HAMDEN FATHERS BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
RULES AND REGULATIONS
2023-2024 SEASON
1. Group divisions to be determined by the Executive Board based on current registration.
2. All players must be Hamden residents.
3. Team size will be based on current registration.
4. Basketball size:
• Girl’s League and Boy’s 9&10 League use 28.5 Size
• 11&12/ 13&14/ 15-17-Year-Old Boy’s Leagues use regulation 29.5 Size
5. SPECIAL RULES:
In the event that any special circumstances arise with the dealing with player(s) it will be handled at the discretion of the league director in consultation with the Executive Board.
A. DRAFT
9/10 & 11/12 Boy’s League Draft
Because each of these age groups has retention of last year’s age appropriate players the draft for each of these age groups is as follows:
• Round 1 – is in reverse order of last years’ standings (Last place gets first pick; first place gets last pick.) If the age group loses any teams due to league enrollment, then teams slide up. If age group increases teams, these team(s) move to the last pick after all of the original teams have picked. (When there is more than a 1 team increase then the new teams draw from the hat to decide their order.)
• Round 2 – this is the reverse order of the first round.
• Rounds 3 through 8 – These rounds are for picking for strength. Teams with the least amount of retention players pick in these rounds. If there are multiple teams in the round with the same amount of returning players, then they will draw from the hat to decide their order. Any new team to a round picks first (multiple teams new to a round draw from the hat), the teams already in the strength round will also pick from the hat after the new team.
• Round 9 – this is the round when your 9th player is picked. All teams starting with less than 8 players of retention must pick in this round.
• Round 10- All eligible players must be assigned to teams in this round
13/14 Boy’s League Draft
• Each round is based off of last year’s standings, in reverse order.
• There is no retention of players.
• Last year’s first place team gets choice as to whether it wants to pick before or after any new team(s) or coach to the age group due to increased enrollment
15/17 Boy’s League Draft
• Each team draws from the hat for first round pick.
• This order is used in the odd rounds and the reverse is used in the even rounds.
• There is no retention of players.
9/11 Girl’s League Draft
• There is no retention of players.
• Round 1 – is in reverse order of last years’ standings (Last place gets first pick; first place gets last pick.) If the age group loses any teams due to league enrollment, then teams slide up. If age group increases teams, these team(s) move to the last pick after all of the original teams have picked. (When there is more than a 1 team increase then the new teams draw from the hat to decide their order.)
• Round 2 – this is the reverse order of the first round.
• Rounds 3 through 8 – These rounds are for picking for strength. Any new team to a round picks first (multiple teams new to a round draw from the hat), the teams already in the strength round will also pick from the hat after the new team.
• Round 9 – this is the round when your 9th player is picked.
12/16 Girl’s League Draft:
• There is no retention of players.
• Round 1 – is in reverse order of last years’ standings (Last place gets first pick; first place gets last pick.) If the age group loses any teams due to league enrollment, then teams slide up. If age group increases teams, these team(s) move to the last pick after all of the original teams have picked. (When there is more than a 1 team increase then the new teams draw from the hat to decide their order.)
• Round 2 – this is the reverse order of the first round.
• Rounds 3 through 8 – These rounds are for picking for strength. Any new team to a round picks first (multiple teams new to a round draw from the hat), the teams already in the strength round will also pick from the hat after the new team.
• Round 9 – this is the round when your 9th player is picked. All teams starting with less than 8 players of retention must pick in this round.
B.MUST PLAY RULE: This rule is to be observed as follows:
Each player must play an entire quarter (either first or second quarter) and one-half of the third quarter (total of 9 minutes for all leagues except the 13-17-year-old boy’s leagues and the 12-16-year-old girl’s league which will be ten minutes see Rules for Timing).
The 5 players that start the 1st quarter of the game and the 1st portion of the 3rd quarter MUST play the entire quarter (NO SUBSTITUTIONS ARE ALLOWED.) The players on the bench then MUST play the entire 2nd quarter and 2nd portion of the 3rd quarter.
C. BEST PLAYER RULE:
• When there is a 10-man team, the best player from a team with less than 10 players must sit out 1 period in the first half and one-half of the third period. The best player will be determined by a vote of the league coaches prior to the season. These choices will be reviewed by the coaches at the midway point of the season.
• If one team has 9 players present and the opposing team has 8 or less players, the second-best player on the team with 8 or fewer players must sit out 1 period in the first half and one-half of the third period.
• If the best player from one team is absent, the opposing team may play their best player for the entire game if they have less than 10 players available for the game.
D. FREE THROW SHOOTING:
• In the 9-10 year old boy’s league and 9-11 girl’s league the free throw line will be moved in 1 foot
• In all league teams, FOULS WILL RESET AT START OF EACH QUARTER
• In all league teams, will shoot 2 free throws on the 5th team foul per quarter.
• In all league teams, foul situation remains for overtime periods
E. LEAGUE UNIFORM RULE:
Uniforms must be worn to all games. The uniform includes shorts and team shirt. If a player is not in uniform at game time, the official scorer will award the opposing team two free throws and the ball. If both teams have a player not in uniform, two free throws will be awarded to each team followed by a jump ball at center court. If a shirt is altered (i.e. cut sleeves) this violates the uniform rule. This must be accomplished before the game begins, except in the event that a player arrives out of uniform after the game has begun. In this case, two free throws will be awarded to begin the second half. In order to avoid any problems, each coach is charged with the responsibility of notifying the official scorer of their team's uniform status.
6. All players must report the official scorer before entering the game. The player is to give his/her uniform number to the scorer. Players can enter the game only when clock has been stopped for a foul, held ball or timeout, and during the last 2 minutes of the game when clock stops on all whistles.
Substitutes are allowed in the 2nd quarter of the 1st half & second half of 3rd quarter as long as the must play rule has been met. If a team has less than 10 players, during the 2nd quarter of the 1st half or the 2nd half of the 3rd quarter, a player that is a substitute for a player on the court can only substitute for a player who has played their mandatory playing time for the first half of the game and the 3rd quarter of the game. Substitutes may only enter the game when there is a stoppage of the game clock. This occurs only on time-outs, fouls, held ball and the last 2 minutes of the game where the clock will stop on all whistles.
7. The current High School Federation rules shall prevail.
8. A scorebook, horn or whistle, time clock and rulebook shall be at each of the gyms where league games are played.
9. Games must be played as scheduled. You will be allowed 10 minutes forfeit time from the time the game was scheduled. A 5-minute warm-up period will be allowed before each game.
10.Teams lacking sufficient number of players to start the game will forfeit the game. An exhibition game will be played. Referees will not officiate.
11. Under possible penalty of ejection from game, managers, players and coaches shall not:
• Argue with any spectator
• Raise their voices above normal speaking tones to the referee or opposing coaches & score table personnel.
• Continue any dispute longer than 1 minute.
• Heckle any opposing player.
• Conduct themselves in any other manner that would bring discredit to the Association.
12. The dragging or sliding of feet will not be allowed at any age level. The penalty will be loss of possession.
13. Any player, coach or assistant coach who is involved in a fight will automatically be ejected from the game and will be suspended for the next game as well.
14. RULES FOR TIMING
The clock will start:
• When ball is legally tapped on jump ball.
• When ball is touched in bounds, if resumption of play is from out of bounds with stoppage of time.
• When indicated by signal from official after time out has been ordered.
• On foul attempt when the ball is legally touched in bounds by a player.
• Quarters shall be 6 minutes (6-6-(3-3)-6) for 9-12 Boy’s and 9-11-Girl’s leagues. Quarters shall be two 6 minute periods in first half and two 8 minute periods in second half (6-6-(4-4)-8) for 13-17-year-old Boy’s league and 12-16-year-old Girl’s league.
The clock will stop when:
• Expiration of time for each period.
• When an official signals a foul.
• A time-out is granted.
• A held ball is called.
• During the last two minutes of the game, clock is stopped on all whistles.
15. OVERTIME: Overtime periods will be three (3) minutes in length with the clock stopping on every whistle in the last minute.
16.FULL COURT PRESSING: In the following leagues, full court pressing will only be allowed during the fourth quarter and any overtime periods:
• The Boy’s 9&10-year-old league, Boy’s 11&12-year-old league and the Girl’s 9-11-year-old league.
The Boy’s 13&14 & 15-17-year-old leagues and the Girl’s 12-16-year-old league pressing rules are below:
• In the Boy’s 13&14 & 15-17-year old year league full court pressing is allowed at any time;
• In the Girl’s 12-16-year-old league full court pressing is allowed only in the 2nd half.
During periods when full court pressing is not allowed, a team must retreat behind the half court line as soon as the opposing team gains possession of the ball.
During the fourth quarter only, this rule applies:
With a 20 point lead, the coach that is ahead MUST NOT USE a full court press or half court zone press, but the players can pick up the opposition at half court. The 2 leading game scorers on the leading team must be removed from the game at that time. A 10 second official’s time-out will be allowed for substitutions. If the lead goes to 15 or less points, the same official’s time-out can be called for by the leading coach if he so desires, so as to reinsert any players and game plan he wishes.
Technical Fouls on players: New Federation Rule
In the fourth quarter only due to must play rules in first 3 quarters, any player receiving a Technical Foul will be required under the new Federation rule, be taken out of the game for 1 tick of the game clock. At the clock has started the player may report back into the game and enter on the next dead ball whistle where the clock stops (held ball, fouls, time out).
17. TEAM BENCH DECORUM
Each team will have a head coach and is allowed one assistant coach, both of whom have signed the Code of Ethics. There shall not be any unauthorized adults, children or players allowed in the team bench area.
A parent may come to bench area to if their child has been injured on the floor. Once the player is all set the parent is to return to the spectator area.
When a team has two coaches present only one coach may stand up on the side line. Only the head coach is entitled to speak to game officials. If the assistant coach receives a technical foul, the head coach must also sit for the duration of the game. Coaches are not to distract the scoring table during games.
