YOUTH BOYS & GIRLS USBA NATIONAL RULES

The National High School Federation Rules & Regulations will apply to all USBA games with the following exceptions.

1. All games will be played as follows:
   1. Ages 13 and up will play two 16 minute halves.
   2. Ages 12 and below will play two 14 minute halves.
   3. Boys ages 12 and below will play with the 28.5 intermediate basketball.
2. Halftime shall be no longer than 5 minutes.  Pregame warm-ups will be at least 5 minutes.  Time may be changed at the discretion of the site director.  No games will start before their scheduled time unless agreed to by both coaches.
3. A total of two (2) 30 second time-outs & two (2) full time-outs will be allowed per game.  One additional time-out per team will be awarded for each overtime period.  There will be no carry over of time-outs to the two-minute overtime periods.
4. Two (2) direct technical fouls during a game on any player, coach, or team representative will result in their disqualification for the next two (2) games of the tournament.  If the team has less than two (2) games in the tournament for which they were ejected the disqualification will NOT carry over to the next tournament.
5. Each team is allowed two coaches and one scorekeeper in free.  Additional coaches will have to pay.
6. Each team is responsible for providing a designated representative to assist in keeping the scorebook.  USBA will attempt to provide clock operators at all tournaments but if a USBA representative is unavailable the visiting team will be responsible for providing a clock operator.  The scorekeeper & clock operator must be 16 yrs old or older.  The scorekeeping team representative will receive a team pass for the duration of the tournament.
7. Each team is responsible for their own warm-ups balls and game balls and/or any other items brought to the game.  USBA is NOT responsible for lost items.
8. The home team must provide the game ball.
9. If a team forfeits two (2) or more pool games; the team will be disqualified from the event and cannot participate in the tourney round of play.

   

ROSTER RULES

1. Boys participate at present grade level of school – AND AGE.  Refer to ELIGIBILITY
2. Girls participate at present age. Refer to ELIGIBILITY
3. Proof of age and/or grade is required.  Acceptable proofs of age are, clean photocopies of birth certificates, adoption papers, immigration papers or school documentation.  Proof of grade is a clean copy of any report card of the current calendar year.  Teams are required to have proof of age and/or grade upon check-in and in their possession during all games.
4. Players can play up in a division (boys)/ age (girls), but not down.
5. Players may participate on two different teams from the same organization as long as the teams are in two different age groups.
6. No roster additions will be permitted after the team has begun play of its first game.  A player may play in multiple age groups in the same tournament during regular season only.
7. Completed roster and registration fees must be submitted to USBA with the time limits noted or the team will be ineligible for play.
8. Teams participating in the National Tournament are allowed to add additional players that are NOT rostered on teams that have qualified and are participating in the National Tournament.  Rosters for Nationals are allowed a maximum of 15 players.
9. Any team violating roster or team rules will be ineligible and will be reprimanded by the USBA.  Reprimand will be at the discretion of the National Director.

   

DIVISIONS OF PLAY

The USBA currently offers one division of play at each age/grade for boys and girls. Two divisions are currently in development.

HOME/VISITOR TEAM RESPONSIBILITY

Regarding bracket play, top team listed will be home team. Home team wears lighter color uniform. Home teams bench would be to the left of the scores table looking from center court.

Home team is responsible for the game ball and an official bookkeeper.

Each coach is responsible for the players, assistant coaches, staff, and parents of his/her team.  Any misconduct on or off the court will result in immediate dismissal and/or disqualification from tournament. The tournament site director will have the final authority to remove or disqualify any team. Note: In the event of disqualification, tournament fees or any other refund will NOT be issued! No Exceptions!

Pre-Game Warm Up: Pre game warm up time will consist of  5 minutes. The tournament site director may shorten this time if need be.

Half Time: Half time will be 5 minutes. This may be shortened at the discretion of the site tournament director.

Overtime: Two, Two (2) minute overtimes will be allowed. If teams are still tied after the second overtime, the “sudden death” format will be used with the first team scoring a basket being declared the winners.

25 Point Lead: If at any time during the game, a team establishes a 25 point lead, the clock will continue to run with the exception of a time out being called. If the 25 point lead is reduced to less than 25 points, normal clock operation will resume.  Note: Team that is winning by 25 points or more will not be allowed to press full court!

HOW TEAMS ACCUMULATE POINTS

Regular Season Tournament Points

*If a team has registered and paid for a tournament, and that age group does not make due to less than 3 teams, that team will still receive 10 points (regular season tournament) or 15 points (state or regional tournament) for registering

SEEDING FOR REGULAR SEASON TOURNAMENTS (3 GAME GUARANTEE)

1. In a regular season tournament, each team will be placed in a pool and play two pool (2) games.  If there are less than six (6) teams in an age group there will be only one pool.  The USBA reserves the right to place a team(s) "up" to have enough teams for a tournament.  For example there must be at least 3 teams to have a tournament.  If one team is 13U and two teams are 14U, the USBA will place the 13U "up" to have three teams which is enough teams to have a tournament. 
2. If only 2 teams register for an age division, and both teams agree to play a three game series, the first two games will be considered pool games and the third game the championship.  The USBA will notify both teams in a two team division to make sure they both are agreeable to playing the same team three times.
3. Teams will be placed in pools with regard being considered for travel time for regular season tournaments as most regular season tournaments begin on Friday evenings.
4. Each team will play 2 pool games.
5. After each team has played two (2) pool games teams will then be placed in a single elimination tournament bracket based on win-loss record.
6. Ties are broken by who won head to head competitions (2 teams tied).  See TIE BREAKER SYSTEM below for all other tie scenarios.
7. The tournament director’s decision is final regarding placement of teams.

SEEDING FOR STATE, REGIONAL AND NATIONAL TOURNAMENTS WILL BE POSTED AT A LATER DATE.

TIE BREAKER SYSTEM

Pool Play Tie Breaker for 2 Teams Tied

1. In a situation where (2) two teams are tied, head to head competition between the teams will determine the winner.  If the (2) teams did not play each other, than the point differential system will be used with 15 points being the maximum.

2. If more than (2) two teams tie, a point differential tie-breaker will be applied to pool games.  Teams are then ranked according to the sum of the point differential – with the highest number placing first, the second highest placing second and so on.  (The maximum that you can beat a team and still gain an advantage is 15 points)

3. If more than (2) two teams are still tied after the application of the point differential formula, the exact number (difference in score) of points will be used.

4. If more than 2 teams are tied and the point differential system has been applied and there are still 2 teams tied, revert back to head to head if they played.  If they did not play, then the exact point differential of points will be used.

5. The score of all forfeits shall be 15-0.

   TIE BREAKER SYSTEM:  Three Teams Tied

   

UNIFORMS

Each team must have either a reversible jersey, and/or have both a light and dark set of uniforms.

It is required that a number be on the back of the jersey. It’s highly recommended that a number be on the front of the jersey as well.

COACHING ATTIRE

All coaches, including assistant coaches, trainers, ball boys, and other bench personnel are required to wear long pants or nice “golf” type shorts, and a collared shirt. Shoes must include either tennis shoes or dress shoes. Absolutely no jeans, cut offs, tank tops, baseball caps, skull caps, beachwear, or sweat suits. No open shoes, sandals, flip flops, etc. will be allowed. Any coach or other bench personnel not observing this rule will not be allowed to remain on the bench.

MULTIPLE TEAM DISCOUNTS

The USBA will offer the following discounts for teams from the SAME organization that register for the same tournament during the regular season:

2 Teams - 5% off

3 Teams - 7.5% off

4 Teams - 10% off

5 or more - 15% off

The USBA will determine discounts for multiple teams from the same organization for State, Regional events and post them on the website.  THERE ARE NO DISCOUNTS FOR NATIONAL EVENTS.

GYMS/ARENAS/FACILITIES

Some of the gyms/facilities that are used by USBA will not have access to locker rooms. Teams must arrive at the gym prepared to play.

Any misconduct, vandalism, etc. made by any coach, player, staff, or parent to any USBA facility will lead to immediate dismissal and removal from facility.

FORFEITS

Teams and coaches must be in the gym, ready to play at their designated times and places.

USBA will allow a five minute delay in regards to game starting time. This simply means, that if a team is not at the designated court at the correct time, or five minutes after designated time, the team that is late or not there will forfeit that game an issued a loss for that game at a score of 15-0.

If the game before your game is running into your time slot, teams must be prepared to tip off no later than 5 minutes after late game is completed.

If a referee or tournament director has to forfeit a game due to misconduct or inappropriate behavior, team receiving the forfeit will also be issued a loss.

**If your team has to forfeit, there will be NO refunds issued for the tournament fee.  No Exceptions!

TOURNAMENT WITHDRAWAL & REFUND POLICY

Due to the extreme amount of time and effort it takes to schedule and organize a tournament, USBA has adopted the following withdrawal policy:

If a team withdraws from a tournament after the registration deadline, they will forfeit 100% of the entry fee.

A team that withdraws from a tournament prior to the registration deadline will receive a refund minus a 25% processing fee. 

To request a refund, please send an email to info@usbahoops.com

The team membership fee of $35 is NON-REFUNDABLE.

PROTESTS

Player Eligibility: All protests concerning the eligibility of any player must be written, accompanied by a $40 protest fee, and delivered to the USBA tournament director by the protesting Head Coach only. This protest MUST be made prior the start of the game. There will be no protests concerning player eligibility after a game.

The decision on the protest will be made by the tournament director in a timely manner before protested game. If the tournament director rules in favor of the protesting Head Coach, the $40 protest fee will be refunded. The USBA tournament director will have the final authority in regards to the protest.

TOURNAMENT CONDUCT

Any misconduct or inappropriate behavior during a USBA tournament, either on or off the court will be the responsibility of the Head Coach of the team acting inappropriately. This would include any misconduct at the USBA gyms, restaurants, hotels, etc. that are affiliated with the USBA during the scheduled tournament.

Two direct technical fouls during a game on a player, coach or team representative will result in their disqualification of the next two (2) games of that tournament.  If a team has less than 2 games remaining in that tournament the disqualification will NOT carry over to a future tournament.  NO EXCEPTIONS.   All ejections will be reported to the tournament director and then forwarded to the USBA office.  If the USBA finds that their is repeated problems from the same player, coach or team the USBA may place the team, player and or coach on probation or may decide that it is in the best interest of the USBA to not allow them to participate in future USBA events.

LOST AND/OR STOLEN POLICY