TCBL Operations Manual for 2021-2022

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Eligibility Operations and Rules Manual

 For the 2021-2022 Season

Section I.  Season Schedule/Critical Dates

10/21-11/13 Team Registration Period. The 2021-2022 team registration fee is $475.00.

10/17/19    Mandatory Program Directors Meeting

11/22/21    Last day for payment of league fees.

12/2/21     Covid Protocols Due. Programs should have communicated to other TCBL programs their Covid Protocols.

12/3/21     Regular Season starts, 10 to 12 Game Schedules

Zoon Scheduling Meeting Dates:

11/22/21                     8^th grade Boys & Girls

11/23/21                     7^th grade Boys & Girls

11/24/21                    6^th Grade Boys & Girls

11/25/21                     4^th & 5^th Grade Boys & Girls

Coaches, team managers and Program Directors should come to the meeting with a calendar of gym availability. Team managers may attend but head coaches are strongly encouraged to participate.

Schedule and Roster Due Dates: 

11/29/21       All regular season game schedules must be submitted to John Redahan, MIS director for posting to the website.  

12/8/21         Rosters are to be sent to the Division Directors.  Uniform Numbers are required on the roster.

Teams must have a minimum of 9 and a maximum of 15 players on its roster. Note: Teams are allowed to file an appeal if they believe they can commit to the TCBL schedule with a roster less than the league minimum. Teams submitting rosters with less than the required league minimum that have not filed an appeal will not be accepted.
 

A team seeking to submit a roster with less than minimum required players has to file an appeal by 11/13/21. In absence of minimum requirement appeal, rosters will not be accepted if the roster is less than the league minimum of 9 players.  

Key Dates:

12/3/21         Regular Season begins for all divisions, boys and girls.

2/20/22         Regular Season Ends for all divisions, boys and girls.

2/26/22         Girls and Boys Playoff Seeding released, Brackets emailed to all coaches and posted to website. 

2/26/22         Brackets released for Championship Weekend.

3/4/22           Playoffs start for all divisions.

3/4-3/9/22     Quarter Final games must be completed by March 9, 2022.  Quarter Games hosted by the Higher Seed. Visiting team must be offered at a minimum 2 dates. TCBL pays for referees in the playoffs.  

3/10-3/11/22 Semi-Final games, at either higher seed or central location.

3/12-/13/22    Championship Weekend and final day of season.

Girls and Boys Semi Finals and Championships (Semi's 3/12/22) and Championships, (3/13/22). There will most likely be two sites for the semi's and championship games.

Championship Game Times:   To be determined and announced when finalized.

**If your team qualifies for a championship game, your program director or a representative from your board must be in attendance for your game.  TCBL will reach out to obtain the name of the person who shall be in attendance prior to championship weekend. 

Section 2 (a) Mission Statement

The Tri-County Basketball League, Inc. (TCBL) was founded to promote competitive basketball for young people residing in Westchester, Fairfield and Putnam Counties. 

Encouraging fitness, leadership, team spirit and good sportsmanship has always been the primary purpose of the organization, which originated out of a fellowship and cooperation among coaches in various communities, Carmel, New Castle, North Salem, Pleasantville, Ridgefield, Scarsdale, Somers and Yorktown Heights.  

TCBL is a non-profit organization dedicated to the development of student athletes, recognizing that individuals can combine good academics while playing competitive sports.  

When we started, there were less than 100 players. The TCBL is excited to be back as over 1,200 student athletes will participate in TCBL while cumulatively, over 16,000 young men and women have played in TCBL.

To our players, thank your parents for their support, to our parents, enjoy your child’s triumphs and bumps: treasure the moments; to our coaches, thank you for your participation and making a difference, to our fans, cheer all the student athletes in an environment of mutual respect and civility.

Section 2 (b) TCBL Code of Conduct. TCBL expects coaches, players and parents to follow these rules to stay in good standing.

TCBL Code of Conduct for players

1. Respect the game, play fairly and follow its rules and regulations.

2. Show respect for authority to the officials of the game and of the league.

3. Demonstrate good sportsmanship before, during and after games.

4. be courteous to opposing teams and treat all players and coaches with respect.

5. be modest when successful and gracious in defeat.

6. Respect the privilege of the use of facilities used in the Tri-County Basketball League.

7. Refrain from the use of drugs, tobacco, alcohol and abusive language.

TCBL Code of Conduct for parent/guardian

1. Encourage good sportsmanship by demonstrating positive support for all players, coaches, fans and officials at games, practices and other sporting events.

2. Advocate a sports environment for all children that is free of drugs, tobacco, alcohol and abusive language, and refrain from their use during youth sporting events.

3. Encourage all children to play by the rules and respect the rights of other players, coaches, fans and officials.

4. Support all the student athletes in an environment of mutual respect and civility.

5. No offensive in inappropriate content will be permitted in email exchanges. Anyone who receives an email that is not appropriate should contact leadership immediately, i.e. the division commissioners, division directors or TCBL Operations Director.

TCBL Code of Conduct for Coaches

1. Recognize that coaches are role models for their team members and all participants involved in the activity, and that basketball helps to develop a sense of teamwork, self-worth and sportsmanship.

2. Place the emotional and physical well-being of players ahead of a personal desire or external pressure to win.

3. Do your best to provide a safe playing environment for all participants.

4. Lead by example by demonstrating fair play and sportsmanship to all involved.

5. Provide an environment for your team that is free of drugs, tobacco, alcohol and abusive language and refrain from their use at all sporting events.

6. Respect the game, TCBL league officials’ referees, be knowledgeable of league rules and communicate with them in an appropriate manner.

7. No offensive or inappropriate content will be permitted in email exchanges. Anyone who receives an email that is not appropriate should contact leadership immediately, i.e. the division commissioners, division directors or TCBL Operations Director.

Section 3.  Disciplinary Action

1. TCBL reserves the right to enforce disciplinary action it deems. Each offense will be ruled upon and reviewed on a case by case basis. The violations include in general conduct detrimental to the league, its players, leadership, coaches and referees. Some examples include but are not limited to violation of TCBL’s eligibility rules, its Code of Conduct, circulating defamatory emails to other programs and coaches, unsafe and/or abusive behavior or language and so on. Any disqualification or suspension for the current season may also, at the sole decision of the TCBL Board of Directors, be carried over into subsequent seasons.
2. TCBL also reserves the right to enforce disciplinary actions, including multi-year suspensions or a permanent ban, for a recurring pattern of misconduct by players, coaches, parents and/or spectators. For example, repeated technical fouls, pattern of violation of TCBL rules and code of conduct, profanity, threats of any kind toward the referees or scorekeeper.
3.  Any person, coach or team that is expelled and wishes to be re-admitted must submit an appeal, no earlier than two years following the completion of the season that the expulsion took place and at least 10 days before the due date for applications for that upcoming season.
4. There is Zero Tolerance for physical abuse and verbal abuse. Physical abuse will result in expulsion from the League for the entire season, and possibly a permanent ban from TCBL.
5. Verbal abuse will result in disciplinary action as determined by the TCBL Board.
6. Players, coaches, or spectators who have been suspended may not return until the completion of their suspension. Suspensions can carry over from season to season.
7. An official has the authority to remove a player, coach, or spectator from a game and/or forfeit the game due to unsportsmanlike conduct. Unsportsmanlike conduct shall include, but is not limited to profanity, threats of any kind toward the referees or scorekeeper, fighting (before, during, or after the game), excessive obscene behavior, or any flagrant foul as determined by the referees.

Section 4: Website/Communication/Try out notices. The data base (divisions) of teams and team contacts is not to be distributed or sold to any other party for commercial purposes and any person who wishes not to be part of any group mail out will be removed from all distribution lists.

Section 5. Team and Player Eligibility.

Team Eligibility

Program/Team Definition (UPDATE 2021-2022 Season):  All programs participating on a Tri-County Basketball League (TCBL) team must field a team with eligible players from either of the allowable team definitions as stated below:
 
All programs participating on a TCBL team will field a team with eligible rostered players. An approved TCBL team is defined by -

Public High School District Teams – The team must encompass players on their roster to which he or she is assigned by the local board of education based on the legal residence of the parent or legal custodian.

If the player attends private school – that player is eligible to participate in the program to which he/she resides within, based on the geographical boundaries of their public-school district.    

Any team/roster appeals based on the above definition will be reviewed by the TCBL Board.  Please note the deadline to file an appeal is 11/13/21.

TCBL will accept a team registration as long as it is part of a youth basketball program, which consists of 4 or more teams, any combination of boys or girls’ teams and complies with the TCBL team definition eligibility requirements. Individual teams and AAU sponsored teams are not eligible to play in TCBL.

Program eligibility criteria are:

• The youth program must provide a venue for town or school district youth basketball players to develop their skills and participate in a higher level of competition for boys and girls in grades 4-8, in the respective town or school district. 
• The program must sponsor at a minimum 4 teams and the four or more teams should all belong to the same town or school district program. Any combination or boys or girls’ team will be allowed but no less than 4 minimums in grade levels 4 through 8.

• The Program Director or his/her designated representative, will register the teams in TCBL.
• The Program Director will be the main point of contact between TCBL leadership, its Referee Assignors and the respective program.

Player Eligibility.

Age:  There are essentially four rules for player eligibility.

• All players participating on a Tri-County Basketball League (TCBL) team must be an eligible player within the team definitions as stated above.
• Individual player eligibility is determined by his or her grade in school.
• One Team:  Players can play for only one TCBL team during the same season.
• All eligible, rostered players may participate in the playoffs.
   

Players are allowed to “play-up” – meaning that players can move to a higher age group but players are not allowed to “move down” to a younger age group. For example, 3rd graders are eligible to play in the 4th grade division. Either way, eligible players can only be rostered on one TCBL.

Proof of age (copy of either an original or certified Birth Certificate, Passport, and/or Proof of Address), must be available if requested by TCBL, for every player on the team roster. 

High School team players:  

1. All High School team players are eligible to play in TCBL in both the Boys and Girls Division.
2. Coaches must report the name and High School team level (Varsity, JV or freshman) of all players who are members of a High School team to their Program Director and Division Director as soon as the player makes the HS team. If TCBL is not notified, the teams is subject to appropriate disciplinary action as determined by the TCBL Board. Varsity players will be reviewed by TCBL to confirm their participation is consistent with TCBL’s mission and competitive spirit.

Section 6.   Appeals

Appeals Procedure for Exceptions to Eligibility Rules
 
It is the intent of the League that all teams willingly participate in the League according to the Eligibility Rules and the Code of Conduct.   Exceptions to the above eligibility rules will be reviewed by the following appeals procedure:

1. The Program Director submits an appeal to the Appeals Chair.
2. The Appeals Committee will review each case, requesting additional information as required.  A simple majority is required to grant the appeal.
3. The Appeals Committee Chairman will communicate the result of the review to the Board and appropriate Commissioner and Program Director. Exceptions to Eligibility Rules are granted only for the current season.
4. When an appeal is granted, the TCBL Board retains the right to reconsider a decision when warranted by significant and material events that occur during the course of the season.
5.  Player and team eligibility appeals must be filed by October 31, 2021.
6. Teams seeking to file an appeal with less than the league minimum roster requirement of 10 players must file an appeal by November 13, 2021.
7. Appeals are granted for the current season only and not grandfathered.
8. Roster Appeals.

Minimum roster:  Teams must have a minimum of 9 and a maximum of 15 players on its roster. Note: Teams are allowed to file an appeal if they believe they can commit to the TCBL schedule with a roster less than the league minimum. Teams submitting rosters with less than the required league minimum that have not filed an appeal will not be accepted.
 

Section 7 Program Directors Meeting, coaches’ welcome and Scheduling Meeting.

Program Directors meeting. This is a mandatory meeting for all program directors or a strong representative from the program.  This is a significant meeting and all TCBL programs should send a representative. There are operational issues, including league structure, playoff changes, rule changes, policy changes and so on that will be addressed, followed by a Q&A.

Scheduling Meeting: Coaches, team managers and Program Directors should come to the meeting with a calendar of gym availability. Team managers may attend but not in lieu of the head coach. No team will be allowed to schedule its season if the coach is not present.

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Section 8 Game Rules.

The game rules are attached and need to be posted at the home team’s scorer’s table and in each team’s scorebook. The New York High School Federal Rules apply to all TCBL games except where noted in the game rules attached.

Section 9 Cancellation.

There are common sense reasons for rescheduling games: weather, facilities issues, and other extenuating circumstances that would be considered. Regardless, any reason requires notice: The division director, visiting teams and referees should be notified 48 hours if a game needs to be rescheduled. Any cancelled game should be rescheduled within a two-week period, even sooner as we approach the end of the regular season. In the case of inclimate weather, notice should be communicated as soon as possible but preferably by 3:00 PM on the day the game is to be played. That said, you should have the expectation that--other than for a clear weather issue or facility conflict--you are expected to play as scheduled. Home teams are expected to try and work out a rescheduled date that both teams agree to -- but cancelling teams should expect a forfeit if it can't be rescheduled by the hosts for valid reasons. Football, other hoops games, concerts, etc. are not valid reasons and you should be coming to the scheduling meetings fully prepared with black-out and conflict dates. 

Section 10. Tri-County Basketball League Scorebook Policy.

Accurate scorekeeping helps the game run smoothly and avoids unnecessary delays and confusion. The head referee is ultimately responsible for resolving any scorekeeping disputes. The following is TCBL’s policy regarding the Scorebook. Both the scorer and time clock operator must adhere to the TCBL Code of Conduct.

I.         Responsibility of Scorekeeper

The scorekeeper is responsible for recording the names and numbers of all players for each team, as well as, if possible, noting which players will start the game. This information is given to the scorekeeper by the head coach of each team. Scorekeepers also must keep track of the number of fouls committed by each player as well as the number of team fouls committed per team per half. The scorer must notify the official when a player has been disqualified based on personal fouls as well as when a team is eligible to shoot bonus free throws based on the number of team fouls by the opposing team. The scorekeeper is also responsible for notifying the referee when a team is out of timeouts. The referee must then notify the coach.

II.       Responsibility of Players, Coaches and Officials

The coach should supply the official scorer with the names and numbers of all rostered players on the team, 10 minutes before the start of the game. Players wanting to enter the game must also report to the official scorekeeper to become an official substitute. Referees report official delay-of-game warnings and violations to the scorekeeper, who keeps track of them in the official score book.

The Home Team is the official scorebook and is the final authority on the score of the game. For example, if the official scorebook and the game scoreboard or visiting team’s scorebook show different scores and the official does not know which one is correct, he/she must accept the score in the official scorebook kept by the Home Team.

Section 11. Referee Protocol and Assignors. Note: See Referee Assignor Policy section on website for additional information.

All TCBL teams will be assigned a TCBL Referee Assignor who will assign its TCBL games. Only Patched officials assigned by a TCBL assignor are allowed to referee a TCBL Game.

Referee Game Schedules:  A schedule of referees assigned to referee the teams’ home games are due November 30, 2021 to Bernard Bowen.   

The referee’s decision on matters of fact are not subject to an appeal. If the referee says it was or wasn’t a foul, then it wasn’t.  Game outcomes cannot be appealed.

Section 12 A. Play-off Eligibility
 
Historically, all teams have made the playoffs. For the upcoming season, that remains the objective.

TCBL reserves the right to move any team into a higher playoff bracket or alter the playoff seeding position of any team.

Playoff eligibility will be based on: Where possible, the playoffs will have two divisions for all divisions, A&B but this policy will be reviewed annually.

Section 12 B. Playoff Seeding and Tie-Breakers
 

1.  A team’s playoff seeding is based on the following criteria:
2. 1. Record in TCBL scheduled games.
   2. Head to Head Competition
   3. Coin Toss or pick out of a hat if more than two teams are tied- If still tied after A, B or C.
   4. In the past, strength of schedule and forfeits played a role in playoff seeding. For the 2021-2022 season, these considerations cannot be applied consistently.

Section 13. Playoff Venue

TCBL will do their best to continue to host the semifinals and championship games for the boys and girl’s division at a central site. TCBL will assign the scorekeeper and time clock operator for all championship games.  TCBL pays for referees in the playoffs.   A representative from TCBL leadership, i.e. Directors, Commissioner, and the Playoff Director will be in attendance for championship games.

The Quarter Final Games will be hosted by the Higher Seed.