FULL BY-LAWS
All rules are as per the FIBA 2024 Official Basketball Rules, with minor amendments intended to enhance the playing experience at Cockburn ARC. Please consult the Sports Management Team for specific rule clarification.
All participants play at their own risk.
Games consist of two eighteen-minute halves, with a one-minute half-time break and a two-minute changeover period.
Game start times are: 6:00pm, 6:40pm, 7:20pm, 8:00pm, 8:40pm, 9:20pm.
All registered teams are expected to be available to play at these times.
Player and spectator behaviour
The moment you set foot in Cockburn ARC Sports Stadium, you have become a custodian of our sporting community. Players and spectators must understand that they are just as responsible for creating a positive and inclusive environment as administrators and referees.
Anti-social and aggressive behaviour will not be tolerated by your teammates, opposition players, spectators, officials and competition organisers alike. Individuals who fail to acknowledge their responsibility in maintaining a social environment will be making participation less enjoyable for all and risk their and/or their teams ongoing involvement with all Cockburn ARC facilities and programs.
Any on or off-court incidents deemed to be anti-social will be dealt with accordingly and at the discretion of the Sports Management Team and/or an authorised representative of the Cockburn ARC. This may include ejection from the playing arena, short- and long-term suspensions, and if necessary, permanent banning from the Cockburn ARC for the offending individuals and/or teams.
Spirit of the game
At Cockburn ARC the focus is on ensuring games go ahead so that all teams can enjoy the consistency of knowing they have an opposition to play each week. This will occasionally result in cross-division fixtures, scheduled byes being substituted for fixtured games or teams being asked to play twice in an evening. The allocating of competition points in such cases will be managed by the Team Sports Coordinator.
Fostering a social environment where everyone can feel welcome to participate is an integral aspect of our competition. Players from any team during the regular season (regardless of division) are welcome to fill-in for any other side. However, this is only permissible when a team is short of regular players.
Please respect the spirit of the game – attempting to headhunt players to achieve results won’t get your team anywhere in the long run. All players and substitutes must be at least registered within the Spawtz online portal to participate. If teams are utilising regular substitutes throughout the course of the season, we would suggest they be registered as a player of the team, allowing us to easily ascertain their eligibility for finals.
Players are welcome to feature in multiple sides during the regular season (including within the same division). However, if a player qualifies for finals for two sides in the same division, he or she may only represent one team during the entire finals' series (semi-finals and grand finals).
Officials and the Sports Management Team reserve the right to deny a player from playing within, or ‘filling in’, for another team. In other cases, a non-regular player may also be told that they can only play on a wing for that game. Such decisions will be based on a perception of fairness for the opposition team and will be a judgement call made by the Sports Management Team.
Rule clarification
One time-out per half, no timeouts in the last 3 minutes of the game. The clock continues running during a timeout.
Participants may not wear jewellery, watches, pins, or other dangerous/sharp items. Fingernails may be short taped, cut or gloved at the discretion of the umpires/referees. Tape is not provided by The Cockburn ARC, and it is the responsibility of the player to ensure that they comply with the above.
To qualify for finals, individual players must have played at least 4 games within a regular season.
All players are required to present conforming uniforms with the same colour & shade.
All players must display a unique number on the back of their jerseys i.e., all players must always display different numbers. Numbered bibs are acceptable.
Technical fouls and ejections can be applied by officials for both breaches in FIBA rules and Cockburn ARC By-Laws. Technical fouls and ejections from the game is at the judgement of the officials. Ejections from the centre is at the judgement of management.
A minimum of 4 players are required to start the game.
All players must be 16 years or older to play in the competitions.
Mixed Basketball Rule Clarification:
No more than three players from either gender on court at any one time.
A male cannot block a female inside the keyway, only outside the keyway. If a female is blocked inside the keyway, it will result in goal tending.
A male cannot steal the ball directly from a female, only through an interception.
Fouls and Violations
- Personal fouls – these include any type of illegal physical contact such as hitting, pushing, slapping, holding, or an illegal pick/screen – when an offensive player sticks out a limb and makes physical contact with a defender in an attempt to block the path of the defender.
- Inbounds – if fouled while not shooting, the ball is given to the team the foul was committed upon. They take the ball at the nearest side or baseline, out of bounds, and have five seconds to pass the ball onto the court.
- Charging – an offensive foul that is committed when a player pushes or runs over a defensive player. The ball is given to the team that the foul was committed upon.
- Blocking – illegal personal contact resulting from a defender not establishing position in time to prevent an opponent's drive to the basket.
- Disqualifying foul – A Disqualifying foul is any flagrant, unsportsmanlike action by players, substitutes, head coaches, assistant coaches, excluded players and accompanying delegation members.
- Unsportsmanlike foul – Contact with an opponent not legitimately attempting to directly play on the ball within the spirit of and intent of the rules.
- Technical foul – can go to a player or a coach and is about the 'manners' of the game. Foul language, obscenity, obscene gestures, and even arguing can be considered a technical foul, as can technical details regarding filling in the scoresheet improperly.
- Walking/travelling – taking more than 'a step and a half' without dribbling the ball is travelling. Moving your pivot foot once you've stopped dribbling is travelling.
- Double dribble –dribbling the ball with both hands on the ball at the same time or picking up the dribble and then dribbling again is a double dribble.
- Jump ball – two or more opposing players will gain possession of the ball at the same time. In order to avoid a prolonged and/or violent tussle, the referee stops the action and a jump ball will take place.
- Goaltending – if a defensive player interferes with a shot while it's on the way down toward the basket, while it's on the way up toward the basket after having touched the backboard, or while it's in the cylinder above the rim it is considered goaltending and the shot will count. If the above is committed by an offensive player, it is also a violation and the ball is awarded to the opposing team for a throw-in.
- Backcourt violation – once the offense has brought the ball across the mid-court line, they cannot go back across the line during possession. If they do, the ball is awarded to the other team to pass inbounds. A player must be established in the front court before catching the ball from across the mid court line.
- Key violation – offensive or attacking players are allowed to remain for a maximum of three seconds in the key, after which they must move out of the key or an attempted shot at the basket is taken.