GENERAL RULES All players must be enrolled in elementary or secondary school programs to be eligible to play. Eligibility for each age division will be based on the player’s age on January 1 of each season. Any player who will not attain the age of 18 years on or before January 1 will be eligible to participate. Any form of foul language is unacceptable. Any blatant disrespect for adult leadership or profanity will be an automatic suspension from the team. No jewelry or barrettes shall be worn during a game. Tennis shoes or sneakers are allowed, hard soled shoes are prohibited. For girls, only appropriate length shorts are allowed, "Daisy Dukes" are not allowed. For boys, shorts shall be worn in a respectable manner (worn with waistband above the hip, not across the hip). The first violation of this rule will result in a general notice to both teams. The second violation will result in a one shot Technical Foul against the offending team’s bench. Technical foul shots will be accessed for all violations thereafter. TEAM AND GAME RULES All teams shall wear official numbers (numbers that can be shown on one hand by the referee). For the male division, each game will consist of two (2) 10-minute halves for the 8-11 year old division, of two (2) 12-minute halves for the 12-14 year old division, and of two (2) 16-minute halves for the 15-17 year old division. For the female divisions, each game will consist of two (2) 12-minute halves for the 9-13 year old division, and of two (2) 16-minute halves for the 14-17 year old division. There will be a 15-minute grace period before forfeiture is imposed. All overtime periods will be three (3) minutes in length. Foul shots will be taken inside the last two minutes. The clock will run continuously except for time-outs and foul shots during the last two minutes of each halves. Foul shots will be awarded only during the last two (2) minutes of each half and during any over-time period. One (1) point and the ball will be awarded for each foul committed to the fouled team. Fighting will not be tolerated and will warrant an automatic four-game suspension. A meeting will be held by the league committee with the players to determine his/her eligibility to return to the league. Flagrant fouls will not be permitted. Due to the severity of a flagrant foul, ejection from the game or suspension from the league will be instituted. After completion of each game, the participating players will line up and shake hands. A standard high school 3-point line will be enforced for the boys 15-17 year old division and the girls 14-17 year old division. A goal height of 9 feet will be used for the boys 8-11 and girls 9-13 age divisions. For the girls 9-13 age division, there shall be no full court defensive guarding except in the last two minutes of each half and the last two minutes of any overtime period. (Rule#15 supersede this rule). Dunking of the basketball is not allowed. If a player dunks during a game, a technical foul will be assessed and the player will be ejected from the game. The player will be disqualified for the remainder of the seasons. If a player dunks before or after a game, the player will not be allowed to play further and will be disqualified for the remainder of the season. A minimum of four (4) players is required to start game play. If a fifth player has not arrived by the end of halftime, the game will be declared a forfeit. In the event that a team starts a game with five players and one is injured during the game, the team will be allowed to finish the game with the four remaining players. At no time a team be allowed to play with less than four players. Any team that is behind by (20) points, the opposing team will not be allowed to press full court. They will fall back to defend their goal not extending their defense out side of the three-point circle line. The first violation of this rule will result in a general notice to the team that is in violation of this rule. The second violation will result in a (2) shot Technical Foul against the offending team’s bench. The third violation will result in forfeit of the game. The 9-13 old female division will not be allowed to press full court until the last (2) minutes of the second half. They will fall back to defend their goal not extending their defense out pass the half court line. The first (3) violations of this rule will result in a general notice to both teams. The (4) violation will result in a (2) shot Technical Foul against the offending team’s bench. The (5) violation will result in forfeit of the game. EXCEPTION TO RULE 5 If a player is fouled in the act of shooting and the basket is made, two points (three point if applicable) will be awarded for the made basket and one point for the foul. The ball is in play to the team that committed the foul. A deliberate foul in the last two (2) minutes of a half will result in two (2), or three (3) foul shots if applicable, plus the basket if made. If there was no shot or the basket was missed, the fouled team receives the specified foul shouts and the ball. JUMP BALLS Center jumps will occur only at the beginning of the game and at the beginning of any overtime period. There will be an alternate possession between teams, depending upon who received the ball to start the game. FOULS Each player will be allowed six (6) fouls. On the sixth foul the player will be disqualified. A technical foul call against a player, coach, or bench will cause the other team to be awarded a two-shot shooting foul plus the ball. Two (2) technical fouls by a player in one game will automatically cause ejection from the game. Ejection from two games in regular season by a player will result in disqualification for the season. SUBSTITUTIONS A one player free substitution will be allowed, as long as a player does not: Enter the game ahead of the ball, or Enter the game causing an unfair defensive advantage for his/her team An illegal substitution will result in a technical foul being assessed against the offending team. There is unlimited free substitution during time-outs. TIME-OUTS Each team in will be allotted three (3) time-outs per half, six (6) total for the game. One unofficial time out per half for each team is allotted for score, official’s call, or time clarification. In an overtime period, each team will be allowed two (2) time-outs. NOTES The last two teams to play will help clean up the gymnasium and the outside area. There will be regular patrolling of the are by the Slidell Police Department to alleviate loitering. AMENDMENT TO NOTES The Slidell Church Basketball League (SCBL) has implemented the following amendment to NOTES #1 which states: "The last two teams to play will help clean up the gymnasium and the outside area". Effective immediately, all teams and team members are required to clean up the gymnasium immediately after playing. If a team decides not to execute this responsibility, they elect to forfeit their next scheduled game. The second incident will result in disqualifying the team from the league’s playoff games. The coaches are responsible for monitoring their teams’ clean up effort. Adhering to this rule not only helps keep the gymnasium clean, but it also shows our appreciation to St. Tammany Junior High School for allowing us the use of their facilities.