Purpose
The Cranberry League's purpose is to provide youths in grades 6,7 & 8 the opportunity to
play basketball
and compete in a travel type format among area towns. The league shall
be comprised of teams made up entirely from second tier
players (i.e.: B level) who reside
in towns currently affiliated with the South Shore Youth Basketball League, the Patriot
League
or other established A-level basketball program. Although the intent is that the
teams be comprised of 2nd tier players, the
League will not judge the talent level of those
players selected by their town to participate in the Cranberry League. At
the discretion of
the league's Board of Directors, other area towns not affiliated with an A-level travel
basketball program may be
permitted to participate in the league. This decision shall be
made on a case by case basis following a request by the town
wishing to participate.
Participation of a town in this manner shall be reviewed annually and reaffirmed by the
membership.
Organization
The
league shall be comprised of a Board of Directors and participating town
representatives. The Board shall consist of 3 town members
with one member serving as
Chairman. The member towns shall elect the Board of Directors at the beginning of the fall
each year.
The Board of Directors shall serve as the managing entity for the league .
The league's member towns shall meet a minimum of once per
year. Additional meetings
may occur at the discretion of the Board. A record of meeting minutes should be kept.
Member
towns may participate in all discussions of league issues, however the Board alone
will make decisions for the league. The record
of all voting issues and
action items should be noted in the minutes.
A participating town member may bring an issue for discussion
to the table at any time. A
simple majority of the Board shall decide all votes. In order for a vote to be taken on a
given
issue it must be proposed and seconded by another Board member. The Chairman or
his designated alternate shall run the meeting
in accordance with these rules.
Divisions
The league shall be comprised of three divisions, 6th, 7th and 8th grade. The
age of the
child in a grade level will not be a factor in determining division level unless he/she is two
years above the age considered
normal for his/her grade. Athletes may play up a grade
level but may not be carried on the rosters for more than one grade.
Roster
Restrictions
Rosters must be submitted for each team by the first game of the season and shall include
birth dates of the players.
Rosters may be distributed to the member towns at their
request. Roster changes may be made throughout the month of December.
All changes
must be submitted to the Board Chairman. At the end of the first week of January each
roster shall be fixed
for the remainder of the season.
Players on rosters for their town’s A Level Basketball League are not eligible to play on
teams
in the Cranberry League. The intent of this rule is to prohibit the use of a town’s A-
Level players to fill a roster position
which would otherwise go to another player in the
town. Validated violations of roster restrictions shall result in forfeit of the
game to the
opposing team. This determination shall be made by the Board following notification of the
infraction.
Insurance
All
participating towns shall pay a fee for insurance in order to play in the Cranberry
League. The League shall purchase liability
($1 million) and extended medical ($10,000)
insurance to cover all participating teams. The member towns shall submit the necessary
fees to the Board by the middle of November in order that he may in turn procure the policy
before the start of the season.
League
Fees
Cranberry League fees shall be comprised of the Insurance fee, championship trophy costs,
Internet costs and referee fees. Other
general fees may be proposed by the members and
accepted by vote of the Board. Gym fees are the responsibility of the home teams.
The
league schedule shall be written to balance the cost of these expenses throughout the
membership.
Rules
1 Each team shall be comprised of players from their town of residence or enrolled in the
school system of the town
that is a member of the Cranberry League.
2 The host town shall be responsible to supply a timekeeper and official scorer at each game.
The participating towns may be granted permission to sit at or near the official scorer's
table to assist in obtaining an accurate record of the game. In the event of a dispute at
the scorer's table, the referee's decision is final.
3 The host team will establish their uniform. Opposing teams shall wear contrasting uniforms
on the court.
4 All games should be scheduled with two referees, however the game may be played with
one referee in the event of unforeseen circumstances.
5 High
School rules shall be used except as noted
6 The 6th Grade Division shall use a 28.5" ball. The 7th & 8th Grade divisions shall use the
standard size ball (High SChool Boys).
7 Game time shall be 14 minutes per half for grades 6, 7 and 8. The clock will be stopped for
all whistles and time-outs.
8 Two time-outs will be permitted per half (no carryover from prior period).
9 Tie games will be resolved in two minute (stop time) overtime period(s). One time-out will
be granted each team per period (no carryover from prior period).
10 The game will be played as “run time” for the final four minutes with a difference in score
of 20 points or more. Any game may be played as "run time" from any point in the game
when the score is significantly
lopsided if agreed upon by both coaches and the referees.
11 Any team with a 15 point or better advantage shall play a
half court defense. A
technical foul may be assessed to a coach who does not suspend full court defense.
12 The 6th grade level will begin the season playing half court defense until the last five
minutes of a game. In the last five minutes, full court pressure defense can be implemented
by teams with less than a 15 point score advantage. In the 2010-2011 season, all teams
can press from the beginning of games effective 1/01/11.
13 For the 6th grade Division, the “1 & 1” bonus situation is reached when a team commits 10
team fouls and 12 fouls for the double bonus (two shots). High School rules apply for grades
7 and 8 with 7 and 10 fouls for the "1 & 1" and double bonus respectively.
14 A player fouled during a three-point attempt shall receive three free throws on a missed shot.
15 Technical fouls count as personal fouls and team fouls.
16 Coaches shall conduct themselves in a professional and positive manner. Coaches are
responsible for behavior of their players and shall assist the referees, if requested, in asking
parents and fans to maintain decorum in the stands.
17 A coach assessed a single technical foul in a game must coach from the bench for the remainder
of the game. Two technical fouls in a single game will result in the coach being asked to leave
the gymnasium. If an assistant coach is not available in this event, the game is forfeited.
16 If a coach does not abide by these rules, the game is forfeited, and the Town's representative
will be required to submit the name of a new coach for that division. This game forfeiture
determination is the responsibility of the Referees present at the game.
19 The Cranberry Board may suspend a coach/athlete from the league for chronic unsportsmanlike
conduct. The decision of the board is final and not subject to appeal.
20 All game results must be emailed or called into the Board Chairman by 10:00 pm on the Monday
immediately following the weekend games. Towns failing to meet this requirement will be fined
$10.00 per instance. A team with unpaid fines will not be permitted to participate in the playoff
tournament. It is suggested that one representative report all three of their town's game
results. Scores are not needed. Please email: blbpul@comcast.net or call Bruce at 617-922-5141.
