Basketball England - The Home of Basketball in England

Updated June 2025

1. Definitions and interpretations

1.1. Definitions of terms used in this document can be found HERE

1.2. Where the context so admits:

words importing the singular shall include the plural and vice versa.
words importing the masculine gender shall include the feminine gender.
words importing persons shall include firms, corporations and unincorporated associations.

1.3. Reference to any Act, Statute or statutory provision shall include a reference to that Act, Statute or statutory provision as amended, re-enacted or replaced from time to time, whether before or after the date of adoption of these Regulations, and any former Act, Statute or statutory provision replaced (with or without modification) by the Act, Statute or statutory provision referred to and any subordinate legislation made thereunder respectively.

1.4. Section, Regulation and Appendix headings are for ease of reference only and shall not affect the construction of these Regulations.

1.5. Any reference in these Regulations to the National Basketball League (NBL) includes the corresponding Playoff Competition and Cup Competitions unless otherwise stated.

1.6. The terms including, include, in particular or any similar expression shall be construed as illustrative and shall not limit the sense of the words preceding those terms.

Governance

2. Jurisdiction

2.1. These Regulations apply equally to all the National Competitions, unless otherwise stated in the Regulations.

On the Basketball England website, you will find links to Basketball England’s Rules and Regulations, the Basketball England Code of Ethics & Conduct, and other Basketball England policies and procedures (together, the "Basketball Rules"). All relevant documents can be downloaded from the Basketball England website and should be read prior to applying for Membership of Basketball England. The Basketball Rules govern important issues such as anti-doping, safeguarding, whistleblowing, and social inclusion etc. On becoming a member, you and the club committee agree(s) to (i) comply with the Basketball Rules; and (ii) ensure that individual members of your club also comply with the Basketball Rules when taking part in any Basketball activity.

2.2. All games must be played in accordance with the FIBA Official Basketball Rules, unless otherwise stated in these regulations.

3. Delegation

3.1. The Executive Board has delegated responsibility for the National Competitions to the Competitions Review Panel. Responsibility for the decisions of the Competitions Review Panel is vested in Basketball England’s professional officers.

4. Affiliation

4.1. In order to participate in any of the National Competitions, a Club must be affiliated to Basketball England.

4.2. Where a Club’s normal home venue is situated outside England that Club shall ensure that it is affiliated to:

- Basketball England; and
- the appropriate governing body in the country in which its home venue is situated

Provided that the application for affiliation to Basketball England is endorsed and approved by the Clubs Home Country Association, a club can enter teams in Basketball England competitions.

5. Nursery Teams

5.1. No Nursery Teams, or Clubs having any official or unofficial obligation to or connection with another Club in the British Basketball National Championship Men, British Basketball National Championship Women, National Basketball League is permitted to participate in:

- the same Division as its Principal Team (without the prior approval of Basketball England); and/or
- the Senior National Cup Competitions (except where the principal team competes in the British Basketball National Championship Men or British Basketball National Championship Women).

5.2. A Nursery Team may contract directly with Players on its behalf and novate such rights under that contract in favour of its Principal Team, provided that provisions enabling this are specified in the Player’s contract.

5.3. A Nursery Team may use the same team name and/or the same home venue as that of its Principal Team. Where a Nursery Team does not use the same home venue as its Principal Team, the Nursery Team must use a home venue within a 11- mile radius of the home venue of its Principal Team, unless otherwise approved by Basketball England.

5.4. Where a Club fields a Principal Team and Nursery Team(s) in a British Basketball National Championship Men, British Basketball National Championship Women, or National Basketball League Competition, all senior players shall only be licensed for one Team, with no movement permitted between the Teams except where a formal transfer occurs (in accordance with Regulation 21 below).

5.5. Notwithstanding Regulation 5.4 above, any Under 23 British Player licensed for the Nursery Team, may be listed on the Scoresheet for the Principal Team during the Season (“Play-Up”). For the avoidance of doubt, there is no limit or restriction on the number of Matches an Under 23 Player can Play-Up. Players licensed by Basketball England for the Principal Team are not permitted to be listed on the Scoresheet for the Nursery Team (“Play-Down”).

5.6. Any Under 23 Player that plays-up must participate in:

5.6.1 fifty percent (50%) of available Regular Season Matches for the Nursery Team to qualify for the Nursery Team play-off Matches; and

5.6.2 fifty percent (50%) of available National Cup Matches to qualify for the Nursery Team finals of that tournament.

For clarity, this only applies to players in the Under 23 category. Under 18 players can play up in a senior team without restriction.

5.6.3 ‘Available matches’ include all matches on the nursery teams schedule for the duration of the players registration. The player playing up on the same day does not make the nursery team match ‘unavailable’.

5.7. It is intended that Nursery Teams should primarily exist to enable young players who are no longer Under 18, or who are exceptionally talented and therefore unsuited to play in the Under 18 competitions, to participate at a higher level. Permission for a Nursery Team to participate in the National Basketball League is therefore dependent on the operation of this philosophy, and Basketball England reserves the right to withdraw permission for a Nursery Team to participate in the National Competitions if Basketball England is of the opinion (in its sole discretion) that this philosophy is not being respected.

5.8. In all other respects in these Regulations a reference to a Club shall be considered to apply equally to a Nursery Team, and Nursery Teams must conform to these Regulations in the same way as all other Clubs, unless there is a specific statement to the contrary. A Nursery Team must always promote its Matches, as if it is a standalone Club, and comply with the National Basketball League Standards.

5.9. Any Club found to have breached Regulations 5.4 to 5.8 (inclusive) above may be disqualified from the Competition in which such breach occurred and may also be fined and/or have League points deducted.

6. Management of Clubs

6.1. All Clubs shall register with Basketball England the name of the company or other legal entity that is responsible for controlling the affairs of the Club, or the names of at least three persons who are responsible for the management of the Club. If the Club is under the control of a company or other legal entity, this company shall register with Basketball England the names of the persons designated as Directors of that company and submit a copy of its memorandum and articles. Where a Club is not controlled by a company, the names of the persons responsible for the management of the Club shall be considered to be the Directors, and these shall be subject to approval by Basketball England.

6.2. The name of the Club Secretary shall be registered with Basketball England. This person may, but need not necessarily, be a Director, and may, but need not necessarily, be the secretary of the company controlling the Club. In the case of a company, the name of the company secretary shall also be registered with Basketball England. All actions by the Club Secretary are deemed to carry the full authority of the club unless and until such time as an action may be countermanded by a mandate supported by a majority of the Directors. A Club is deemed to be responsible for actions by its Directors relating to the Sport, (which may include, but is not limited to, public statements, letters to the media and approaches to players licensed to play for other clubs).

6.3. No person may be added to or deleted from the list of Directors of a Club, except by a written statement signed by a majority of the other Directors, or by a decision of the company, unless such Director(s) submit their resignation in writing.

6.4. No person may:

be a Director or a Club Secretary of more than one Club at the same time; or
have a Significant Interest in more than one Club at the same time; or
have a Significant Interest in a Club and be a Director or Club Secretary of another Club; or
be a Director or Club Secretary or have a Significant Interest in one Club and be a licence holder for another Club, except where the Clubs are competing in mutually exclusive competitions.

6.5. Where a Director and/or Club Secretary applies to be registered for another Club, such application automatically constitutes a statement of resignation as a Director, Club Secretary, or other officer of the first Club, except that where the person is registered as a Director of a Club-company, their application to be licensed for another Club cannot be approved until such time as they are officially removed from the list of Directors of that company. Failure to notify Basketball England of dual membership would be a breach of these Regulations and may be referred to the Disciplinary Officer.

6.6. A Club Secretary may only be replaced by a mandate supported by a majority of the Directors, unless the Club Secretary resigns, in which case the existing Directors shall nominate a new Club Secretary as soon as possible.

6.7. All communications between a Club or Team and Basketball England will be conducted through the Club or Team Secretary unless the Club or Team has informed Basketball England of a nominated alternative. The Club shall notify Basketball England in writing of any permanent or temporary change to the Club Secretary.

6.8. Each Club in the National Basketball League shall comply with the National Basketball League Standards and have an adequate level of administration to enable it to discharge the essential functions of a Club to a level acceptable to Basketball England.

6.9. Each club within the National Basketball League shall have a Club Welfare Officer and dedicated DBS verifier. Their details shall be registered with Basketball England. Club Welfare Officers will have completed the Basketball England Safeguarding and Club Welfare Officer Training (within the last 3 years) and maintain a current enhanced DBS (valid for three years) also supplied to Basketball England.

6.10. Each Club in the National Basketball League shall promote, present and develop the Sport to the best of its ability, and at a level of competence and suitability to the satisfaction of Basketball England.

7. Team Names

7.1. All team names are subject to final approval by Basketball England.

7.2. All team names must include a specific geographical location (the county, city or town where the Team/venue is based). A nickname can also be included (e.g. Rockets, Magic etc).

7.3. Any club sponsor names are subject to approval by Basketball England.

7.4. The approved geographical location, nickname and Sponsor will be used in Basketball England’s official schedules.

8. Finance

8.1. Each Club in the National Basketball League must display adequate levels of finance to enable it to perform in all respects in a manner that is consistent with its status.

8.2. Each Club shall keep accounting records which:

8.2.1 are sufficient to show and explain the Clubs’ transactions.

8.2.2 are such as to disclose with reasonable accuracy, at any time, the financial position of the Club at that time.

8.2.3 comply with any legal requirements applicable to the Club.

8.2.4 comply with such provisions as may from time to time be reasonably specified by Basketball England; and

8.2.5 comply with such requirements as are contained in the FIBA Regulations or regulations made thereunder from time to time.

8.3. In the event that Basketball England considers that a Club may be unable to fulfil its obligations under these Regulations then Basketball England shall be entitled to require such Club to provide to Basketball England and/or its appointed representatives or advisers such accounting records referred to in Regulation 8.2 as Basketball England deems necessary.

8.4. Such accounting records shall be kept confidential by Basketball England and its appointed representatives and advisers save as required by law or to the extent that the same are in the public domain otherwise than by reason of a breach of the provisions of this Regulation 8.4.

9. Liability

9.1. Each Club agrees to indemnify Basketball England (together with its members, officers, employees and contractors) from and against any and all costs, damages, losses, expenses and/or claims (including but not limited to claims for loss of profit or income and reasonable legal or professional fees) which may be made by any third party and which are a consequence, whether directly or indirectly, of the Club not complying with these Regulations (whether wilfully, negligently by action or omission or otherwise howsoever) and whether or not such loss was foreseeable by Basketball England and/or the relevant Club at the time of the Club's agreement to be bound by these Regulations.

The National Competitions

10. Entrance to the National Competitions

10.1. Approval

10.1.1 Basketball England reserves the sole right to decide which Clubs/Teams will be accepted to participate in the National Competitions and the Division that each Team will compete in.

10.1.2 All clubs competing in the NBL must be at least a Basketball England Level 1 Accredited Club as defined by the Basketball England club Minimum Operating Standards.

10.1.3 In addition, all new teams must complete a New Team Entry Form found on the Basketball England website and meet all the requirements outlined in this document and the standards in place.

10.1.4 Basketball England shall be responsible for the selection of Teams to compete in the National Basketball League for the following Season, and of Teams to compete in tournaments organised by Basketball England.

10.1.5 A Club/Team shall be entitled to appeal the decision of Basketball England made in accordance with Regulation 10.1.1 and/or 10.1.4 provided that such appeal is made in accordance with Regulation 49.5

10.2. Entrance Fees

10.2.1 Applications to enter the National Basketball League must be paid by the stipulated deadline set by Basketball England. Basketball England reserves the right to withdraw a team from the competition if they fail to pay their entry fees.

10.2.2 The Entry Fee is automatically forfeited if the Club withdraws their entry. If entry into any Competition is declined the Entry Fee will be refunded in full.

10.2.3 All Clubs must also pay an annual Club Affiliation Fee to be received by Basketball England no later than 1 September preceding the season in question.

10.3. Surety Fees

10.3.1 All Clubs must place a Surety Fee on deposit with Basketball England at the time of making a league entry. For senior teams the cost is £630.00 for junior teams the cost is £100.00.

10.3.2 Where a Club has two or more Senior Teams competing in the NBL, it shall pay an additional fee of £200.00 for each of its 'subsequent' Teams over and above the single Surety Fee it has lodged. Where a club has two or more junior teams competing in the NBL, it shall pay an additional £50.00 for each ‘subsequent teams’ over and above the single surety fee it has lodged. The single Surety Fee will always be paid initially

10.3.3 Where a Club has Surety Fee at the end of the Season and intends to participate in the NBL in the following Season, the Surety Fee will be retained by Basketball England throughout the close season period. Where a club does not make an entry into the league, Basketball England will refund the money by BACS. However, where a club does not fulfil this request by the 31 December following the previous season the team played within the league, Basketball England will retain the surety fee.

10.3.4 Where a Team withdraws from a competition the following fines will apply:

1. 1. 1. before June 30 preceding the season in question, Basketball England will refund the surety fee only.
    2. between July 1 and August 31 Basketball England shall be entitled to retain half of the surety fee.
    3. after the 31 August Basketball England will retain the surety fee in addition to any fines that may be levied in accordance with Regulation 49.16. Any remaining funds will then be refunded to the club via BACS.

10.4. Entry to Cup Competitions

10.4.1 Entry to the senior competitions shall include automatic entry into Cup Competitions for which the Team is eligible unless the Club informs Basketball England that it does not wish to participate in these Cup Competitions at the time of league entry; save in respect of Division 1 Men & Women and Division 2 Men and Women, where participation in all Cup Competitions is mandatory.

10.4.2 Clubs that have not applied for entry to the NBL may enter the National Cup competitions by making an application to Basketball England. An entry fee of £100.00 for senior teams and £65.00 for junior teams must accompany such applications.

11. Club Positions and League Rankings

11.1. The League positions shall be determined by awarding:

11.1.1 two points for a win and zero for a loss in senior leagues.

11.1.2 three points for a win and one point for a loss in all junior leagues.

11.2. Zero points shall be awarded for a Match lost by forfeit.

11.3. In junior leagues, one point shall be awarded for a Match lost by default. In senior national leagues, zero points shall be awarded for a Match lost by default.

11.4. In the event that a Match is lost by default or forfeit, Basketball England may also deduct a number of points as it considers to be appropriate in accordance with Regulation 25.

11.5. Where a game is awarded in junior national leagues, it is at the discretion of Basketball England whether one point for a loss shall be awarded.

11.6. Void games will be listed as 0-0 and no league points awarded to either team.

12. Classification of Teams

12.1. If two or more Teams have the same number of league points, the positions of such Teams in the league shall be determined as follows:

12.1.1 The result of the match(es) between the two or more teams who are tied shall be used to decide the classification.

12.1.2 If these two or more teams have the same win-loss record of the games between them, further criteria shall be used in the following order until the teams can be separated:

1. 1. 1. Higher goal difference of the games between them.
    2. Higher number of points scored in the games between them.
    3. Higher goal difference of all games in the league.
    4. Higher number of points scored in all games in the group.

12.2. If at any level of these criteria one or more team(s) are already classified, the procedure of shall be repeated from the start for all the remaining teams not yet classified.

12.3. If, upon application of these criteria the teams cannot be separated, the final classification shall be determined with a random draw.

12.4. If more than two Teams are tied and where an alternative playing format has been approved at the start of the season, leading to an uneven amount of games played between the teams involved, the positions will be determined by taking into account only the results of the Matches between the Teams that are tied and win percentage will deem the order of the placings and not the total number of league points created from the playing results.

12.5. Cross-Divisional Classification

12.5.1 Where teams are required to be ranked (seeded) across divisions, the following methodology will apply. Teams will be ranked first by league position, then by win percentage, then by points difference per game, then by total points scored per game.

12.5.2 Where the teams in the divisions have played an uneven number of games, the games between the lowest ranked teams in the respective division will be nullified until the same number of games have been played between all divisions.

12.5.3 For the avoidance of doubt, the nullification of games for the purposes of cross-group classifications, shall not alter the initial standing of teams in a particular league.

13. Playoffs

13.1. Senior Competitions:

Playoff Competitions for Division One Men, Division One Women, Division Two Men, Division Two Women and Division Three Men will take place at the completion of the Regular Season with Playoff format to be published by Basketball England prior to the commencement of the Regular Season.

In all playoff fixtures, the highest ranked team shall be the listed home team.

13.2. Age-Group Competitions:

Playoff Matches for Under 18, Under 16 and Under 14 Premier competitions will take place at the completion of the Regular Season. Matches will be played as single leg matches on the home courts of one of the competing teams unless otherwise decided by Basketball England, for example a Final Four Tournament. Basketball England will publish playoff formats, prior to the commencement of the Regular Season.

In all playoff fixtures, the highest ranked team shall be the listed home team.

14. Promotion and Relegation

14.1. Promotion and Relegation is determined on final league positions over the full season; playoff and cup competitions are not considered. For clarity for leagues with multiple divisions, the overall standings across the league will be based on the ranking methods in Regulation 12.

14.2. Teams which finish in first and second place in:

14.2.1 Division Two Men may make a league entry to join Division One Men.

14.2.2 Division Three Men may make a league entry to join Division Two Men.

14.2.3 Division Two Women may make a league entry to join Division One Women.

Provided that such Clubs fulfil the National Basketball League Standards for the relevant Division found in Appendix 5. In addition, teams applying to join Division One Men – known as ‘The Basketball Championship’ – must meet the Division One Men Minimum Operating Standards.

14.3. Conference League Men league winners and runners up must win their promotional playoffs to make a league entry to join Division Three Men. Basketball England may increase the number of seeds from the Conference league to enter the Promotional Playoffs at its own discretion.

14.4. Relegation places are based on the size of the league at the start of the season. The maximum number of teams in any league outside of Division One Men is 12, except for Division Three Men which is a maximum of 10.

14.5. Any Team:

14.5.1 In Division One Men, known as ‘The Basketball Championship’, that does not meet the National Basketball League Recommended Standards or Division One Men Minimum Operating Standards (Appendix 16), will be relegated to Division Two Men.

14.5.2 Any team that finishes in the bottom two places of Division Two Men (11^th and 12^th) or does not meet the National Basketball League Recommended Standards will be relegated to Division Three Men.

14.5.3 Any team that finishes in 10^th place in each pool of Division Three Men or does not meet the National Basketball League Recommended Standards will be entered into the promotion/relegation playoffs along with the top eight seeds (pending 14.3 additions) from the Conference League Men to determine promotion and relegation between the two leagues.

14.5.4 Any team that finishes in 9^th place in each pool of Division 3 Men, may be entered into the promotion/relegation playoffs in addition to the teams listed in 14.5.3.

14.5.5 Any team that finishes in the bottom two places in Division One Women (11^th and 12^th) or does not meet the National Basketball League Recommended Standards, will be relegated to Division Two Women unless otherwise decided by Basketball England.

14.5.6 Any team that finishes in the bottom two places (11^th and 12^th) in the junior NBL Premier level competition or does not meet the required standards may be relegated to the conference level at the same age group unless otherwise decided by Basketball England. Where applicable 11^th and 12^th placed teams will take part in promotional playoffs.

14.6. Basketball England shall be entitled to withdraw the licence of any Team to play in the National Basketball League where that Team:

14.6.1 finishes in last place in the lowest Division of its relevant League; and/or

14.6.2 finishes in first or second place in Division Two Women or Division Three Men in two successive seasons or wins their promotion games in Conference League Men and fails to apply for promotion.

14.7. The performance of all Clubs with regard to their compliance with these and other relevant regulations issued by Basketball England shall normally be reviewed on both 30 November and 31 January during the playing season. Clubs will be advised in writing of perceived shortcomings and the remedial action necessary. This will be based on the Basketball England Standards Document. Basketball England shall be entitled to take whatever action it deems appropriate for Clubs consistently failing to comply with appropriate rules & regulations.

15. The Trophies

15.1. All trophies awarded to League, Cup and Playoff winners remain the property of Basketball England. When the winning Clubs have been ascertained, Basketball England will present the appropriate trophy to that Club, who will be responsible for its return to Basketball England, prior to 1 September of the following Season, in good order and condition. In the event that a trophy is not returned by this date, Basketball England shall be entitled to collect the trophy, at the cost of the Club. Basketball England shall keep the trophies at all other times.

15.2. Should a trophy be damaged whilst under the care or custody of a Club, the Club shall be liable to pay to Basketball England either (in the sole discretion of Basketball England) (i) an amount equal to the value of the trophy (at the time such damage occurred); or (ii) or an amount equal to the cost of complete repair. Should a trophy be lost, destroyed, or damaged beyond repair whilst under the care and/or custody of a Club, the Club may be required to pay to Basketball England a sum equivalent to the present value of the trophy in addition to any other penalty that Basketball England may impose.

15.3. Basketball England will present 18 individual mementoes to the Teams which have finished in first and second place in all Senior National Competitions.

15.4. No additional identical mementoes will be awarded or purchased other than those set out in Regulations 15.3 and 15.5.

15.5. Basketball England will present mementoes to the Players and Coaches that participate in the Cup and Playoff Finals. When a Player or Coach taking part is disqualified, the memento to which they may be entitled in accordance with this Regulation may be withheld at the discretion of Basketball England.

15.6. Where the End of the Regular season Awards nominations are applied to leagues, it is compulsory for all teams to provide nominations and votes for these awards. This is a mandatory process and any teams that do not provide these submissions will be fined £150.00 in line with regulation 49.16.

16. Cup and Playoff Finals

16.1. National Cup Finals, Senior Playoff Finals and Junior Final Fours (Playoff Semi Finals, 3rd/4th Place and Finals) will be played at a neutral venue unless otherwise decided by Basketball England.

16.2. Basketball England will arrange for the organisation and promotion of the Cup Finals and the Playoff Finals as appropriate. At such events, accompanying delegation members must be dressed in smart clothing; tracksuits and denim are not permitted save that a Team manager and/or physiotherapist may wear a Team tracksuit.

16.3. A Technical Commission will, in respect of each Cup Final and Playoff Final organised by Basketball England, be nominated by Basketball England to take responsibility for disciplinary action and such other decisions related to such matches as may from time to time be necessary.

16.4. In the event that Basketball England appoints an organisation, Club or individual to promote the Cup Final or Playoff Final on its behalf, such promoter shall be responsible for providing benefits for each competing Club as agreed with Basketball England. However, Basketball England shall ensure that the promoter reserves a minimum of 100 tickets for any Cup Final and/or Playoff Final for a competing Club to purchase. These tickets shall remain available for the competing Clubs until 10 days prior to the event unless otherwise agreed with the event promoter.

16.5. In addition to the reserved tickets made available in accordance with Regulation 16.4 above, each competing Club will receive a maximum of 21 event tickets/event passes for use amongst the players, coaches and accompanying delegation members of the competing Club. These event tickets/event passes are not transferable and must be held by licensed players, coaches and accompanying delegation members.

In addition, clubs competing in the events, may request up to 4 tickets for directors and their guests.

16.6. Spectators are not permitted to use air horns, including Vuvuzelas, or whistles at National Events in line with FIBA regulations.

Participants

17. Individual Membership and Licensing

17.1. All Participants in National Competitions must be registered as an individual member with Basketball England and pay the fee set out in Appendix 1.

17.2. In addition to Regulation 17.1 above, all Participants in National Competitions are required to have a National Competitions Licence in accordance with the fees set out in Appendix 1.

17.3. All fees are exempt from VAT and are non-refundable once the playing season has started.

17.4. All Coaches including assistant coaches must hold at least the Basketball England Level 2 Coach Award. In Division One Men and Women, the Head Coach must hold a Basketball England Level 3 Coach Award prior to the issue of a National Competitions Licence except when a Non-National Coach has not previously been registered in England. This exception is only valid for their first season in England.

17.5. No player may hold a valid BE National Competitions licence to represent more than one club in any National League Competition. The only exemption to this regulation is where a Junior Player is licensed to participate in a senior basketball competition for another club, which does not have its own junior program, and their junior age group club is not connected to a ‘parent’ senior club.

17.6. No Coach can be licensed for two Clubs that compete in the same league or competition at any one time.

17.7. A clear, enhanced DBS valid for three years (any unclear DBS certificates shall be risk assessed individually) and Basketball England safeguarding training (except where previously acquired Basketball England approved safeguarding training is validated on the member’s profile) are required for anyone registering in regulated activity with children including, but not limited to, Coaches, Assistant Coaches, Accompanying Delegation Members and officials.

17.8. All licenced participants shall not accept, lay or otherwise enter into any Bet with any other party (whether individual, company or otherwise) in relation to the result, progress, conduct or any other aspect of any basketball match.

17.9. All licenced participants shall not directly or indirectly solicit, induce, entice, instruct, persuade, encourage, intentionally facilitate or authorise any other party to enter into a Bet in relation to the result, progress, conduct or any other aspect of any basketball match or Competition.

17.10. Issue of Licences

17.10.1 Each Club shall ensure that all applications for National Competitions Licences are made via Basketball England’s online registration system. Applications may be submitted at any time, and Basketball England will normally consider all completed applications within seven Business Days.

17.10.2 Once an application has been submitted, Basketball England may require additional documentation to be provided in order for such application to be approved, including but not limited to:

- - 1. a completed transfer request via the BE membership portal where the player (Parent/guardian must request this if player is Under 18) requests to leave their current club and the players current club confirms the transfer via the membership portal or if the 7 days lapses due to the current club the player is registered with fails to confirm the transfer in the 7 day window for the player to leave their cub.
    2. a completed International Clearance Request Form: if a player has been registered with a National Federation outside of England, it is the responsibility of the Club to send this information to British Basketball Federation (BBF).
    3. a Confirmation of Amateur Status form: if a Non-National player competes in Division Two Men or lower or Division One Women or lower, they must confirm that they do not hit any of the professional sports person indicators, as defined by the UK Government which are summarised in in Appendix 3.
    4. such other documents as may be requested or required by Basketball England (such as, by way of example only, a valid Disclosure and Barring Service check); and
    5. in the case of a senior or U20 Non-National Player / Coach, valid UK entry documentation (Work Permit/Certificate of Sponsorship and or Visa), photocopy of a valid passport and a signed valid contract where applicable (in accordance with Regulation 20 below).
    6. all officials must submit proof that they have the ‘Right to work’ in the UK, to permit them to work in a ‘self-employed’ manner. Proof of this is required at time of making a licence application.

17.10.3 Payment must be made in full to Basketball England for all National Competitions Licence applications prior to approval.

17.10.4 In the event that Basketball England approves an application, the licence will normally be issued with effect from the date that the approval was given. Approved licences (Digital Licences) will be available on the Basketball England Membership portal. The approval and issue of a licence can only be undertaken on Business Days between the hours of 09:00-17:00.

17.10.5 Once a National Competitions Licence has been approved and issued, the participant becomes eligible to participate in National Basketball League, Cup and Playoff Matches. By participating obtaining a licence, the participant:

1. 1. 1. accepts the authority and jurisdiction of Basketball England and agrees to abide by its rules and regulations and the Code of Ethics and Conduct.
    2. agrees to comply with the UK rules anti-doping regulations and penalties in force from time to time for the official competitions of Basketball England and FIBA.
    3. agrees to submit to doping control tests and to abide by the respective anti-doping regulations as appropriate; and
    4. agrees that Basketball England may forward the participant’s Personal Data to FIBA and/or UK Anti-Doping for use in connection with doping control.

17.10.6 A Player who was previously registered in any other country is not permitted to play in the Basketball England National Basketball League Competitions until clearance has been received from that country in accordance with the regulations of FIBA.

17.10.7 Where Basketball England (in its sole discretion) considers there to be any doubt as to the national status of the person concerned, all relevant documents should be submitted to Basketball England so that Basketball England can determine that person’s national status.

17.10.8 Basketball England reserves the right to decline to license a person for any Club(s), at its sole discretion; similarly, it may choose to cancel or suspend a licence for any person at its sole discretion.

17.10.9 Failure to comply with any of the conditions relating to licensing will render a person ineligible to represent that Club.

17.10.10 When a team fields an ineligible participant (player, coach or bench personnel) as they have not complied with Regulation 17, the game will be forfeit and recorded as 20-0 to the opposing team, with the Club to face further disciplinary action in line with the Discipline code. A fine will also be applied in line with Regulation 49.16.

17.10.11 No licence will be issued for a Non-National (that is being paid to play or coach) unless a current Work Permit has been presented to Basketball England. Only teams in Division One Men may apply to Basketball England or the British Basketball Federation.

17.10.12 For a licence to be issued for Non-National Players or Coaches in Amateur Leagues, documentation must be provided to Basketball England which demonstrates that such Player and/or Coach holds appropriate entry clearance into the UK. A licence will not be issued for a Player and/or Coach who does not have leave to remain in the UK.

A declaration of Amateur status is also required for Non-National (Players or Coaches, background checks will be carried out by Basketball England to determine whether the player meets amateur status requirements (listed in appendix 3) to be licensed for Basketball England Competitions in line with Home Office rules of Amateurs playing in Amateur Leagues. At any point during the season, Basketball England reserves the right to remove a Player / Coach’s licence if they are found to be in breach of this rule and action may be taken in line with Regulation 17.10.10 for any fixture in which the player has played, where their licence status should have been ineligible.

17.10.13 The number of licences that may be issued to a Club is restricted in accordance with Regulation 18 below. In the event that a Club which has a full quota in any category wishes to license an additional person in that same category, the application for the additional licence must be accompanied by confirmation of their new status. Such person is ineligible to represent a Club once the new application is received by Basketball England.

17.11 Validity of Licences

17.11.1 Prior to the start of the Season, all Clubs should submit via Basketball England’s online registration system applications, accompanied by any other required documents, for persons they wish to license in the forthcoming season (in accordance with Regulation 17.10 above). If a person or Club submits more than one licence application in the course of a Season, without having been first released or transferred, they shall be deemed guilty of misconduct in accordance with Regulation 49.1. Applications will be considered by Basketball England, and a licence granted for each application that Basketball England deems to be acceptable.

17.11.2 Players may be licensed at any time during the season up to and including 31 January. To be eligible for consideration, an application for a Player's licence, accompanied by the relevant documents and fees, must be received by Basketball England on or before 31 January of the Season in question. Thereafter licence applications can only be considered in respect of Coaches and Bench Personnel. The exception to this rule is for new registrations for age group conference teams and Intra Club transfers. Please see below:

1. 1. A player can be registered for an age group conference team, in which compete within the conference leagues and where a new registration can be applied for up to the last game of the regular playing season; no transfers are permitted from club to club. The player must not have been registered previously with Basketball England or registered for the last two seasons for any BE National League Competitions or any other International Federation that is recognised with FIBA
  2. Junior age group, Intra club transfers are permitted within a club up to seven days prior to the season deadline (as stated on the Basketball England website) for their new transfer team based within the club and must meet regulation 21.10.

17.11.3 Players playing in all leagues may be licensed to participate in a competition prior to 31 January however their work permit, Entry Clearance/International Clearance/Transfer Form can arrive after this date. In all cases the person does not become eligible to coach/play until such time as work permit Governing Body Endorsements / Certificate of Sponsorship & Entry Clearance / International Clearance / Transfer Form is received.

17.11.4 A person does not become eligible to represent a Club until their application has been approved by Basketball England. The arrival of any application via Basketball England’s online registration system does not in itself guarantee the eligibility of the person concerned.

17.11.5 To be valid, a licence must be issued and endorsed for the Season, Club and Team in question.

17.11.6 No Player licence applications may be received, and no transfer may take place after 23:59 on the 31 January until the end of the Season. The exception to this rule is for new registrations for age group conference teams in line with regulation 17.11.2 (a).

17.11.7 In respect of calculating the deadlines set out in these Regulations the European Convention on the Calculation of Deadlines applies, which provide that when a deadline expires on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday, it is extended to include the very next working day. (unless otherwise stated).

17.12. License Cards

17.12.1 Before each Match, the Club must present to the Match Officials the licence cards of all participants who are to compete in the Match. The last three digits of the licence numbers for the players, head coach and first named assistant coach (if present) must be inscribed on the Scoresheet. In addition, the licence cards of any Accompanying delegation members must also be present for inspection. This can be done by either presenting the digital licences on a device or printing the licences page off (in colour) and presenting to the crew chief.

17.12.2 Before each Match, all Officials must present their licence card if requested by the teams involved. All referees and table officials must ensure the last three digits of their licence number are inscribed on the Scoresheet.

17.12.3 Only persons holding a Coach Level 2 or above qualification can licence and act as the Coach or assistant coach. Only persons holding a referee licence and relevant qualification to the league they are officiating in can act as a referee.

17.12.4 In the event of a valid licence not being produced for a Player, Coach or Bench Personnel that person shall not be permitted to participate in the Match in question. A valid licence card is described in regulation 17.11.

17.12.5 If a player listed on the scoresheet fails to arrive before the end of the Match, the Scorer must cross the name of that player off the Scoresheet.

17.12.6 The Crew Chief should review the licence cards and accept the licence of the individual as proof of eligibility. Should any challenge be made to the validity of such licences, this should be reported to Basketball England within 24 hours of the fixture taking place.

17.13. Loss of Licence

17.13.1 A team that withdraws from a competition shall automatically lose its licence to compete, and any application in future seasons will only be considered for the lowest available division.

17.13.2 Teams that have been accepted into a Competition, and who subsequently withdraw, will be fined and the Surety Fee may be retained by Basketball England in part or in full acting in its sole discretion, in addition to any fine that may be levied.

17.14. Player Retirement and Return to competition

17.14.1 As part of the UKAD Assurance requirements please see Appendix 15 for the Formal Player Retirement and Return to Competition Policy in place for players in our testing pool at International and National Level and they wish to end their competition playing licence with Basketball England.

18. Eligibility

Senior Competitions:

18.1. Players may play in Senior Competitions having attained their 15^th

18.2. Subject to the remaining provisions of Regulation 18, a Team shall only be able to field a maximum of one Non-National Type 1 Player listed in appendix 10 in any Match.

In Division One Men a Team can field a maximum of two Non-National Type 1 Players in any match (see Appendix 3 for breakdown). In addition, Division One Men’s teams are permitted to play two Non- National Type 1 Players in all rounds of the National Cup competition regardless of the level of team they are to play against, for clarity, teams in Division Two and below can only field One Non National Type 1 Player should they compete against a Division One Men’s Team in the National Cup in any round.

18.3. All Division One Men Non-National Type 1 players/coaches must have a valid contract of employment as a basketball player/coach with their club in order to be classified in the appropriate category. Clubs are reminded that they are responsible for the operation of PAYE & NI requirements for all employees and Basketball England may require documentary evidence to verify that where such a contract of employment exists, the due statutory procedures are being followed.

18.4. All regulations regarding FIBA International Clearance will apply to National and Non-National players.

18.5. After a person has been licensed for a Season, they cannot apply to alter their national status during the course of that Season.

18.6. During the course of the Season:

18.6.1 Teams in Division One Men may licence a maximum of four Non- National Type 1 (see Appendix 3 for breakdown) Players; and there is no limit on the number of Non-Nationals Type 2 players listed in Appendix 3.

18.6.2 Teams in the Division Two Men, Division Three Men, Conference League Men, Division One and Two Women may licence a maximum of three Non-Nationals Type 1 Players (see Appendix 3 for breakdown) and there is no limit on the number of and there is no limit on the number of Non-Nationals Type 2 players listed in Appendix 3.

The requirements of Regulation 18.3 must be satisfied, and a licence must be cancelled before an alternative licence may be issued. Where a licence is cancelled by virtue of the application of this Regulation 18.6, the Player shall become a free agent, unless they currently hold a standard form contract which has been deposited with, and approved by, Basketball England and continues to be honoured by the Club. Rotation of Non-Nationals Type 1 (see Appendix 3 for breakdown) Players can take place provided that a Team does not exceed the quota of Non-Nationals type 1 (see Appendix 3 for breakdown) Players allowed by Regulation 18.2 in any one Match.

18.7. A Club is permitted to license a maximum of one Non-National Coach per Team providing they meet and fulfil UK Visa and Immigration requirement. Any Team that has a Non-National Coach must also have a National assistant coach and authorised by Basketball England.

18.8. Whenever a person holding a senior competition licence is absent from the UK for a continuous period in excess of 30 days during the period 1 September – 31 May, their licence shall automatically be suspended and cannot be activated again until after the following 31 May save where a new licence application is received by Basketball England.

18.9. In order for a licence application to be considered, the individual must be present in the UK at the time of such application. For the avoidance of doubt, applications will not be considered or approved by Basketball England in respect of individuals who remain outside of the UK and intend to enter the UK at a later date.

18.10. The regulations of FIBA prohibit players / coaches being registered until they are present in the UK. It is permissible for a Club to make an agreement with an individual, prior to his or her arrival in England, so as to secure exclusive rights for their services. Basketball England shall have the sole right to interpret, enforce or annul any such agreement at its sole discretion.

18.11. A Player who was previously registered in any country other than the UK is not permitted to play in any national competition until clearance has been received from that country in accordance with the regulations of FIBA.

18.12. Where an individual holds two or more legal nationalities, their eligibility to play in the National Competitions shall be determined in accordance with Regulation 18. Where that individual is eligible to play as a British Player, they shall declare (if eligible) in writing before they are registered for the National Competition that if summoned to represent the relevant National Team for Great Britain, England, Scotland or Wales, they will play for that Team.

18.13. Basketball England may, in its absolute discretion, refuse to issue a licence to any Player, Coach, Match Official or Bench Personnel. Any such refusal shall be subject to Basketball England’s appeals procedure as set out in Regulation 49.5.

18.14. Asylum seekers and refugees may be licensed as British Players if the Player has been granted asylum or refugee status in the UK, proof of being granted asylum or refugee status is required to be uploaded in the membership portal, in the visa section. This will be at the sole discretion of Basketball England and reconsidered on an annual basis.

18.15. In order to participate in the Final of the National Cup, a Player must hold a full Performance membership with Basketball England no later than the second Friday before the Match.

Age-Group Competitions:

18.16. Eligibility for all Junior Leagues and all Junior National Cup:

1. Junior Age Groups: ages of players taken at 1 September of each season
2. At the U12 are group-minimum age permitted is for the player to be attaining their 10^th birthday from the 1 September of each academic year.
3. At the Under 14 age group-minimum age permitted is for the player to be attaining their 11^th birthday from the 1 September of each academic year.
4. At the Under 16 age group-minimum age permitted is for the player to be attaining their 13^th birthday from the 1 September of each academic year.
5. At the Under 18 age group-minimum age permitted is for the player to be attaining their 15^th birthday from the 1 September of each academic year.
6. A player can apply for exemption in line with the Basketball England Eligibility and Participation Exemption Policy. A player, along with their representatives must complete the Eligibility and Participation Exemption form and provide all supporting evidence;
7. There are no restrictions on the number of Non-National players in a Team.
8. Teams must field a minimum of 8 players and have a designated head coach to fulfil the entire season for that age group team.
9. A Player who is licensed with Basketball England to play for a Junior Club may also license with Basketball England to play for a different Club in order to participate in the senior competitions if their Junior Age Group Club is not connected to a 'parent' Senior Club, provided that the senior club does not have their own junior outlet. This is subject to the written approval of both Clubs.
10. A Player who is licensed with Basketball England to play for a Junior Age Group team which also has a 'parent' senior team may only play for that senior team in the National Competitions.
11. Where a Junior Age Group player is licensed to play in the senior competitions for a Club that does not have a team in the Junior NBL competitions, the Player may also play for a different Club in the Junior Age Group competitions provided that such Club does not have a senior team in the National Competitions.
12. A club not competing in the Under 18/Under 16 Leagues may license up to a maximum of 15 players for the Under 18 or Under 16 National Cup.
13. The age group restrictions are applied to Junior teams and ages permitted to play at an age group can be found in Appendix 2.
14. An U18 Player who is licensed with Basketball England will be limited to play (and be licensed) for only two teams at any one time, this includes play in all competitions (British Basketball Championship Men, British Basketball Championship Women, Senior NBL and Junior NBL). The two age group teams cannot be at the same age group; it must be two separate age groups/senior competitions.

19. Junior NBL specific rules

19.1. Zone/Combination defences are permitted at the Under 16 and Under 18 conference level competitions in quarters one and three. Man to Man defence can be played throughout but is mandatory in quarters two and four. There are no restrictions for premier level competitions (this includes if there is just one tier of one competition for female junior leagues). Where two teams meet in playoffs or cup competitions and one team is conference level and the other team is premier level, the game will be bound by the highest of the two leagues rules and therefore, zone defence can be played throughout the game, as per premier level rules at this age group.

19.2. Zone/Combination defences are not permitted in any Under 16 Regional, Under 14 and Under 12 competitions. Man to Man defence is mandatory.

19.3. A team is not permitted to full court press when leading by 20 points or more in Under 16 Conference and Regional competitions, Under 14 Conference competitions and all Under 12 competitions. Where two teams meet in playoffs or cup competitions and one team is conference level and the other team is premier level, the game will be bound by the highest of the two leagues rules and therefore, a full court press can be played throughout the game, as per premier level rules at this age group.

19.4. An in-game Sanction is to be applied in a match for teams that are in breach of playing a zone defence or applying a full court press when not permitted at their respective age group competition. This is to be administered via the referees where applicable. See Appendix 9 for the sanction and how this is applied.

19.5. Teams in the below leagues must adhere to the Basketball England’s All Must Play Rule. The details of the rule can be seen in Appendix 7. Teams should use the Rotational Schedule in Appendix 8.

- Under 12 Girls
- Under 12 Mixed
- Under 14 Girls Conference
- Under 14 Boys Conference
- Under 16 Boys Regional

Where two teams meet in promotional playoffs or cup competitions and one team is conference level and the other team is premier level, the All Must Play rule shall not apply.

19.6. When a player in junior NBL competitions (regardless of age) is disqualified from a match, a designated coach or bench personnel who is licensed to the team and club must accompany the disqualified player out of the sports hall and remain with them. If there is no such coach or bench personnel member available, the player must remain in the hall on the opposite side of the court to their bench and must not intervene or communicate with either team or the officials. If the disqualified player is to remain in the hall, any further intervention or incidents will be taken into account in any disciplinary investigation after the Match.

19.7. When a player under 18 years of age in Senior NBL competitions is disqualified from a match, a designated coach or bench personnel who is licensed to the team and club must accompany the disqualified player out of the sports hall and remain with them. If there is no such coach or bench personnel available, the player must remain in the hallway on the opposite side of the court to their bench and must not intervene or communicate with either team or the officials. If the disqualified player is to remain in the hall, any further intervention or incidents will be taken into account in any disciplinary investigation after the match.

It is the responsibility of the head coach to ensure all players under the age of 18 are indicated on the team list provided to the table officials before the start of the match.

19.8. In the event of a Coach being disqualified from a Junior NBL game, where no suitable qualified and licensed assistant coach is present and listed on the scoresheet, the game will be stopped. The game will be lost by default. If the team to which the game is awarded is ahead, the score shall stand as the time it was stopped. If that team is not ahead, the score shall be recorded as 2-0 to the non-offending team.

(Note: All Age-Group National League teams are expected to travel with at least two appropriate adults in line with the Basketball England Safeguarding Policy. From the 2026-27 season, this will be regulated to require two licensed coaches with each junior team).

19.9. In the event of a Coach being disqualified from a Senior NBL game, where no suitable qualified and licensed assistant coach is present and listed on the scoresheet, in accordance with FIBA Rules Article 7.9, the team captain may fulfil the role of the Coach. If there are players under 18 years of age in the team, they must leave the game with the Coach. If this leaves the team without enough players to finish the game, the match shall be lost by default.

19.10. Spectators are not permitted to use air horns - including Vuvuzelas – or whistles at Jnr. NBL games in line with FIBA regulations. The crew chief shall have the authority to stop the game and order the game day delegate/home team to remove such items.

20. Contracts

20.1. All National Competition Licences expire on the last day of the Season in question in accordance with the official calendar of Basketball England.

20.2. After expiry of any licence:

20.2.1 a non-contract Player shall become a Free Agent and may subsequently be licensed or contracted by any Club. Any Club for which the Player was formerly licensed shall have no entitlement to request any compensation for the Player’s services.

20.2.2 a Player who has been subject to a Standard Contract, as issued and approved by Basketball England, which expires prior to the start of a forthcoming Season, shall become a Free Agent and may subsequently be licensed or contracted by any Club. Any Club for which the Player was formerly licensed shall have no entitlement to request any compensation for the Player’s services; and/or

20.2.3 a Player who is subject to a Standard Contract which extends into the forthcoming Season shall, except by agreement of his Club, only be licensed for that Club in the forthcoming Season.

20.3. A Free Agent may, subject to FIBA Regulations, sign an application for a Competitions Licence at any time, and for any Club, except during the period 1 February to 31 May each year, or as otherwise restricted by other rules and/or regulations, and any Club for which he was formerly licensed shall have no entitlement to request any compensation.

20.4. A Club may at any time release a non-contract Player and shall notify the Player of such release and shall surrender their licence to Basketball England (by confirming the release in writing), whereupon the Player shall immediately become a free agent.

20.5. A contracted Player shall be entitled to apply for a licence to coach at the Club he or she is contracted to without compensation. Any subsequent request by the Player or their new Club for a licence for the coach to play will be subject to the terms embodied in the Standard Contract for the period of time stipulated by the Standard Contract.

20.6. In order to establish the existence of a Standard Contract, a Club shall, within 7 days of signature by both parties, forward to Basketball England the signed Certificate of Contract contained in the Standard Contract. Where a Player and their Club, (or related companies, organisations or sponsors of the Club) have agreed more than one contract to cover the same period of time, both contracts must be sent to Basketball England.

20.7. A Player, Coach and/or Bench Personnel may, at any time, demand their release. The Club for which they are licensed must comply within 7 Days, unless it is of the opinion that the Player, Coach and/or Bench Personnel owes money to the Club (the Club must submit an account of the debt for Basketball England to consider). Basketball England shall hold the individual participants licence until such time as Basketball England is satisfied that such money has been paid (to the extent that the debt is considered by Basketball England to be accurate and a true account of agreement between the parties).

20.8. A Player shall have the right to invoke arbitration by Basketball England, in accordance with Regulation 50.8, where the Player reasonably considers that a Club is acting unreasonably in relation to the provisions of the Standard Contract governing expiry, release and transfer.

20.9. In the event that Basketball England determines that a Club is in breach of the terms and conditions of a Standard Contract so as to merit the immediate termination of that contract, the Player shall thereafter be deemed to be a non- contract Player for the purposes of these Regulations.

20.10. This Regulation 20 and Regulation 21 below shall apply to a person who is licensed solely as a Coach, save in so far as they relate to the Standard Contract and, therefore, at the end of a Season, a Coach shall have the status of a free agent. This Regulation 20 shall apply to a person who is licensed as both a Player and a Coach as if the person is a Player only.

21. Transfers

21.1. The terms and conditions contained in the Standard Contract shall govern the transfer of any Player / Coach to whom such a contract applies and shall take precedence over any conflicting terms in these Regulations.

21.2. Where a Player / Coach is transferring between Clubs, the new contract must be sent to Basketball England within seven days of signature by both parties.

21.3. A transfer of a Player / Coach from one Club to another during the course of a Season shall not normally be permitted, unless the Player / Coach, the transferee Club and the transferor Club have all consented to such transfer and the terms of such a transfer. If there is no consent, the current club the player/coach is registered with must decline the request from the individual via the membership portal within seven days of the individual requesting the release from the club. The club must state on the request why and email [email protected] the reason for decline of the request. The transfer will be placed on hold. If all parties cannot come to an agreement, Basketball England shall consider the matter, whose decision shall be binding on all parties.

21.4. If a Player / Coach wishes to seek a transfer of their licence during the course of a Season, they must submit this request in writing to both the Club concerned and make the request to be released from the current club via the Basketball England membership portal. For a Player / Coach who has not signed a contract with a Club, the Club must comply with this request within seven days and confirm the request on the Basketball England membership portal.

21.5. Where the transferor Club and the transferee Club cannot agree terms for the transfer of a contracted Player, either Club shall have the right to invoke arbitration by Basketball England in accordance with Regulation 50.8.

21.6. All transfer requests must be done on the Basketball England membership portal. This must be initiated by the player/coach on their individual profile and the transferee club need to acknowledge this within seven days of the request, if not on the eighth day the player/coach will be released, and they will be able to join a new club and purchase new licence for the new team. On the eight day the player is then deemed a ‘free agent’.

21.7. The applicant shall only become eligible to represent the new Club once the Basketball England Membership portal approves the transfer and any other documents have been received and approved by Basketball England, such approval to be communicated to the Clubs via e-mail from Basketball England should there be an issue with the applicant’s transfer. It is the responsibility of the transferee Club and transferee to ascertain that the transfer has been successfully completed. The player/coach and new club will then have to register for a new licence to compete in the National Basketball League.

21.8. If any transfer fee is payable in respect of the transfer of a Player / Coach in accordance with these Regulations, such fee shall be deemed to be exclusive of Value Added Tax, unless specifically stated otherwise, and the Value Added Tax at the current rate shall be payable in addition to the fee stipulated if the transferor Club is registered for Value Added Tax.

21.9. An approved transfer via the Basketball England’s Membership Portal including those that have expired on day eight where the club have not confirmed the request shall constitute proof that the transferor Club is satisfied that the fee and any Value Added Tax thereon has been or will be paid to them by the transferee Club and a transfer shall not subsequently be annulled by virtue of a breach of contract by the transferee Club.

21.10. A transfer shall not be approved by Basketball England if it includes an automatic return clause. A transfer may include a provision related to payment by a transferor Club if the licensed person re-joins the transferor Club at a later date.

21.11. All Junior NBL intra-club transfers can take place as long as each team has a minimum of eight players and not relying on the same players representing two teams to fulfil fixtures. Players can be transferred between the teams within a club up to seven days in advance of the regular playing season deadline (as stated on the Basketball England website) for the new team they wish to transfer to. An intra-club transfer is not permitted to take place on a Saturday or Sunday. All intra-club transfers must be notified to Basketball England via the online form HERE.

21.12. Whilst a person holds a Competition Licence, no person representing any other Club shall approach the person with a view to inducing him/her to leave that Club, unless permission has been granted in writing by a duly authorised representative of the Club to which the person is currently licensed. Any infringement of this rule shall be treated by Basketball England as misconduct and action may be taken in accordance with Regulation 49.1.

21.13. The use of an agent to conduct any aspect of a transfer of a Competitions Licence is strictly prohibited and accordingly any such transfer shall be arranged directly between the transferor Club, transferee Club and the individual concerned.

21.14. A person having represented a Team (i.e. by having their name included on the Scoresheet) as a Player in any Cup Competition cannot subsequently represent any other Team as a Player in the same Cup Competition during the Season.

Fixtures

22. Arrangement of Fixtures

22.1. Basketball England will prepare a fixture list prior to the start of the Season. The dates of the season will be as defined in the Competition Calendar published on the Basketball England website.

22.2. National Basketball League

22.2.1 In all Divisions, all Teams shall play each other for a scheduled number of Matches home and away to determine the League champions.

22.2.2 No Senior NBL league fixtures shall be played on the National Cup Final date, and no Junior NBL fixtures shall be played on the Junior National Cup Final date.

22.2.3 All fixtures must be played no later than the league deadline as published by Basketball England. Any fixtures that have not taken place by the league deadline will be marked as Void and neither team receive points.

22.3. National Cup

22.3.1 Basketball England will conduct the draw for each National Cup competition (Men, Women, U18 Men, U18 Women, U16 Boys, U16 Girls) which will include geographical organisation and seeding in the rounds prior to the semifinals. Basketball England shall determine which teams (if any) are awarded byes in its absolute discretion. All rounds are single knock out fixtures.

22.3.2 All National Cup games will take priority over league fixtures, on the date that they are set by Basketball England.

22.3.3 National Cup fixtures can take place ahead of the scheduled date but not after or replacing an existing league game.

22.3.4 Semifinals: this will involve the four winning Teams from the Quarter Final Round Matches. Drawn at random.

22.3.5 Final: this will involve the winners of the Semifinal Matches and will be played on a single leg basis at a neutral venue arranged by Basketball England.

22.4. For age-group competitions the following shall apply:

22.4.1 Under 18, Under 16, Under 14 Premier Leagues: teams shall be split into divisions playing each other home and away culminating in end of season Playoffs.

22.4.2 Under 18, Under 16 and Under 14 Conference Leagues: teams shall be split into divisions playing each other home and away. The Conference divisional winner will be determined by a team winning their division. There will be a promotional playoff for this level of competition only, where the lowest seeding teams from the premier level will compete for the following season promotional spots with top seeds from the conference level.

22.4.3 Under 16 and Under 14 Regional Leagues: teams shall be split into divisions playing each other home and away format. A Regional League Division winner will be determined by a team winning their division.

22.4.4 Under 12 Leagues: teams shall be split into divisions playing each other in singular fixtures. A divisional conference winner will be determined by a team winning their divisional conference.

23. Tipoff Times and Game Confirmations

23.1. Matches shall normally be played on a Saturday or Sunday. They may, however, be played on such other days as Basketball England may from time to time stipulate or by mutual agreement provided that such days have been approved by Basketball England.

23.2. All Matches shall take place at the following times (times outside of the required tip times must be mutually agreed by both teams), unless special authorisation has been given by Basketball England. For Junior National Cup Quarterfinal and Semifinal and Playoff Quarterfinal games, the earliest a game can tip for juniors is 12pm, due to greater travel distance, unless mutually agreed between the two teams.

	SATURDAY	SUNDAY	WEEKDAYS
SENIOR NBL	13:00 – 20:00	13:00 – 17:00	19:30 – 20:00
JUNIOR NBL	11:00 – 18:00	11:00 – 17:00	By mutual agreement

23.3. Normally, no Team shall be required to undertake a weekend fixture that does not enable its Players to arrive back at their home base/meeting point by:

23.3.1 Midnight on Sunday, unless otherwise agreed, for senior teams; or

23.3.2 22:00 on a Saturday or 21:00 on a Sunday (unless otherwise agreed by Basketball England) for Junior NBL Teams.

23.4. No days and times (other than those set out in Regulations 23.1 to 23.3) will normally be permitted by Basketball England except in the case of televised Matches.

23.5. For each Match, a minimum of two hours court time must be booked by the Home Team to allow enough time for teams to warm up and participate in the fixture.

23.6. The Home Team must re-confirm all details prescribed in the Game Day Schedule as Appendix 13 with the Away Team at least fourteen days before the Match and the Away Team must acknowledge such confirmation. If confirmation hasn’t been received by the Away Team under fourteen days prior to the fixture, the game will still go ahead, and the away team must make contact with the home team to establish if the details of the fixture are as per the Basketball England website (after 31 August). If the game was to be postponed it must be mutually agreed in line with regulation 24.4

23.6.1 Where a home team does not confirm the game fourteen days in advance of the fixture and the game details (date/tip-time/venue) are in anyway different from what is listed on the Basketball England website, the home team will be liable to find alternate arrangements, should the away team not be able to attend the amended date/time/venue.

23.6.2 The exemption to this rule is where the away team doesn’t acknowledge the game confirmation seven days prior to a fixture taking place. After this time the away team forfeits the right to contest any amended game details, and the game details stands as per Basketball England website.

23.7. If a Team arrives after, but within fifteen minutes, of the scheduled tip off time:

- - the Crew Chief (in consultation with both Game Day Delegates) will decide what time the Match will start; and
  - that Team shall be liable to a fine in accordance with Regulation 49.16.

23.8. It is the intention of Basketball England that wherever possible a Match should take place, and Match Officials are requested to keep this in mind when making decisions. The Crew Chief may in consultation with the Game Day Delegate amend the designated tip off time for any Match.

23.9. If a late tip off caused by the Away Team results in the Home Team incurring additional court hire costs, the Away Team will be liable to reimburse the Home Team for such additional court hire costs provided that the Home Team submits proof of such additional court hire costs in the form of an official invoice from the Home Team’s venue. This must be provided within seven days of the date of the scheduled Match.

24. Re-Arrangement, Postponement, Abandonment and Replaying of Matches

24.1. In exceptional circumstances, Basketball England may require a Match to be rearranged.

24.2. Where a Club is required by Basketball England to play a Semi Final or Final Match within 36 hours of a scheduled League Match, then that Club may request that the League Match be rearranged (and Basketball England will normally approve such request). Applications for rearrangement must be submitted within 48 hours of the definitive date of the Match becoming known to the Club seeking the rearrangement. A rearrangement will only be approved for Matches taking place before a fixture, not for those scheduled after (i.e. if a Cup Match takes place on a Sunday, a Match taking place on the Saturday can be rescheduled but where the Cup Match occurs on the Saturday, the Sunday Match cannot be rescheduled).

24.3. Where a Team is required by Basketball England, the British Basketball Championship Men or the British Basketball Championship Women to play a Final Match (Cup or Playoff Final), the Club may request that all other Matches involving their teams that day be rearranged. Basketball England will normally approve such a request provided that the request is submitted within 48 hours of the Team being confirmed in the Final.

24.4. No changes are permitted in respect of any fixture list, save that:

24.4.1 prior to 31 August, whenever two Clubs reach agreement regarding the rearrangement of a Match (including a change in date, venue or tip time), they may jointly make an application in writing to Basketball England using the Fixture Change Form (via the Game Day Management System or Online Form) for the matter to be considered; and

24.4.2 after 31 August, the request to change any Match from its published date will not be considered by Basketball England for Senior Competitions unless the reason to change the date is due to venue unavailability and in line with regulation 24.8 Documentation from the facility operator must be submitted to Basketball England with proof that the original game was booked in and the booking has subsequently been cancelled.

24.4.3 Senior Tip-off time changes requested less than 7 days prior to the fixture will incur a fee of £25 and will only be approved if both teams are in agreement to the change and suitable referees are still able to be appointed. This fee is still charged even if it is a venue request. There are no exemptions to this fee.

24.4.4 For all Jnr. NBL competitions a request to change any match date, tip time and venue after the 31 August will be considered by Basketball England. The Club responsible for the change shall be liable to pay an administrative charge of £15. All changes must be approved by the opponent of the team making the request. The maximum a team can request a postponed fixture is twice per team for the regular playing season.

24.4.5 All fixture change requests must go via the Game Day management System (Via Online Club portal) from 1 September, where a team can make a request (on an available date for its respective league) after confirming with its opponents via email of the change in question. Both teams would need to agree to the change taking place. Where an opponent doesn’t agree and a request is made via the Game Day management System (Via Online Club portal), Basketball England will then arbitrate and discuss with both teams. At this point the team may be requested to show all communication trails between opponents over the fixture in question.

24.5. Where a Match is re-arranged in accordance with Regulation 24.4.2 or 24.4.4 above, the Home Club shall be responsible for notifying the Match Officials of such change. In the event that the Home Club fails to notify the Match Officials of such a change and the Match Official(s) arrive at the venue on the original date that the Match was scheduled to be played, the Home Club will be liable for the travel expenses and half of the match fee of such Match Official(s).

24.6. In the event that, within fourteen days of the date of the original Match postponement, two Clubs fail to reach an agreement as to when a Match shall take place, Basketball England should be notified and Basketball England will specify the date of the Match and the Team responsible for the postponement shall be liable to pay the relevant administrative charge set out in Regulation 24.4.4 above.

24.6.1 All requests to postpone fixtures made at least seven days in advance between clubs must be in writing, stating why the postponement is being requested. The request can either be agreed or rejected by clubs in writing.

24.6.2 Games will be deemed to be ‘as scheduled’ unless confirmation of the postponement has been received. Clubs not responding to requests will forego the right to claim compensation for costs incurred should a game not go ahead.

24.6.3 If a request to postpone a junior game is agreed by either team, then the HOME team is responsible for offering two alternative dates to the opposition within five days of the postponement being agreed. The away team must respond within a further five days and either accept the new date or offer an alternative two dates.

24.6.4 Should the Home team not be able to accommodate these two dates, they must contact Basketball England within four days to ask for a date to be set in line with regulation 24.6.

24.7. All Crew Chiefs have the power to stop and, where necessary, abandon a game if they feel there is a safety concern or the behaviour of anyone involved puts the welfare of a participant or spectator at risk.

All Basketball England officials will accept the moral authority to implement procedures to provide a duty of care for all participants and spectators.

All abandoned games must be reported by the Crew Chief to Basketball England no later than 23:59 on the day of the game, detailing the reason for abandonment.

Where a match is abandoned the Competitions Review panel or the Competitions Manager shall reach a decision on the result and outcome of the match, based on the circumstances around each case. Only personnel listed on the original Scoresheet are eligible to play in any replay. If a Club is unable to field a full Team in the replay (by way of example only, due to injury or illness) then Basketball England shall (in its sole discretion) determine whether such replay should be rescheduled for an alternative date or be forfeited by the Club unable to field a full Team. The provisions of this Regulation 24.7 shall apply equally to any rescheduled replay.

24.8. Where a Club is responsible for the postponement of a scheduled Match (up to 48 hours prior to the scheduled tip off time) due to the venue owners cancelling the court booking, the Match must be rescheduled within fourteen days of the postponement (in line with regulation 24.4.5) Confirmation from the venue that the original booking was cancelled by the venue owner must be provided (within seven days of the postponement). Failure to provide confirmation from the venue owner will result in consideration of the matter by the Competitions Review Panel, who shall be entitled to award or forfeit the Match in favour of the opposition.

24.9. In the event that a Match is postponed due to force majeure severe weather conditions, unforeseen road delays or breakdowns:

24.9.1 the travelling expenses (if applicable) of all the Match Officials will be paid by the Home Team. If the Match Officials had arrived at the venue before the game was postponed, the Home Team shall also be responsible for paying half of the match fee.

24.9.2 the Team responsible for the postponement of the Match shall be liable for the costs of court hire where such Match is re-arranged for a later date providing an invoice is submitted within seven days of the rearrangement being confirmed.

24.9.3 the responsibility for notifying Match Officials of a postponement rests with the Home Club.

24.9.4 any dispute over the Team responsible for the postponement and/or the amount of any costs will be resolved by Basketball England within seven business days.

24.9.5 Basketball England may ask for confirmation or proof of the travel that was intended, type of vehicle used and details of the delays/breakdown, including any roadside assistance.

24.9.6 If a Global Pandemic arises Basketball England have the right to cancel all fixtures until it is safe to continue, in some cases this may lead to the season finishing earlier than normal.

24.10. Where a Red Weather Warning is issued by the Met Office, Basketball England may postpone all games in the impacted areas. This includes where a team’s departure location would be from a red weather warning area.

25. Failure To Fulfil Fixture Obligations

25.1. A Team shall forfeit a Match if:

25.1.1 fifteen minutes after the scheduled tip off time, the Team is not present on the court or is unable to field five Players ready to play save where, by agreement of all parties, a Match tips off late (e.g. because of travel delays); and/or

25.1.2 fifteen minutes after the scheduled tip off time, a Team does not have a coach who is licenced to the team present. All Senior and Junior NBL games must have a licenced coach present for both teams to start the game; and/or

25.1.3 its actions prevent the Match from being played; and/or

25.1.4 it refuses to play after being instructed to do so by the Crew Chief.

25.2. When a scheduled Match is forfeited in accordance with Regulation 25.1 above, an automatic penalty will be imposed as detailed below. In addition, the Competitions Review Panel shall be entitled to increase the fine.

COMPETITION	FIRST OFFENCE FINE (£)	SUBSEQUENT OFFENCES FINE (£)	MAXIMUM FINE (£)
Division 1 Men	500 plus 2-point deduction	Removal from league
Division 1 and 2 Women Division 2 and 3 Men NBL Conference League	150	300 plus 2-point deduction	500 or removal from league
Senior National Cup and Playoffs	200
Junior NBL, Sureshot National Cup, Junior Playoffs	100	200	500 or removal from league

25.3. Where a Club is responsible for the postponement of a scheduled Match (within 72 hours of the tip off) or does not fulfil a fixture, without the consent of its opponents, the Competitions Review Panel may issue a fine no greater than the maximum amount set out above. In addition, the Match in question will be forfeit or awarded to the non-offending Team 20 – 0 and such number of league points as the Competitions Review panel shall determine (in its sole discretion) may be deducted. Compensation may be sought from non-offending team, for any charges that may be incurred due to the late cancellation of the game in line with this regulation, whereby the game is to be re-scheduled at a later date. The maximum amount that can be claimed is up to £100.00 for a Senior Fixture and £75.00 for a Junior Fixture, only facility hire, travel expenses and officials’ costs incurred in line with regulation 24.5 and 40.5 can be taken into consideration and evidence of the cost associated must be proved. The amount awarded is at the discretion of Basketball England and the compensation will be deducted from the fine issued by Basketball England and will only be compensated once the fine has been paid in full by the offending team. Any compensation claim must include evidence of costs and must be submitted within seven days of the date of the scheduled Match.

25.3.1 The offending Club may also be liable to pay additional compensation whereby the costs incurred exceed regulation 25.3 to the other Club for facility hire and travel expenses only should the game be rescheduled to be played at a later date, no claims can be made if a team wishes to make a claim of 20-0 for a game that was due to be played but then not fulfilled by the opposition . The amount of compensation will be determined by the Competitions Review Panel following the receipt of written submissions and evidence of costs from both Clubs within seven days of the date of the scheduled Match. The maximum compensation claim shall not exceed £250.00.

25.4. Any Club which, without just cause, fails to fulfil a League or Cup Match on the appointed date shall be liable to forfeit League points and or to expulsion from the competition. It may also be liable to pay a fine and/or compensation to Basketball England and/or other Clubs which may have been affected in accordance with Regulation 25.2.

25.5. Where any League Match is not fulfilled within the Regular Season, the Club responsible for the original postponement will be liable to a fine for non-fulfilment of the said fixture in accordance with Regulation 25.2 In addition, the Match in question may be awarded to the non-offending Team 20 – 0 providing a claim is received for the Match in line with Regulation 25.6 and providing that the process outlined in Regulation 24.6.1 and 24.6.2 has been adhered to.

25.6. Any claim for an outstanding/postponed Match must be received by Basketball England not less than 14 days prior to the league deadline, in order that full consideration of the claim can be made before confirming the final League positions and Playoff places.

25.7. If a Team fails to fulfil 90% of its scheduled league fixtures in a Season, its league record may be expunged in its entirety after consideration by the Competitions Review Panel. In addition, Basketball England may (in its sole discretion):

25.7.1 forfeit the relevant Team’s licence (in accordance with Regulation 17.13); and/or

25.7.2 impose a financial penalty; and/or

25.7.3 refuse to re-admit that Team into the relevant league for the following season.

25.8. Where a team withdraws from the league it’s entire record will be expunged. The exception to this is where a team has completed 75% of their fixtures, in this case, the remaining games will be awarded 20-0 to the opposing teams.

26. Clashes with National Team Events

26.1. From the conclusion of the competition until 31 August and for the duration of the European Championships, selection for the any National Team takes priority over all Club commitments.

26.2. No Junior NBL games can take place on the reserved Aspire Days. These dates will be set in advance and marked on the competition calendar. No games are to be scheduled on these reserved dates.

26.3. Any National League Team with three or more Junior National Team Players in their squad has the right to request a change to the date of their Matches to avoid clashes with National Team training camps or matches provided that such request is made on or before 1 November in the relevant year. This change must be agreed to by the requesting Team’s scheduled opposition. This provision only applies to National Team training camps or matches are a part of the official calendar.

27. Game Day Delegate and Team Representatives

27.1. The Home and Away Club shall nominate a Game Day Delegate for all Matches. The Game Day Delegate shall be responsible for all aspects of the Match except the playing of the Match and must not be involved in the Match in any other official capacity, save for the away Game Day Delegate, where a Team Manager may be appointed if no one else is available. The home team Game Day Delegate is responsible for hosting the Match Officials and both Game Day Delegates are responsible for managing spectator issues. Match Officials may advise on court layout, but responsibility and accountability remain with the Game Day Delegate. See Appendix 12 for a role description.

27.2. Each Team shall nominate a Team Representative from their accompanying delegation members to represent their interests at any time during the Match to the Game Day Delegate.

27.3. The Match Officials, the Game Day Delegates and the Team Representatives, and at least five playing members of each Team, are required to be present at the venue at least one hour prior to the scheduled Tip off time. Failure to adhere to this must be accompanied by a phone call to the opposition’s Game Day Delegate/Team Secretary to advise on expected time of arrival.

27.4. The Game Day Delegate will conduct a pre-match meeting with the Match Officials and Team Representatives, one hour prior to the scheduled Tip off time. The participants at this meeting should assemble at or near the Scorer's table.

27.5. If the Match Officials are at two consecutive Matches on the same day, the pre- Match meeting for the second Match should take place immediately after the first Match. Teams and Match Officials must provide the Table Officials with the relevant licences and team lists at this time. Licences are required for all participants, and a full team list is required at this time.

27.6. Failure to attend the pre-Match meeting and/or not having the requisite number of Players and/or licences at the venue in accordance with Regulation 27.4 or 27.5 above will result in an automatic fine being imposed in accordance with Regulation 49.16.

28. Warm-ups and Practice

28.1. 20 minutes prior to the actual tip-off time of the Match, the court must be available for warm-up.

28.2. Any action during the warm-up period of a Match (pre-Match, half-time, or during any interval of play), which is likely to damage equipment, is strictly prohibited. Any Player who damages any equipment after a warning from any of the Match Officials shall be liable to pay the damages, which will be sent to the club the player is part of.

28.3. Before the first and third quarters, a Team shall have the exclusive right to practice in that half of the court into which it will be attacking in the forthcoming quarter.

28.4. 15 minutes should be allocated to half time for Senior Fixtures and 10 Minutes half time should be allocated to half time for Junior Fixtures, unless agreed by both teams to reduce this time and confirmed with the officials. If both teams disagree the half time duration will be the highest amount of time asked for up to the maximum time allowed. The timescale available can also be confirmed ahead of the game when confirming the fixture in question.

29. Use of Official Match Balls

29.1. Each Team shall be responsible for providing its own practice balls, but they must be the relevant Wilson Official game ball.

29.2. The Crew Chief shall approve the match ball at least 20 minutes prior to the scheduled tip off time.

29.3. The official approved ball of Basketball England shall be played with for all matches in the National Basketball League, National Cup and Playoffs. The following ball type and sizes must be used for all matches in the National Basketball League:

- Senior Men Size 7 (Wilson NXT)
- Senior Women Size 6 (Wilson NXT)
- Under 18 Boys Size 7 (Wilson Evolution)
- Under 18 Girls Size 6 (Wilson Evolution)
- Under 16 Boys Size 7 (Wilson Evolution)
- Under 16 Girls Size 6 (Wilson Evolution)
- Under 14 Girls Size 5 (Wilson Reaction Pro)
- Under 14 Boys Size 6 (Wilson Reaction Pro)
- Under 12 Girls Size 5 (Wilson Reaction Pro)
- Under 12 Mixed Size 5 (Wilson Reaction Pro)

29.4. It is not permitted to use the Official Match Ball of a different competition

NBL official match balls

30. Scoresheets, Match Results and Live Stats

30.1. The scoresheet permitted in all fixtures (league, cup and playoffs) is the Official running scoresheet only (FIBA/Non-FIBA Copies permitted).

30.2. Following the signing of the Scoresheet by the Crew Chief, the Umpires and the table officials, the scorer shall pass all three copies of the Scoresheets to the Game Day Delegate. The Game Day Delegate is responsible for ensuring that the Scorer can obtain the Crew Chiefs’ signatures immediately following the end of the Match.

30.3. The Home team shall be responsible for notifying Basketball England of the result of the Match (including any statistical information requested by Basketball England). In all cases this should be done by inputting the required data onto the online Game Day portal no later than 23:59 on the day of the match. When listing scorers, list first initial, surname and points scored i.e. A. BLOGGS 27. Basketball England shall impose a fixed penalty in accordance with Regulation 49.16 for a breach of this regulation.

30.4. Legible electronic copies of the Scoresheet, shall be uploaded by the Home Club to the Game Day management system to complete their result input or if required sent to Basketball England via the official scoresheet submission link, supplied by Basketball England no later than 23:59 on the day of the game following the completion of the Match. Basketball England shall be entitled to impose a fixed penalty in accordance with Regulation 49.16 for a breach of this regulation.

30.5. One match cannot be used to produce the result for two league fixtures or a league and national cup fixture. For example, where two teams are scheduled to play each other home and away in a league, they cannot agree to only play once, with the result of this match being recognised for both scheduled matches. A breach of this regulation will result in potential disciplinary action for both teams and results becoming void.

30.6. When FIBA LiveStats software is used, it should be operated with two licenced statisticians who hold at least the Introduction to Statisticians qualification. Failure to provide licenced and qualified statisticians will be a breach of the regulations and a fixed penalty in accordance with regulation 49.16 will be applied.

30.7. A live webcast, using the League Licence Code provided by Basketball England and FIBA LiveStats software, is mandatory for all Division One Men, Division One Women and Division Two Men’s teams. This is applicable throughout their respective League, National Cup and Playoff games, where the home team is from one of these leagues. Failure to live webcast the game will be a breach of the regulations and a fixed penalty in accordance with regulation 49.16 will be applied. Where stats have not been completed live using the League Licence Code it is mandatory for the game stats to be completed retrospectively from video using a match key. This must be completed within 72 hours of the game.

30.8. To complete LiveStats retrospectively a licenced statistician must be provided with the game video and scoresheet to complete the game using the Match Key. Once the statistician has completed and finalised the game, they should send the Home Team an expense form to the value of £55.00 which must be paid in accordance with Regulation 40.5.

30.9. The home team for each Division One Men and Division One Women league teams are responsible for videoing and uploading a copy of the game film to Synergy within 48 hours of the game taking place and submitting a game breakdown for every league game. The sanctions listed in regulation 49.16 will be imposed for teams that do not meet this league requirement.

30.10. The home team for each Division One Men and Division One Women league teams are responsible for Live streaming their fixtures and staging the fixture on the BE YouTube Channel, this channel may change from time to time pending other hosting sites that Basketball England wish to utilise. The sanctions listed in regulation 49.16 will be imposed for teams that do not meet this league requirement.

30.11. All Live streaming must meet Basketball England’s Live Streaming Policy listed in Appendix 11.

31. Full Strength Teams

31.1. In all matches a Team must have a minimum of eight players ready to play at the scheduled tipoff time. Any breach of this Regulation 31.1 shall result in the imposition of a fixed penalty in accordance with Regulation 49.16.

31.2. Participants are prohibited from leaving part way through a Match in order to attend and/or participate in another Match.

31.3. A Club is required to participate in any Competition it is entered into to the best of its ability.

31.4. All Clubs competing in National Competitions agree to give priority to these competitions (National Cup, League and Playoffs) above all other. In the event of a clash, the National Competition Match shall take priority unless otherwise agreed with Basketball England. A fixture being cancelled due to a team’s participation outside of the NBL will result in the fixture being forfeit and a 20-0 win recorded to the non-offending team.

Facilities

32. Venues

32.1. Applications for entry to the National Basketball League shall include a request for the right to play home games at an approved playing venue for the upcoming Season. In the case of two or more Clubs applying for the same venue, the Competitions Review Panel shall consider the applications and determine which Club shall be awarded the rights to that venue or, in special circumstances, order that the venue be shared by two or more Clubs.

32.2. Each Club shall register its home venue with Basketball England by submitting this NBL Facility Form.

32.2.1 No Club shall play a home Match at any other venue, without the prior approval of Basketball England. If a Club wishes to change its permanent home venue, it must apply to Basketball England for permission.

32.3. An existing National Basketball League Club may lodge an objection with Basketball England where it considers that another Club proposes to play home matches in National Competitions, at the same level of competition, at a venue unreasonably close to its established home venue. The Competitions Review Panel shall consider any such objection and determine each case on its merits.

32.4. Basketball England does not undertake or guarantee access to any venues used in the National Competitions, and it is recognised that the control of playing venues is exercised solely by the venue owners.

32.5. The playing facilities for Clubs in the National Basketball League must be of a quality deemed by Basketball England to be suitable for the level of the competition. This must be in line with the Basketball England Facilities Standards Document (Appendix 6).

32.6. Clubs shall ensure that their home venues comply with current government health and safety legislation and are able to provide documentation in support of that fact. In particular, clubs are expected to provide:

- The venues risk assessment
- The venues up to date health and safety certification
- The venues proof of public liability insurance

32.7. Venues are subject to approval by Basketball England and must have suitable accommodation for spectators in line with the Basketball England Facilities Standards (Appendix 6).

32.8. Each Home Club is responsible for providing a level of stewarding suitable for both spectator control and for Match Officials. A minimum of one steward per 100 people should be provided. A breach of this Regulation will result in the imposition of a fixed penalty in accordance with Regulation 49.16.

33. Game Promotion and Team Lists

33.1. A senior Home Team shall provide Game Promotion in line with the Basketball England Standards (Appendix 5).

33.2. Senior Teams are required to provide their opponents with a Team list at least seven days prior to the Match.

33.3. When using Game Day Announcers, they must ensure they adhere to the guidance in Appendix 14. A breach of this regulation may result in disciplinary action for the Club.

34. Equipment

34.1. The Home Club shall ensure that its home venue provides an electronic scoreboard and game clock which can be read by the Players, Match Officials and spectators throughout the course of the Match. The clock must show the remaining time of the game in minutes and seconds. In the event of a game clock being of such construction that it is not possible for both Teams to have an equally good view of it the Home Team must notify all parties at the pre-Match meeting.

34.2. For all Matches in the Senior National Basketball League, including NBL Conference League, and Under 18 and 16 Premier Leagues a Shot Clock device, visible to all participants, must be provided for the administration of the Shot Clock rule. A visible shot clock shall be located at each end of the playing court, ideally above the backboard, or in a position on the floor diagonally opposite each other and must be visible to the table officials. The device must have a digital display and countdown and must reset to 24 seconds and 14 seconds where required.

35. Display of Team Names and Sponsorship

35.1. The Home Club shall be responsible for the display of Team names any relevant material relating to the competition (e.g. sponsors’ names) at the venue, as Basketball England may from time to time notify the Home Club. Any breach of this Regulation may result in the imposition of a fixed penalty in accordance with Regulation 49.16.

36. Tickets

36.1. Each Home Club shall make available 19 seats for:

- Officers of Basketball England (including Regional Management Committees) and their guests – 5
- Directors of Away Teams and their guests – 4
- A guest of the Referees, Table Officials and Statisticians - 8
- Basketball England Officiating Coaches – 2

36.2. The seats made available in accordance with Regulation 36.1 above may be reallocated if they have not been taken up 30 minutes prior to the scheduled Tip off time, except where the Home Club has been given prior notification.

36.3. The Home Club shall also provide complimentary tickets to all Matches played under the jurisdiction of Basketball England:

- Honorary Officers – 1 and Guest
- Members of Executive Board - 1 and Guest
- Regional Representatives – 1
- Staff of Basketball England - 1 and Guest
- National Team Coaches and Managers – 1
- All Match Officials appointed to the fixture - Guest

37. Team Bench

37.1. For all Matches, the Home Team shall have the Team Bench and on the left side of the scorer’s table when facing the playing court and warm up in the half-court in front of their team bench.

37.2. Notwithstanding the provisions of Regulation 37.1 above, if the two Teams agree, they may interchange the Team Benches and/or baskets.

Playing Kit

38. Team Uniforms

38.1. Team uniforms must comply with the official rules of basketball (as updated and defined by FIBA) http://www.fiba.basketball/documents.

38.2. Team Uniforms may carry advertising subject to any requirement from time to time specified by, and the prior approval of, Basketball England.

38.3. All Division One Men and Women must follow FIBA rules on permitted uniform and equipment.

38.4. All Division Two Men and below, Division Two Women and all junior leagues are permitted uniform/equipment contrary to the FIBA rules as follows:

38.4.1 Socks do not have to be the same dominant colour for all team members but do need to be visible.

38.4.2 All players on the team who wear arm and leg compression sleeves, headgear, wristbands and headbands and tapings, do not need to be the same solid colour.

38.4.3 Any other equipment not specifically mentioned in this article must be approved by Basketball England.

38.5. A breach of regulations 38.1 to 38.4 may result in the imposition of a fixed penalty in accordance with Regulation 49.16.

39. Kit Colours

39.1. Each Team must register details of its home and away kit colours with Basketball England. The Home Team must always wear its complete registered colours. It is the responsibility of the Away Team to ensure that its uniforms contrast sufficiently with those worn by the Home Team.

39.2. Normally the home team should wear a light colour kit, and the away team should wear a dark colour kit.

39.3. Should the Crew Chief deem there not to be sufficient contrast, the home team shall be responsible for changing kits.

39.4. After 31 August, no Team may change its registered first choice of colours, except with the special agreement of Basketball England.

39.5. For Matches played on neutral courts or promoted by Basketball England (including Cup and Playoff finals), Basketball England will decide in its sole discretion which colours are to be worn by each Team.

Match Officials

40. Appointment and Expenses

40.1. All referees, table officials and statisticians operating in National Basketball League, Cup and Playoff Competitions must hold a full licence with Basketball England and must comply with the Basketball England Match Officials Handbook.

40.2. All officials must wear the current Basketball England Officiating uniform, for all games in National Competitions.

40.3. For all Division One Men and Women, Division Two Men and Women and Division Three Men league fixtures, Senior National Cups and Senior Playoff competitions, all referees will be appointed by Basketball England for each Match.

For Conference League Men, referees will be appointed by the home team. Where a Conference League Men’s team is hosting a National Cup game or promotional playoff fixture, referees will be appointed by Basketball England for each Match.

40.3.1 Where a fixture is scheduled, and referees are unable to be appointed by Basketball England the game will be postponed, with a maximum claim for compensation for court hire or transport hire only to the maximum of £150 for senior teams and £100 for junior teams. Invoices must be presented to Basketball England within seven days of the postponed game to make a claim.

40.3.2 Should a fixture not have a referee appointed via Who's the Ref, the home club will be contacted by Basketball England to seek for them to appoint to their home game with the relevant number of referees.

40.4. For all competitions, the home team is responsible for appointing appropriately licensed and qualified table officials and statisticians in line with Regulations 42 and 43.

40.5. In all competitions, the Home Club shall be responsible for paying the Officials match fees and expenses as set out in Appendix 4.

HMRC expects all payments to be made by bank transfer or cheque. All officials are responsible for paying their own taxes and National Insurance and must comply with HMRC regulations.

40.5.1 Officials are required to submit their expense forms for games that have taken place in the prior week no later than Monday morning at 09:00, which includes any third-party payment sites such as YesRef. Any expense form submitted after this time, will be considered as being submitted during the following week.

40.5.2 Teams must ensure that any payment made by BACS has cleared into the officials account no later than the second Tuesday after the expense form has been submitted.

40.5.3 Where payments are not received on the second Wednesday after the expense form has been submitted, the official will need to submit a late payment online form to Basketball England, for the payment to be chased. If payment is still not paid, Basketball England may not appoint any officials to the next home game until payment is made. If no payment is made five days prior to the next scheduled match, then the game may be forfeited.

40.5.4 For clubs who breach this on the second occasion and further subsequent occasions they will be required to make payment in advance or on the day by BACS or by cash which must be made prior to the match. A fine will also be applied to the club as a breach of payment of £25.00 per non-payment of each official.

40.5.5 After the third occasion of failure to make a payment will result in disciplinary action against the club in line with regulation 49.

41. Referees

41.1. For Junior NBL and Conference League Men the following shall apply:

41.1.1 The number and minimum level of referees, that must be appointed by the Home Club to each League, National Cup and/or Playoff Match is as follows:

LEAGUE	N.O. REFERES (LEVEL 2-5)	N.O. REFEREES (LEVEL 1)
Men’s Conference League	2	0
U18 Premier & Conference U16 Premier & Conference U14 Premier	2	0
U16 Regional U14 Conference & Regional U12 Leagues	1	1

41.2. In the case where the Home Club appoints the referees, they must meet the following criteria:

41.2.1 Must be fully licenced with Basketball England as a referee.

41.2.2 In the case that a referee is under 18, their co-official must be at least 18 years old, qualified (Level 2 minimum), and licenced as a referee with Basketball England.

41.2.3 No siblings/family taking part in fixture.

41.2.4 Is not registered to participate in the same competition.

41.2.5 The Crew Chief must be independent from the home club and not hold any position in any capacity within the home club.

41.3. In the event of a Home Club appointing a referee that does not meet all of the criteria above (41.2) the game will be forfeited in favour of the opposing team, and the club may be subject to disciplinary procedures. No blame can be placed on a local/regional Officiating Coordinators as the home team have ultimate responsibility.

41.4. For those who use a third party regional/local officiating coordinators to appoint home team officials, they must ensure they meet the criteria outlined above, with ultimate responsibility still with the home team for officials to meet this regulation.

41.5. For all Junior NBL and Conference League Men’s games the Crew Chief (and on occasions, the Umpire) may be appointed by Basketball England for each Match.

41.6. For Junior NBL Quarter Final Playoff matches onwards and Junior National Cup Semi Final matches onwards a neutral Crew Chief and umpire will be appointed by Basketball England

41.7. Basketball England reserves the right to appoint additional referees to fixtures to form three-person officiating crews where desired.

41.8. Basketball England reserves the right restrict any referee from officiating in any fixture if they are not deemed competent and don’t meet the required standard.

41.9. For appointments to all National Competition Finals, Basketball England will determine the appropriate match fee and mileage rate and or the level of expenses that will apply.

41.10. Senior NBL Referee appointments will be published on ‘Who's The Ref’ website.

41.10.1 Should a Club alter any of their game information after 12.00pm on a Friday for the coming weekend, the Home Club shall be responsible for informing the Match Officials of the change. If an official attends a fixture that has been cancelled/postponed the Home Team is liable for the travel expenses and half of the match fee.

41.11. Clubs may submit reports on the handling of the Match by Referees. Any such reports should be submitted to Basketball England within 48 hours following the Match via the online form HERE.

42. Table Officials

42.1. Table Officials shall be appointed by the Home Club, who should be neutral officials and not associated with the Home Club where possible.

42.2. It is the responsibility of the Home Club to pay the Table Officials match fees and expenses in accordance with the current rates of Basketball England set out in Appendix 4.

42.3. All Table Officials must wear the approved Basketball England uniform.

42.4. The number and minimum level of Table Officials, that must be appointed to each League and/or Playoff Match is as follows, this includes Shot Clock operators:

LEAGUE	N.O. TABLE OFFICIALS (LEVEL 3-5)	N.O. TABLE OFFICIALS (LEVEL 2)	N.O. TABLE OFFICIALS (LEVEL 1)
Division One Men	3	0	0
Division One Women Division Two Men	2	1	0
Division Three Men Conference League Men Division Two Women	1	2	0
Under 18 Premier Under 16 Premier	1	1	1
Under 18 Conference Under 16 Conference Under 16 Regional Under 14 Premier Under 14 Conference Under 14 Regional	0	1	1
Under 12 Leagues	0	0	2

42.5. In any cup competition, the appointment of Table Officials must be commensurate with the Division in which the Home Team competes.

42.6. Failure to meet these regulations will result in an automatic fine being imposed in accordance with Regulation 49.16.

42.7. The Away Team may exercise its right to nominate a Team Representative to be seated at the Scorer's table with the agreement of the Crew Chief.

43. Statisticians

43.1. Statisticians shall be appointed by the Home Club. It is the responsibility of the Home Club to pay the Statisticians expenses in accordance with the current rates of Basketball England set out in Appendix 3.

43.2. All Statisticians must wear the approved Basketball England uniform.

43.3. For Division One Men, Division One Women and Division Two Men games, or games where teams from these divisions play at home in Cup competitions, two statisticians who hold as a minimum the Introduction to Statistics qualification must be appointed to the game.

43.4. Failure to meet these regulations will result in an automatic fine being imposed in accordance with Regulation 49.16.

44. Failure to Arrive/Delay

44.1. All Match Officials must ensure that they are present at the venue one hour prior to the scheduled tip off time for senior NBL fixtures, and thirty minutes for junior NBL fixtures. Referees should then ensure that they are present on the playing court twenty minutes prior to the scheduled tip off time.

Referees

44.2. All fixtures require two suitably qualified referees in line with Regulation 41 for the game to take place. If it is not possible to appoint two referees by 24 hours prior to the game taking place, then the game will be postponed. Should the teams not agree to a postponement, the matter will be referred to the Competitions Review Panel to determine an outcome.

44.3. If two referees were appointed to a game, however, should one or both referees withdraw less than 24 hours prior to the game due to (a) injury, (b) illness, (c) unforeseen circumstances, then the following shall apply:

44.3.1 A member of either team who holds a suitable referee qualification and licenced with Basketball England, can take over with agreement from both teams.

44.3.2 If no suitable replacement referee is available, then the game can go ahead with one referee, only if both teams agree to this, and the referee also agrees and is minimum Level 2 qualified and at least 18 years of age. Alternatively, either team can choose to postpone the game. If the game is subsequently cancelled or postponed as a decision by either team, the game must be rearranged for a later date in line with Regulation 23. In terms of re-arranging a fixture and any costs incurred are the responsibility of the home team. Once the game has begun, neither team may go back on their decision to play/continue the game with only one referee, nor may they protest the score as a direct result of this.

44.3.3 In the event of a dispute the home team will be asked to provide evidence to Basketball England of the referee appointments within seven days of the original fixture date, that should have taken place. Should such evidence not be available, this may result in the game being declared Forfeit by the home team.

44.4. Should all referees fail to arrive, the Game Day Delegate will follow Regulations 44.3.1 to 44.3.3 (inclusive) as far as possible, in order for the Match to take place.

44.5. Once a referee is substituted, this shall not normally be changed, even if the designated referee(s) arrives. The same referees shall continue throughout the Match. The Crew Chief shall have discretion to disapply this Regulation in exceptional circumstances.

Table Officials

44.6. Table officials must be present at the scorer's table 30 minutes prior to the start of the Match. If a table official is not present at the scorer's table 30 minutes prior to the scheduled Tip off time without prior communication as to the reason for the delay (e.g. travel delay/unforeseen circumstances), the Game Day Delegate should take the necessary steps to appoint suitable replacements. The following procedure should be adopted:

44.6.1 If another suitably qualified table official is at the venue or in the immediate vicinity, they shall be informed that their services may be required.

44.6.2 If there is no suitably qualified table official available, the Game Day Delegate, in consultation with the Crew Chief shall decide who shall be the replacement table official.

44.6.3 If the table official fails to arrive by the time the Crew Chief signals three minutes, then the substitute official will be the timer; or

44.6.4 Once the table official is substituted this shall not normally be changed, even if the designated table official(s) arrives.

44.7. In the event of injury to or illness of a Match Official during the course of a Match, the Crew Chief may appoint a substitute at their discretion in accordance with the procedure set out in Regulation 44 above.

44.8. Should a match official not be able to complete a fixture due to illness or injury, their payment should be paid on a pro rata basis, rounded to the nearest interval of play. As such they will be entitled to either 0%, 25%, 50%, 75% or 100% of their match fee and should a replacement official be sought, they will be entitled to the remainder of the match fee.

45. Media

45.1. Match Officials are not permitted to make comment to representatives of the media; on any public websites and/or on social media, including any electronic format over any incidents that may have occurred during Matches in which they officiate. Match Officials who breach this Regulation will be investigated under the Disciplinary Code.

Medical Matters

46. First Aid Equipment

46.1. The Home Club shall be responsible for providing suitable first aid equipment at the venue and all teams shall have a first aider present. Refer to the standards table in Appendix 5 for the league requirements on this regulation.

47. Blood and Head Injuries

47.1. During a Match, the referees must order any Player who is bleeding, or has an open wound, to leave the playing area. The Player may return to the court only after the bleeding has stopped and the area affected, or the open wound, has been completely and securely covered. Coaches should follow Basketball England Guidance document; Preventing Infectious Diseases – Blood and Other Body Fluids.

47.2. Should any player show signs of a head injury during the game, the referees should stop the game immediately irrespective of which team has possession or the location of the ball. Where a player is showing signs and symptoms of concussion they should be removed from the game by their coach. Coaches should follow the guidance set out in the Concussion Guidelines.

48. Anti-Doping

48.1. Any person for whom a positive result has been determined in respect of the use of a prohibited substance (or refusing to take a test for such substances) shall automatically be referred to UK Anti-Doping who will determine the appropriate penalty under the WADA code.

48.2. If a Player has been found to have committed an anti-doping rule violation during a Competition, the result of the Match shall remain valid. However, in such a case, the Player in question shall forfeit any medals and prizes.

48.3. In accordance with UK Anti-Doping Policy, where more than one member of a team has been notified of a possible Anti-Doping Rule Violation in connection with an Event, the team may be subjected to Target Testing during the Event Period.

Furthermore, if more than two members of a team are found to have committed an Anti-Doping Rule Violation during an Event Period, this shall be treated as misconduct pursuant to the disciplinary rules for which an appropriate sanction shall be imposed on the team (e.g., loss of points, Disqualification from a Competition or Event, or other sanction) over and above any Consequences that are imposed on the individual participants committing an Anti-Doping Rule Violation.

In addition, the ruling body of the Event may provide in the Event rules for further (Event-specific) sanctions to be imposed on the team in such circumstances

48.4. Players will receive a provisional suspension in accordance with the UK Anti-Doping Rules. UKAD in conjunction with Basketball England will issue a ‘Notice of Charge’ to both the Player and the Club.

Discipline and Disputes

49. Disciplinary Action

49.1. Matters considered a Serious Offence by Basketball England and those involving match officials will be considered under the Basketball England Disciplinary Code.

49.2. Disciplinary matters related to misconduct by Players, Coaches or Bench Personnel, occurring during or immediately prior to, or following a Match will be considered by the Disciplinary Officer and/or Basketball England as appropriate.

49.2.1 In special cases, as determined by the Disciplinary Officer in their sole discretion, a special Commission, comprising three persons, shall be formed to consider a particular disciplinary matter.

49.3. Participants, Match Officials, Club Directors and other Club Officials or members may be fined and/or suspended for any disciplinary matter as decided by the Disciplinary Officer / Basketball England. A fine up to £10,000 may be imposed for any single offence. Instead of, or in addition to, fines and/or suspensions, the Disciplinary Officer / Basketball England may take such action in respect of the outcome of a game, including ordering a replay; deducting points; declaring the Match void. The penalties for common offences are set out in Regulation 49.16. The suggested penalties are guidelines only and the imposition of such penalty is at the discretion of the Disciplinary Officer / Basketball England dependent on the circumstances on each offence.

49.4. The Disciplinary Officer / Basketball England may take disciplinary action in respect of any matter that it considers to be liable to bring disrepute to the sport of Basketball and/or Basketball England. Any offence committed at a Venue before, during or after a Match by any Participants, Match Officials, Club Directors and other Club Officials or members will be referred to the Disciplinary Officer under Regulation 49.1. The Disciplinary Officer may also co-opt as an ‘assistant’ any special technical advisor where appropriate in order to assist in reaching a decision. The Disciplinary Officer shall at all times determine what evidence is admissible and what is not.

49.5. Any Club or individual may appeal against a decision of the Disciplinary Officer, Officer of Basketball England or Competitions Review Panel in accordance with the Basketball England Appeals Policy by submitting an appeal with Basketball England as follows:

49.5.1 The grounds for the appeal must be submitted by the appellant in writing to Basketball England within two (2) days in respect of Disciplinary Officer decisions and within seven (7) days for other decisions (unless otherwise specified) of (i) the appellant being notified of the relevant decision or (ii) the date of any incident incurring automatic disciplinary points.

49.5.2 The appeal must be accompanied by a deposit of £250.

49.5.3 An independent appeals panel will review the appeal submission and will elect in its sole discretion to determine the validity of the appeal either (i) based solely on the written submission, or (ii) on the basis of the written submission and by hearing oral evidence given by the appellant together with any other party or parties who, in the appeal panel’s opinion may be affected by the decision. For the avoidance of doubt, a personal hearing shall be convened solely at the discretion of the appeal panel chair and is not an automatic right of the appellant.

49.5.4 Any decision of the appeals panel shall be final and binding on the parties.

49.5.5 The appeals panel shall determine whether the deposit is returned to the appellant in full, in part, or not at all.

49.5.6 The Appeals Panel may award costs and expenses against the appellant as it deems appropriate.

49.6. In the event of a Participant committing a disqualifying foul during a Match, the case will automatically be considered by the Disciplinary Officer under the following process:

49.6.1 Each referee is required to submit a written report on the matter, to Basketball England within 48 hours of the match finishing or by no later than 12noon on a Tuesday where the Match has taken place on a Sunday.

49.6.2 Where a Participant has been disqualified and video of the incident is available this must be submitted to Basketball England within 72 hours.

49.6.3 The Participant and/or the Club may also submit written reports if they so choose. Each of these reports shall be prepared by its author making clear as to evidence seen directly by the author.

49.6.4 If a Participant is guilty of misconduct not involving disqualification, which any of the Match Officials consider to be of sufficient gravity to warrant consideration by Basketball England, a report should be submitted by them and the Club concerned notified accordingly, if appropriate.

49.7. A system of cumulative penalty points will apply, and a one game suspension comes into force whenever a Participant's total penalty points reach (or exceeds) each of the following totals: 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 etc. The suspension will take effect from / or after 14 days after the disciplinary incident, as determined by the Disciplinary Officer / Basketball England.

49.7.1 Disqualifying fouls automatically invoke the following minimum penalty points:

Player or Bench Personnel	7
Coach	10

49.7.2 In addition, the following automatic fines will apply:

2nd Disqualifying Foul in Season	£75
3rd & Any Subsequent Disqualifying Foul in Season	£150

49.8. The Disciplinary Officer will consider whether any additional penalty points should be added after consideration of the reports referred to in Regulation 49.6. This will normally be the case for disqualifications of a grievous nature. In the event of a report being submitted related to misconduct not involving disqualification, this will be dealt with in accordance with Regulations 49.12 and 49.13, and, if the report is accepted, an appropriate number of penalty points allocated to the Participant concerned. Where visual evidence and/or other evidence is presented, and this evidence indicates that other persons may be liable for disciplinary action, this will only be actioned after the relevant party has been notified. Disciplinary points incurred within six weeks prior to the end of a season will be carried forward until 30 November of the following season.

49.9. Disciplinary action in respect of automatic penalty points incurred by disqualification will come into force on the 14^th day after the incident or as otherwise decided by the Disciplinary Officer / Basketball England during which time the Participant will be able to appeal under Regulation 49.5. This does not preclude the Disciplinary Officer from imposing further penalty points or a fine for the incident. Whenever a fine is imposed on a Participant under Regulation 49.7, they are suspended from all basketball activity until the fine has been paid in full to Basketball England.

49.10. At the end of each season, all cumulative totals will revert to zero, except as set out in Regulation 49.8.

49.11. Match Officials shall not make any recommendation or comment, either in their report or otherwise, as to the disciplinary action that they consider to be appropriate.

49.12. Disciplinary action as a result of a decision of the Disciplinary Officer / Basketball England will normally come into effect on the 14^th day after the incident or as otherwise decided by the Disciplinary Officer / Basketball England. In all cases should an appeal be lodged against a decision of the Disciplinary Officer / Basketball England or automatic points; any disciplinary action will be suspended until such time as the appeal is heard.

49.13. Any club, player or official offering or receiving any reward or other inducement to or from another club or person to win or lose a match, or being found guilty of placing a wager on any basketball match in which they are involved, shall be deemed guilty of misconduct, and shall be dealt with in accordance with Regulation 49.4.

49.14. Any club which deliberately fields a weakened team without what Basketball England considers to be good reason, or is deemed to have deliberately lost a match, shall be deemed to be guilty of misconduct and may be dealt with in accordance with item 49.4. Basketball England may require teams to provide medical certificates in cases of doubt regarding illness or injury.

49.15. Participants and or club officials shall not directly or indirectly approach Match Officials before, during or after the Match to give information or make comment which may be regarded as being intended to influence a Match Official's judgment or neutrality in any way. Such action will be regarded as serious misconduct and the offender and the club they represent will be dealt with in accordance with the Disciplinary Code.

49.16. The following fines will automatically be imposed:

OFFENCE

PENALTY

Failure to provide qualified and licensed Referees/Table Officials / Statisticians: (Regulation 40-44)

£50 per official and possible disciplinary action for the club

Forfeiture of fixture: (Regulation 25)

See Regulation 25 for full details.

Failure to attend the pre-match meeting and/or late arrival of team for pre-Match meeting (Regulation 27.6)

£50

Team arriving on the playing court up to 15 minutes after the scheduled tip off time (Regulations 23.7)

£50

Failure to upload the Scoresheet by 23:59 on day of the game (Regulations 30.3 and 30.4)

£40 – 1^st offence

£60 – 2^nd offence and after

Failure to update the result service by 23:59 on the day of the game (Regulation 30.3)

£15 – 1^st offence

£30 – subsequent

Failure to live webcast the FIBA LiveStats game as required (Regulation 30.7)

£50 – 1^st offence

£100 – 2^nd offence and after

Failure to complete FIBA Live Stats retrospectively (stats required 72 hours after the completion of the fixture) as required (Regulation 30.8)

£150 – 1^st Offence

£250 – 2^nd Offence

£500 – 3^rd Offence and after.

Failure to video and submit/upload the game tape to Synergy for game breakdown (Regulation 30.9)

£150 – 1^st Offence

£250 – 2^nd Offence

£500 – 3^rd Offence and after

Failure to Live stream league fixture (Regulation 30.4)

£200 – 1^st Offence

£400 – 2^nd Offence

£500 – 3^rd Offence and after

Failure to field eight players (Regulations 31.1)

£50

Failure to provide appropriate scoreboard / Shot Clock device (Regulations 34.1 & 34.2)

£100

Failure to provide adequate stewarding (Regulations 32.8)

£50

Fielding an Ineligible Participant (Regulation 17.10.10)

Minimum £250 plus forfeit fee

Failure to ensure branding & visible numbering shirts/court (Regulation 35.1)

£25 per offence

Participant found to be breaching uniform regulations respective to their division (Regulation 38)

£25 per offence

Failure to submit nominations for the ‘End of season’ awards when requested (Regulation 15.6)

£150 per team

Failure to vote for the ‘End of season’ awards when requested (Regulation 15.6)

£150 per team

Clubs will also be fined at the discretion of Basketball England for their failure to meet any of the National Basketball League Recommended Standards. The level of fines will be determined by Basketball England in its sole discretion.

49.17. A Participant under suspension for a Match may not participate in the Match, or act as a Participant from 20 minutes prior to the scheduled starting time of the Match, until after the end of the Match. They may be present in the Venue as a spectator unless otherwise stated by the Disciplinary Officer / Basketball England. A person under suspension from a Match is also barred from participating in any other Match(es) in the Competition(s) for which they may be eligible, that take place on the same day as the Match specified for their suspension, unless otherwise decided by the Disciplinary Officer/ Basketball England.

49.18. Failure to observe a suspension or breaching any condition applied as part of a suspension is classed as a breach of suspension. Any breach of suspension will result in the case being referred to the Disciplinary Officer and further disciplinary action will be taken.

49.19. Suspension will apply to Matches in the National Competitions. They will not apply to other events, including FIBA competitions, unless otherwise determined by the Disciplinary Officer / Basketball England.

49.20. The Disciplinary Officer shall have the power to amend the awarding of automatic points if they are of the opinion that a miscarriage of justice has taken place.

49.21. Clubs are responsible for their spectators, and they should ensure that the principles of the Disciplinary guidelines are followed at all times

50. Disputes

50.1. Any dispute or complaint relating to a Match must be received by Basketball England within 72 hours of the completion of the Match in question and submitted by the team secretary. Such submission must be accompanied by a deposit of £100. The deposit may be returned if the complaint is considered by Basketball England to be valid. Any Club that submits a complaint under this Regulation 50.1 must also send a copy of the complaint to the opposing Team.

50.2. Under no circumstances can any dispute or complaint be submitted which seeks to question the validity of the result of the Match on the grounds of the quality of Match Officials appointed by Basketball England or its nominees.

50.3. Disputes or protests in respect of Matches during an event organised by Basketball England must be recorded in accordance with 50.1 and submitted in writing within one hour of the completion of the match, accompanied by a deposit of £100, to a member of the Technical Commission or where no such person is present, to the senior representative of Basketball England in attendance.

50.4. If either team, or the Match Officials, has any reason to consider the circumstances may be such as to invalidate or forfeit a match, this should be stated at the start of the game prior to tip off, and reported to Basketball England by the Match Officials and the team making the report. Should a match then take place or continue under the existing conditions the game started with, it then cannot be disputed. The Scoresheet and all reports forwarded to Basketball England who will determine the validity of the events.

50.5. If prior to or during a Match, the coach, captain or representative of a competing Team has a complaint related to these Regulations, they should notify the Crew Chief who shall record the matter. The Crew Chief should be notified immediately if the ball is dead and the clock is stopped, or at the first opportunity thereafter. The captain of the Team shall make their observations to the Crew Chief in a calm and courteous manner. The Crew Chief may explain their decision or, if necessary, may examine the Scoresheet and check the score and the playing time remaining.

50.6. If, at the end of a Match, a Team considers that it has suffered unreasonable harm by virtue of any occurrence connected with the Match, with the exception of decisions by the match officials, the captain of the Team may sign the Scoresheet under protest. The captain of the team wishing to sign the scoresheet under protest must notify the Crew Chief immediately after the final buzzer they wish to protest and the reasons for this. Once the final buzzer sounds the scorer is required to record the game finish time at the bottom of the scoresheet. Following the notification of a protest from the captain, the Crew Chief should ensure that the Scoresheet remains open for a 15-minute period following the conclusion of the game in which the team can decide if they wish to proceed with their protest. If there is no request to protest the game, the scoresheet can be signed by all officials to mark the closing of the game. All Match Officials should remain at the disposal of the Crew Chief until the Scoresheet has been signed by all parties.

50.6.1 The captain shall sign the scoresheet in the ‘Captain’s signature in case of protest’ box. This must then be followed up by with a written submission detailing the reason for protest and sent to Basketball England by the Team Secretary within 72 hours of the completion of the Match in question. Such submission must be accompanied by a deposit of £100.

50.6.2 Regardless of subsequent actions, by signing the Scoresheet "under protest", a club becomes automatically liable to pay the deposit of £100.

50.7. All disputes and protests relating to Matches will be considered by the Competitions Review Panel or the Competitions Manager.

50.8. For disputes relating to Standard Contracts or transfers, the parties involved may apply to Basketball England to convene an arbitration to resolve the dispute. Any such arbitration shall be governed by the Arbitration Act 1996 and amounts to a binding arbitration agreement for the purposes of Section 6 of that Act. The seat of the arbitration shall be England. All costs relating to the arbitration shall be determined by the arbitrator(s) in their absolute discretion.

50.9. Where the query or complaint relates to complaints about the governance or administration of the Competition by Basketball England, such complaints will be dealt with through the Basketball England complaints procedure.

Miscellaneous

51. Governing Law

51.1. These Regulations and any disputes or differences arising in relation to them shall be governed in all respects by English law.

52. Jurisdiction

52.1. Any dispute arising out of or in connection with these Regulations (including any dispute or question about the existence or validity of these Regulations) shall be resolved in accordance with these Regulations and/ or the Articles of Association of Basketball England and decisions made pursuant to these Regulations shall be final and binding on all Clubs, players and other parties.

53. Severability

53.1. If any of the provisions of these Regulations shall be found to be void or unenforceable, such provisions shall be deemed to be deleted from these Regulations and the remaining provisions of these Regulations shall continue in full force and effect.

54. Variations

54.1. These Regulations may be varied from time to time (whether by way of alteration, addition, deletion or otherwise) by the Executive Board.

Basketball England shall give not less than thirty clear days’ notice to each Club of any changes to these Regulations before they are effective unless exceptional circumstances apply and in which case as much notice as is reasonably practicable shall be given.

NBL Rules and Regulations