Archdiocese of Philadelphia CYO

2009 - 2010 Varsity Girls Rules

Region 11 CYO Girls Basketball provides competition in the following four divisions:

Varsity Girls -- Region League: 7th and 8th grade girls who have not reached their 15th birthday by September 1st. The Region or "A" League is a competitive league with top qualifiers advancing to the Archdiocese of Philadelphia Championship Tournament.
Varsity Girls -- Parish League: 7th and 8th grade girls who have not reached their 15th birthday by September 1st. The Parish League is an instructional/recreational league.
Junior Varsity Girls -- Region League:5th and 6th grade girls who have not reached their 13th birthday by September 1st. The Region League is a competitive league.
Junior Varsity Girls Parish League: 5th and 6th grade girls who have not reached their 13th birthday by September 1st. The Parish League is an instructional/recreational league.

NEW PLAYING TIME RULES EFFECTIVE THE 2007-2008 SEASON:

Playing Time:

Mandatory Playing Time - Varsity Region Boys and Girls: Beginning in the 2007-2008 season, all rostered Varsity Region players that regularly attend practices and games and adhere to the principles of CYO athletics are required to play a minimum of 3 minutes of each regular season game. Unlike the Junior Varsity playing time rule, the minimum participation may be spread out across the entire game and does not have to be consecutive. The minimum playing time requirement is waived during the Region 11 Varsity Region playoffs. PENALTY: In any case where compelling documentation is provided that a coach has violated this rule, the commissioner has the latitude to impose sanctions up to and including forfeiture of the game(s) in which the offense(s) occurred.

Minimum Participation for Playoff Eligibility - Varsity Region Boys and Girls: All Varsity Region players must play in a minimum of 60% of all games in which they are available to play. For a 12 game season, the requirement is 8 games. For an 11 game season, the requirement is 7 games. Athletes who are unavailable due to injury, illness, bereavement, or other compelling reasons (excluding vacations and other discretionary time off) will have to participate in at least 60% of all of the games in which they are available (e.g., if a player misses 4 games of a 12 game season due to injury, that player will have to play in at least 5 of the other 8 games to be playoff eligible). Documentation of injuries or illnesses (doctor's notes, eyewitness accounts, ...) may be required in the case of disputes. PENALTY: Any player not meeting the minimum playing time requirement is ineligible for all post-season region and Archdiocesan play.

ARCHDIOCESE OF PHILADELPHIA/REGION 11 CYO RULES

Eligibility -- All rules regarding eligibility are governed by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and are outlined in the 2009-2010 CYO Athletic Handbook. Any exceptions to the Archdiocesan eligibility rules must receive permission from the Archdiocesan CYO Athletic Director.

Playing Rules: Game rules are governed by the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) except as noted in these rules.

Roster Fees & Deadlines: 2009-2010 Archdiocesan and Region 11 Roster Fees are handled through each parish's Athletic Director. Signed Rosters and Coaching Cards are due for submission to Region 11 via each parish Athletic Director by December 9, 2009. The Archdiocese deadline for receipt of rosters at OYYA is December 15, 2009. Accordingly, the Region 11 roster deadline for roster additions and changes will be Wednesday, December 9, 2009 to allow sufficient time to compile the Region 11 package of rosters for delivery to OYYA. After your team roster package is submitted to Region 11, additions and changes may still be made via e-mail to the Commissioner at jroynan@aol.com until the "roster freeze" date of December 12th.

REGION 11 CYO RULES

Playing Rules -- Varsity (7/8th Grade) Divisions

Length of Game: Four 7-Minute Quarters (per Archdiocese Rule); 5-Minute Half-time; 3-Minute Overtime(s) as needed until game is decided; Clock stops on all whistles. Winning coach is responsible for e-mailing result to Commissioner at jroynan@aol.com.

Ball/Clock/Book: Women's size 28.5" ball. Home team supplies game ball, scorekeeper, and timekeeper. Home team is official book. Visiting team must also supply a scorekeeper and keep a separate book. An adult should run the clock. The official scorebook must be sigend by the referee(s) for every game. Referees not signing the scorebook will not be paid.

Possession: Jump ball at start of game and each overtime. Alternate possession thereafter regardless of reason for the jump.

Three Point Shot:Three point shots are allowed and counted if the gym floor has appropriate markings.

Foul Shots: Shoot 1-and-1 on 7th Foul, 2 shots on 10th foul in each half. Per PIAA rule, players may not move to rebound on free throws until ball HITS THE RIM. PIAA rules govern the alignment on the lane for foul shooting (defensive team must occupy two spots above the block).

Backcourt Defense

Parish Division -- Full court press last 2 minutes of each half (subject to 15 point lead rule below) and last 2 minutes of each overtime period.

Region Division -- Full court press at any time except once a team is ahead by 15 or more points, that team may not press until the lead drops to 14 points or less. Trailing team may press regardless of score.

Free Half Court (Parish Division:) Except for the above, when a team obtains possession of the ball in its defensive zone, it may bring the ball across half-court unimpeded by the opponent, which must drop back to half court. Exception: if the team obtaining possession is attempting a fast break or is "pushing" the ball upcourt, the opponent may defend in the back court in order to stop the fast break. However, a fast-breaking team being defended will NOT lose possession before passing half-court in the event of a steal or forced error. (Where there is no defensive pressure, an unforced error in the back-court is still a turn-over.) Rule of thumb - don't fast break if you don't want defensive pressure!

Timeouts: Three (3) full and two (2) 30-second time-outs per game, used any time. One (1) additional full time-out each overtime. Time-outs carry over. Per PIAA rule - coaches may call time out.

Jewelry: Absolutely NO watches, earrings, barrettes, plastic or metal hair bands of any kind. TAPING OVER EARRINGS IS NOT PERMITTED (safety issue -- no exceptions).

Referee Fees: $30 per team with 2 referees (each team pays one of the 2 referees). If only 1 referee handles the game, each team pays the referee $22.50. In case of forfeit (15 minutes after scheduled time), coach at game SHOULD NOT PAY REFEREES. Referees will be paid through referee assignor, to whom the forfeiting team must send the entire $60 referee fee within 1 week.

Weather Postponements: Home team must contact opposing coach, REFEREE ASSIGNOR, and Commissioner at least two (2) hours before game start. If the referees are not given enough advance notice and show up for the game, the HOME TEAM will have to pay the entire referee fee. Anticipate weather problems and make sure you contact the REFEREE ASSIGNOR. Coaches should reschedule any canceled game(s) and notify Commissioner of new date.

Technicals: Two technical fouls in any one game results in automatic expulsion from that game. All "unsportsmanship" or "conduct" technicals are to be reported promptly to the Commissioner by both coaches using the Incident Reporting Form. One game mandatory suspension each time a player or coach accumulates 2 "conduct" technicals during season/playoffs.

Conduct: Please keep in mind that participants and spectators in CYO sports represent the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Ugly behavior by players, coaches, parents and fans reflects badly both on CYO and the parish they represent. The behavior of fans in particular is the responsibility of each coach. Positive cheering for one's own team — rather than negative jeering at the opponent

Possession: is the only type of cheering that demonstrates good CYO sportsmanship. Disrespect toward or abuse of referees is always improper misconduct. Any incident reported to the Commissioner by the referees as unruly behavior will be dealt with at the highest levels of your parish and the Region 11 CYO Athletic Board.

Pre-Game Prayer: Prior to the tap, all players and coaches should gather at center court. A representative of the home team will lead the group in prayer together.

Scores & Standings: Scores for all Divisions should be reported ASAP by the winning team via e-mail to the Commissioner at jroynan@aol.com. Standings are kept for all divisions (except for Junior Varsity Parish teams) for end-of-season tournament seeding purposes. All pertinent information concerning Region 11 CYO girls basketball can be found at the Region 11 Girls Basketball web site.

Playing Time:

Parish Division: Because these divisions are largely instructional/recreational, we strongly recommend that coaches try to let every player play at least 1/3 to 1/2 of each game depending on the size of the team. The Archdiocesan guidelines for "B" Leagues mandate at least 5 minutes of playing time per player per game.

Playoffs

Region Championship: The top six (6) Region division teams qualify to compete for the Region Championship and for one of two Region 11 slots in the Archdiocesan tournament. See the Championship Bracket alignment link from the girls basketball home page for the structure and seeding.

The Archdiocesan playoff teams consist of the Regular Season Champion (RSC), determined by their league win-loss record, and the winner of the end of season Region playoff tournament. In the event of a tie for the RSC, the tiebreakers are (in order), head-to-head regular season game result(s), teams's records against the next best team in the regular season standings continuing down through the standings until one team has the advantage, and then a coin flip.

If the RSC is involved in the Region Championship Playoff Game, then both finalists advance to the Archdiocesan Tournament. In the event that the RSC is upset before the title game, then only the winner of the championship game advances along with the RSC. In the event that there is a third Region 11 entry into the Archdiocesan tournmant, the following applies

If the RSC is not in the championship game, then the RSC and the two finalists advance.
If the RSC is in the championship game, then both finalists advance, and the third Archdiocesan entry is decided by a 3rd place game between the losers of the semifinal game.

Region 11 3-way Tiebreak for Regular Season Champion

The tiebreak formula will be applied in the following order until such time as the tie is broken. If the tie cannot be broken using the criteria below, the "3-way Regular Season Champion Process" will be used to determine the Region playoff seeds, the Region 11 Champion, and any Archdiocesan playoff representatives from Region 11 (Varsity Region level).

Head-to-head competition.

If one of the teams that is tied has defeated both other teams, they are declared the RSC. The remaining two teams use the 2-team tie-break formula for deciding the 2nd and 3rd seeds for the playoffs.

Records against next highest finishing teams

Compare teams' records against the next highest placing team in the regular season standings, continuing down through the standings until one team has the advantage.

3-way Regular Season Champion Process

In the event that a tie remains after the tiebreaker formulas have been applied, there will be no Regular Season Champion (RSC) and the names of the tied teams will be blindly drawn to determine the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd seeds for the Region Championship Playoff.
The playoffs will continue through to the Championship game and the winner of the tournament is declared the Region 11 Champion. Both finalists will be granted Archdiocesan playoff berths from Region 11.
If Region 11 is awarded an additional at large playoff berth in the Archdiocesan tournament, and both Region Championship finalists were teams involved in the 3-way tie, then the 3rd team involved in the 3-way tie will receive the at large bid.
If one of the finalists was a team not involved in the 3-way tie, then the two teams who were tied at the end of the regular season will play a one-game playoff and the winner will be granted the 3rd Archdiocesan playoff berth.
If both teams in the finals were not part of the 3-way tie, then the two tied teams that advanced the furthest in the playoffs will play for a 3rd playoff berth. If one of the tied-teams advanced further than the other two, and the other two teams advanced to the same round but no further, than the team advancing the furthest will receive the at-large bid.
If there is no single team identified for the at-large bid, then the at large bid will be award to one of the 3 tied teams through a blind draw.

Region Tournament: The remaining teams in the Region Division will participate in a post-season Tournament. See the Championship Bracket alignment link from the girls basketball home page for the structure and seeding.

NCAA Tournament: The top teams in Parish division will be invited to participate in a post-season NCAA Tournament. See the Championship Bracket alignment link from the girls basketball home page for the structure and seeding.

NIT Tournament: The remaining competitively balanced teams will be invited to participate in a post-season NIT Tournament. See the Championship Bracket alignment link from the girls basketball home page for the structure and seeding.

All-Star Games

"Archdiocese All-Stars": Region 11 is usually allowed to send two or three 8th graders to the Archdiocesan All-Star Game, held this season on January 25, 2010, at the Fellowship House in Conshohocken. The Region 11 representatives will be selected by the coaches via a tryout to be conducted by the Archbishop Wood coaching staff and girls basketball team. Each coach will nominate up to two (2) 8th grade players their team for participation in the tryout. The tryout will consist of an introductory talk by Jim Ricci, Head Coach, Girls Varsity Basketball at Archbishop Wood, a session of drills, and a scrimmage. Each girl participating in the tryout will receive a T-Shirt. The tryout will be closed to all parents and spectators. Only head coaches and assistant coaches listed on the Coaches Affidavits for the Varsity Region Girls teams will be allowed in the gym. Only head coaches will vote on the All Star selections. We will select two (2) All Stars, and a first and second alternate. If we are allotted 3 participants for the All Star Game, the first alternate will be our 3rd representative. At the tryout, coaches will vote for their top 5 players. A coach may vote for his/her own player(s). The top/best player will receive 5 points, the next best player 4 points, and so on. The players with the most points will be the All Star representatives and alternates. Ties will be broken by evaluating each ballot and determining the player with the greater number of higher placed votes. Coaches will be notified of the All Stars and alternates after the tryout has been completed and votes tabulated (but not at the tryout), and All Stars will be posted on the Girls Basketball section of the Region 11 web site. Ballots will be distributed at the beginning of the tryout session. Coaches must enter their name on the ballot for it to be valid. Any obvious manipulation of the voting will render a ballot invalid, at the sole discretion of the commissioner. There will most certainly be differences of opinion on who the "best" players might be, but omitting a player who is obviously among the top two or three players in order to improve the chances of another player is not in keeping with the mission and goals of the CYO Athletic Ministry.

"Region 11 All-Stars": Girls from all Varsity & JV Divisions will participate in an All-Star Festival in late February. Formation of teams and coaches TBD at Commissioner's discretion.

Competition Rule

In order to maintain a competitive balance in the Parish Division, which is designed for intramural/recreational-level players, girls who are talented enough to play basketball at the competitive Region level MUST play in the Region Division and are ineligible for the Parish Division regardless of whether they are 7th or 8th graders.

The policy underlying the Competition Rule is not limited to AAU players since some talented players do not participate in AAU. ZThe policy is that ALL talented players/teams capable of playing in the competitive Region Division must be playing in that division even if they are in 7th Grade. Our Region 11 Athletic Directors have adopted a Region-Competitive, Parish-Intramural/Recreational structure rather than a Region-8th Grade, Parish-7th Grade structure. Each Athletic Director is charged with ensuring that a coach from his/her parish does not try to keep a talented 7th Grader on a Parish team since it will give that team an unfair advantage against other Parish teams.

To enforce the "Competition Rule," the Commissioner has been authorized by the Region 11 Athletic Directors to exercise his or her discretion and move misplaced players and/or teams from the Parish to the Region Division (and vice-versa) during the season if necessary to ensure an appropriate competitive balance in both Leagues.