1. The Pre-Game Prayer and Code of Conduct must be read before every game.

2021-2022 Basketball (Boys Varsity, Girls Varsity, Boys JV)

General Rules:

1. The Pre-Game Prayer and Code of Conduct must be read before every game.

2. All spectators, coaches, officials and players must adhere to the Code of Conduct.

3. All due dates must be followed to keep your team eligible.

4. Neutral Court Status: No team is permitted to practice or play on any court that may be used for League, Region or Diocesan playoffs after January 31 of that year.

5. A team not fully represented (5 eligible players) fifteen (15) minutes after the scheduled starting time, will forfeit the game. Officials must still be paid for a forfeited game.

6. A team forfeiting two (2) games for lack of numbers may be dropped from their league. This rule may be suspended by the Diocesan Athletic Office during the 20-21 season.

7. Each team is responsible for paying one (1) official prior to the start of the game(s).

8. Officials’ fees will be stated before the start of the season. The officials’ fees are determined by the local chapter of officials.

9. The home team will provide a competent scorekeeper and timekeeper. Scorekeepers and timekeepers must be of high school age at a minimum.

10. The officials must sign the home and visitor score books legibly before the game(s).

11. Every game must have two (2) officials to be played. A game cannot be played with one official.

In the event of one official, the game will be rescheduled.

12. Coaches: All coaches must have the appropriate clearances and classes completed with

documentation of such on file in their corresponding school and / or parish office before they are permitted to coach at open gyms, practices, scrimmages or games.

13. Technical fouls: Any player or coach accumulating two (2) technical fouls in a season

(including league games, independent games and tournament games) will be suspended from the next scheduled league game or playoff game. If a player or coach reaches three (3) technical fouls in a season, the player or coach will be suspended from the next scheduled league game or playoff game. After receiving three (3) technical fouls, a meeting will be scheduled between the player / coach, the school’s principal, athletic director and the Diocesan Athletic Director to discuss areas of concern as well as possible removal from the league.

14. Officials for Playoffs: Playoff games will have three (3) officials assigned when available and if deemed necessary by the Diocesan Athletic Office.

15. Players with orthodontic braces or appliances should wear protective mouth guards as per their orthodontist / dentist’s guidance during all practices, scrimmages and games. Please see proper use and cleaning of protective mouth guards in the PIAA’s Return to Competition: Individual Sport Considerations.

16. No player is permitted to wear any jewelry during practices, scrimmages or games.

17. Every team team must report the score of every game played (league game, independent game or tournament game) to the Diocesan Athletic Office the day/night of the game via email at

[email protected]. You must report the score whether a game is won or lost.

18. Official league standings are kept by the Diocesan Athletic Office.

19. All playoff announcements will be distributed from the Diocesan Athletic Office.

20. The Diocesan Athletic Office will determine the times and locations of all playoff games.

21. Only rostered coaches and / or school athletic directors are permitted to sit on the bench and coach the team. Any non-rostered persons sitting on the bench coaching will be considered an illegal coach and the violating team will forfeit the game.

22. Any events on Sundays must start after 12:00pm. This includes open gyms, practices, scrimmages and games. This includes playing in tournaments as well. It is your

responsibility to notify any tournament your teams may play in of this restriction. Penalty for violation: The school team may be ineligible for any postseason play and may also become immediately ineligible for the remainder of the season, forfeiting the remainder of their games. The penalties imposed will be decided by the school principal, system president (when applicable) and the Diocesan Athletic Office.

23. While sitting on the bench coaching their team, coaches should be dressed appropriately and respectfully. Hats are not permitted to be worn on bench.

24. Independent Tournaments: Any team / school hosting an independent tournament must notify the Diocesan Athletic Office by sending in an Independent Tournament Form. This form must be in the Diocesan Athletic Office one (1) month before the scheduled event.

25. Independent Games: Any game not scheduled by the Diocesan Athletic Office is considered an independent game. Each team must notify the Diocesan Athletic Office of all independent games.

Failure to notify the Diocesan Athletic Office of independent games could result in forfeiture of league games and postseason ineligibility.

SCHEDULE CHANGES:

1. Any schedule changes involving league games must go through the Diocesan Athletic Office.

2. Only the Diocesan Athletic Office will notify the officials’ assignor as to a rescheduled league game. No school / team representative is permitted to contact the officials’ assignor to

reschedule a league game. Any team in violation of this may forfeit that game.

3. Schedule changes will be made only in the case of an emergency. If such a situation arises, the coach / school requesting the change, must contact the Diocesan Athletic Office, at least 48 hours before the scheduled game. If contact is not made 48 hours before the scheduled game, then the game will be played as scheduled and a team not showing up will forfeit the game. This 48-hour rule may be suspended for the 20-21 season due to possible COVID-19 concerns.

4. When rescheduling a game, if a new date cannot be agreed upon by the participating schools,

the Diocesan Athletic Office will determine the new date and time of the rescheduled game.

BASKETBALL – VARSITY BOYS & GIRLS:

1. Varsity Eligibility: Students must be in 6 ^th , 7 ^th or 8 ^th grade to be eligible to participate at the varsity level. Students in 6 ^th grade may be moved up to the varsity level; however, the school must request and be granted permission from the Diocesan Athletic Office before the student is placed on the varsity roster. If the varsity roster has nine (9) or fewer participants, the Diocesan Athletic Office will recommend allowing a 6 ^th grade student(s) to move up to play in varsity games. If the varsity roster has ten (10) or more participants, the Diocesan Athletic Office will not recommend allowing a 6 ^th grade student(s) to move up to play in varsity games; although they may practice with the team and be listed as “alternates” on roster. If the team roster dips to nine (9) or few participants, upon notification to the Diocesan Athletic Office, the alternates may be permitted to play in games.

Also, the school principal and the parent(s) / guardian(s) of the student must send a signed request / notice to the Diocesan Athletic Office stating that the 6 ^th grade student has their permission to move up to the varsity level. The Diocesan Athletic Office will notify the school principal of the final decision.

If a 6 ^th grade student wishes to play at both the jv and varsity levels during the same season, permission from the Diocesan Athletic Office must be granted before the student is placed on the varsity roster. If permission is granted, said player will only be permitted to participate in five (5) quarters of game play on a calendar day. A quarter is defined as any amount of playing time, from one (1) second to six (6) minutes. In an overtime game, the extended time shall be considered an extension of the fourth quarter. Any team violating this rule will forfeit both games.

2. Participation Fees: The participation fee will be determined by the Diocesan Finance Office each year. The participation fees are due in the Diocesan Athletic Office by the specified due date.

3. Rosters: Rosters must be completed in full. Any roster missing information will be returned to the athletic director of the school, which could cause your roster to be late. Please be aware that the principal’s signature must appear on the roster for the roster to be official. The original copy of the roster is to be turned into the Diocesan Athletic Office by the specified due date. No photocopies will be accepted. It is the responsibility of the athletic director and principal to verify that all rostered students are eligible to participate.

4. Release / Authorization Forms: All students must have a signed (by parent / guardian) release / authorization form, a signed participation waiver for communicable diseases including COVID- 19, a signed concussion form and a signed sudden cardiac arrest form on file with the coach / AD / school prior to being permitted to participate at tryouts on the first day of practice as listed by the Diocesan Athletic Office. There are no exceptions. A student is not permitted to participate until all four (4) forms are on file.

5. All varsity (7 ^th /8 ^th ) games will consist of four (4) six (6) minute quarters. Halftime will be six (6) minutes in length. Overtime periods will be three (3) minutes in length. Halftime may be

extended to eight (8) minutes during the playoffs. There are no other exceptions to the quarter rule. Our teams follow the PIAA playing guidelines and are not to deviate from these guidelines when hosting games or tournaments.

6. Only the girls’ leagues will use a women’s regulation size basketball - 28.5" in circumference

7. The 3-point shot rules will be in effect for all leagues, varsity and junior varsity.

8. All Varsity teams (regardless of league size) are limited to 28 games, including tournaments and independent games. The recommended number of games is 26, however the other two (2) games may be played at the discretion of the principal, and athletic leadership of the school / parish.

9. League / Region playoff games, Diocesan Tournament games and State Tournament games do not count toward a team’s maximum number of games (28).

10. Non-interscholastic basketball participation during the official basketball season (season being defined as the first day of official practice through the last team game, including all playoff games) is prohibited as follows:

The number of interscholastic basketball players from the same school team(s) on any non-interscholastic squad is limited to two on the roster of that non-interscholastic squad. A roster is defined as all the members of the entire squad on that non-interscholastic squad that would practice together or participate together in any non-interscholastic scrimmage, game or event. “Rotating players” that would exceed this number (2) is not permitted and use of any “substitute players” on a non-interscholastic roster would be counted as one of the 2 players permitted on the non-interscholastic roster. This does not include tryouts for a non-interscholastic team. Tryouts should not take place for more than two sessions. This rule is in place to keep the integrity of the number of games permitted to be played by a school team during the season. Penalty for violation: The school team shall be ineligible for any postseason play, the players (3 or more on the same non-interscholastic team) shall be immediately ineligible for the school team and the school team may also become immediately ineligible for the remainder of the season, forfeiting the remainder of their games. The players (3 or more on the same non-interscholastic team), the school team and the school athletic program could also be subject to additional penalties. The penalties imposed will be decided by the school principal, system president (when applicable) and the Diocesan Athletic Office.

11. No individual awards (all-tournament team, MVP, etc.) are to be given at any game or tournament hosted by a Diocese of Erie grade school. All awards are to be team awards.

12. Mercy Rule: Upon completion of the first half and one team gains a 30-point differential over its opponent, the clock shall be stopped only when an official’s time-out is taken, a charged time-out is granted, a period ends or during administration of free throws. This is a change from the 19- 20 PIAA rules, that listed a 40-point differential.

13. The only students permitted to participate at any of our grade school basketball practices

are current students at that school who are on the official basketball team roster. You may

still practice the grade school JV team (5th/6th) with the grade school varsity team (7 ^th /8th)

if they are both in season. Under no circumstance are any other students permitted to take

part in practices or scrimmages. No high school student or grade school student, whether

they are currently on a team or not, may participate in scrimmages in any way at your

practices if they are not on your official team roster; this includes graduates of your grade

school that may return to visit over the holidays. Penalty for violation: The school team shall be

ineligible for any postseason play and may also become immediately ineligible for the remainder of

the season, forfeiting the remainder of their games. The penalties imposed will be decided by the

school principal, system president (when applicable) and the Diocesan Athletic Office.

14. No team is permitted to practice / play more than 6 days in a week. A week is defined as Sunday – Saturday. This includes any voluntary shooting sessions, workout sessions or film sessions. Penalty for violation: The school team shall be ineligible for any postseason play and may also become immediately ineligible for the remainder of the season, forfeiting the remainder of their games. The penalties imposed will be decided by the school principal, system president (when applicable) and the Diocesan Athletic Office.

15. Requests for exceptions to any policies must be submitted in writing to the Diocesan Athletic Office.

BASKETBALL – JUNIOR VARSITY BOYS & GIRLS

1. Junior Varsity Eligibility: Students must be in 4 ^th , 5 ^th or 6 ^th grade to be eligible to participate at the junior varsity level. Students in 4 ^th grade may be moved up to the junior varsity level, however, the school must request and be granted permission from the Diocesan Athletic Office before the student is placed on the junior varsity roster. If the junior varsity roster has 9 or fewer participants, the Diocesan Athletic Office will recommend allowing a 4 ^th grade student(s) to move up to play in junior varsity games. If the junior varsity roster has 10 or more participants, the Diocesan Athletic Office will not recommend allowing a 4 ^th grade student(s) to move up to play in junior varsity games.

Also, the school principal and the parent(s) / guardian(s) of the student must send a signed request / notice to the Diocesan Athletic Office stating that the 4 ^th grade student has their permission to move up to the junior varsity level. The Diocesan Athletic Office will notify the school principal of the final decision.

2. Participation Fees: The participation fee will be determined by the Diocesan Finance Office each year. The participation fees are due in the Diocesan Athletic Office by the specified due date.

3. Rosters: Rosters must be completed in full. Any roster missing information will be returned to the athletic director of the school, which could cause your roster to be late. Please be aware that the principal’s signature must appear on the roster for the roster to be official. The original copy of the roster is to be turned into the Diocesan Athletic Office by the specified due date. No photocopies will be accepted. It is the responsibility of the athletic director and principal to verify that all rostered students are eligible to participate.

4. Release / Authorization Forms: All students must have a signed (by parent / guardian) release / authorization form, a signed concussion form and a signed sudden cardiac arrest form on file with the coach / AD / school prior to being permitted to participate at tryouts on the first day of

practice as listed by the Diocesan Athletic Office. There are no exceptions. A student is not permitted to participate until all three (3) forms are on file.

5. All JV games will consist of four (4) six (6) minute quarters. Overtime periods will be three (3) minutes in length.

6. The girls’ jv leagues will use a women’s regulation size basketball - 28.5" in circumference

7. The boys’ jv leagues will use a men’s regulation size basketball - 29.5" in circumference

8. JV leagues will also be permitted to use the 3-point shot rule. The use of the line will not be negated by the Diocesan Athletic Office. If a coach does not feel comfortable with his / her players shooting from behind the line, it is their responsibility to convey this philosophy.

9. All JV teams, regardless of the size of the league, are limited to 22 games. This maximum number of games (22) includes all league games, independent games and tournament games.

10. Reserve Games: JV teams are limited to nine (9) reserve games per season. A reserve game is:

one that is played with officials; one that is played where score is kept by either team; and / or one that is played when game uniforms are being worn. For a contest to be considered a scrimmage and not a reserve game, no game uniforms can be worn, no certified officials can officiate the game and no score can be kept.

11. There will be no league championships, playoffs, or “all-stars” at the junior varsity level.

12. Non-interscholastic basketball participation during the official basketball season (season being defined as the first day of official practice through the last team game, including all playoff games) is prohibited as follows:

The number of interscholastic basketball players from the same school team(s) on any non-interscholastic squad is limited to two on the roster of that non-interscholastic squad. A roster is defined as all the members of the entire squad on that non-interscholastic squad that would practice together or participate together in any non-interscholastic scrimmage, game or event. “Rotating players” that would exceed this number (2) is not permitted and use of any “substitute players” on a non-interscholastic roster would be counted as one of the 2 players permitted on the non-interscholastic roster. This does not include tryouts for a non-interscholastic team. Tryouts should not take place for more than two sessions. This rule is in place to keep the integrity of the number of games permitted to be played by a school team during the season. Penalty for violation: The school team shall be ineligible for any postseason play, the players (3 or more on the same non-interscholastic team) shall be immediately ineligible for the school team and the school team may also become immediately ineligible for the remainder of the season, forfeiting the remainder of their games. The players (3 or more on the same non-interscholastic team), the school team and the school athletic program could also be subject to additional penalties. The penalties imposed will be decided by the school principal, system president (when applicable) and the Diocesan Athletic Office.

13. No individual awards (all-tournament team, MVP, etc.) are to be given at any game or tournament hosted by a Diocese of Erie grade school. All awards are to be team awards.

14. Mercy Rule: Upon completion of the first half and one team gains a 30-point differential over its opponent, the clock shall be stopped only when an official’s time-out is taken, a charged time-out is granted, a period ends or during administration of free throws. This is a change from the 19- 20 PIAA rules, that listed a 40-point differential.

15. The only students permitted to participate at any of our grade school basketball practices are current students at that school who are on the official basketball team roster. You may still practice the grade school JV team (5th/6th) with the grade school varsity team (7 ^th /8th) if they are both in season. Under no circumstance are any other students permitted to take part in practices or scrimmages. No high school student or grade school student, whether they are currently on a team or not, may participate in scrimmages in any way at your practices if they are not on your official team roster; this includes graduates of your grade school that may return to visit over the holidays. Penalty for violation: The school team shall be ineligible for any postseason play and may also become immediately ineligible for the

remainder of the season, forfeiting the remainder of their games. The penalties imposed will be

decided by the school principal, system president (when applicable) and the Diocesan Athletic

Office.

16. No team is permitted to practice / play more than 6 days in a week. A week is defined as Sunday – Saturday. This includes any voluntary shooting sessions, workout sessions or film sessions. Penalty for violation: The school team shall be ineligible for any postseason play and may also become immediately ineligible for the remainder of the season, forfeiting the remainder of their games. The penalties imposed will be decided by the school principal, system president (when applicable) and the Diocesan Athletic Office.

17. Requests for exceptions to any policies must be submitted in writing to the Diocesan Athletic

Office.