cutting through the key is not defended in normal man-to-man coverage; i.e. by following them, switching or bumping them to change direction.
• The penalty for playing a zone defence is a team warning on the first offence with player technical fouls (with one free throw and possession from the half-way line) for every subsequent violation by the team.

d.) Players who are disqualified for two unsportsmanlike fouls or a disqualifying foul are suspended for a minimum of that teams next two CVL games at that age group (effective immediately) and are prohibited from playing in any other age group CVL games until their ban has been served.  Further disciplinary action may be taken after the event is over if the circumstances warrant.  If necessary, a disciplinary committee consisting of at least 3 representatives from the clubs present and not connected with the incident concerned or any independent referees or MBA officials present may be convened with full authority to make decisions impacting fixtures scheduled for that day.

e.) In cases where the head coach is disqualified from a game, the assistant coach provided on the team sheet will become the head coach. The assistant coach in this circumstance must be over 18. If no assistant coach is listed or they are under the age of 18, that team loses that game via forfeit, with the result standing at the point of termination or claiming the game 20-0, whichever is greater.

 

END OF REGULATIONS

Regulations
1.PARTICIPATION
2.ADMINISTRATION
3. COMPETITION MEMBERSHIP & CLUB AND PLAYER REGISTRATIONS
4.ADMINISTATIVE PENALTIES & FINES
5.CLUBS
6.CLUB DETAILS TO BESUBMITTED TO THE ASSOCIATION
7.PLAYER TRANSFERS
8.DISCIPLINARY MATTERS
Rules
1.Rules Governing Matches
2.Fixture Dates
3.Duties of the Home Team
4.Result Notification
5.Playing Courts
6.Fines & Penalties
7.Referees
8.Expenses and Fees for Match Officials
9.Clubs with More Than One Team
Additional Rules Governing the Senior League
10.League Season
11.League Table
12.Constitution of Divisions
Additional Rules Governing Other Competitions
13.Competition Entry
14.Match Fees
15.Players
16. Eligibility for Finals
17.Venues for Competition Finals
18.Additional Rules for the Senior Cup and Plate Competitions
19.Additional Rules For the Medway Rosebowl (Handicap Competition)
20.Regulations for Staging Tournaments
CVL Rules