Team
Balances
A minimum of $100 is required with your TEAM registration form and the team’s
full balance is due by your first game of the season. Checks and credit cards
are accepted at the field or you can pay your team’s balance online at our
MySAM system.
Schedules
and Standings
All schedules and standings are on our
MySAM system (except Bowling, they are listed on our website,
www.SportsConnectionNC.com).
The first week's schedule should be posted on our
MySAM system no later
than 5 days before the first game. The remaining schedule for the season will
be posted on
our
MySAM system
after the first week of games are completed.
Game Times
All regular season games will
start and end on time. Some leagues will have a 5 minute warm-up/grace period
time, but all games will end on time.
Rules
All captains and players are expected to read and understand the League Rules
and policies for the league they are participating in. Any questions or
concerns regarding the rules or league policies should be brought to the
attention of the league coordinator and/or the Sports Connection office by
emailing us at
office@SportsConnectionNC.com. Additional rules and policies may be added
or amended by the Sports Connection before or during the season.
Forfeits
If you know in advance your team is going to forfeit a game, we request you call
our office in order to help us make arrangements to schedule a game for your
opponent. Excessive forfeits may result in elimination from end of season
playoffs or removal from the league.
Playoffs
All eligible teams (teams that have not abused any rules or policies) will
advance to either an end of season playoff or consolation game(s). Playoffs are
single elimination. Only players that have signed a waiver and linked to the
team roster by the 5th game will be eligible to play in the playoffs.
Seeding Tie Breakers
If one or more teams are tied in the standings at the end of the regular season, the following “tie breaker” rules will be followed to determine your playoff seeding.
League Prizes
The Sports
Connection will award the winning team in each league the choice of: A
Championship T-Shirt for each player or 15% off the team fee for the NEXT season.
Rosters & Waivers:
The Sports
Connection requires a signed
Liability Waiver and a
valid Player's Card from each Participant before
they will be allowed to Participate in any Sports
Connection, LLC League or Other Activity. The
Participation Waiver can be filled out and submitted
Online, By Mail or at your next League Game.
All player's names must be on the team roster form before they will
be allowed to play. It is the captain’s responsibility to make
sure all player's names are on the team roster form before they
play. Players found playing in a game and not on the team’s
roster, will cause the team to forfeit that game and all previous
games he/she has played in. If a team needs to "pick up" a
player from the same division or a HIGHER division to field enough
players to play, the Captain must 1st approve the pick up player
with the Coordinator, who will then approve it with the other team's
Captain. The league coordinator will be spot-checking the
rosters during the season. New players can be added to the
roster at anytime during the season, but only players on the team
roster BY the 5th game will be eligible to play in the playoffs.
No "pick up players" will be allowed for any playoff games.
There is no limit to the number of players you can have on your team
roster, but there is a limit to the number of league prizes that
will be awarded if your team wins the league.
Player Eligibility:
An eligible player is one who is on the team roster and has a signed
waiver on file with the Sports Connection, a
valid Player's Card and is not on any other
roster for another team in the same league and one who follows the
rules of the league. Exception: If a team does not have a full
roster for a specific game, guest
players are allowed, but are required to pay a $10 guest fee if they
do not already have a valid Player’s Card. Guest players without a
valid Player’s card will also need to submit a Sports Connection
waiver. The guest fee is good for 1 day or night only.
A Team found to be using guest
players without a valid Player's Card will be required to forfeit
the game in question.
Also, any player under the age of 18 MUST have a youth participant form signed by both the minor & guardian, along with a current waiver/liability form. No One under age 16 is allowed to play in ADULT leagues. All players will follow the rules of their league.
Protest
Procedures
A formal protest can be made at any time by letting
the referee/umpire and the league coordinator aware of the situation.
After the protest is filed, the game will continue as scheduled. If the
protest is not filed until the conclusion of the game, the final score of that
game will be official and will not change. Player eligibility protests
can be filed at any time. The Sports Connection will review the
protest and make a ruling before the next week’s game.
Sportsmanship
The primary focus of any of the sports sponsored by Sports Connection is fun.
Please keep this in mind even when competition becomes intense. Any unacceptable
behavior may result in suspension and/or ejection from a game or the league.
Fighting of any kind will result in immediate ejection from the game and
premises and subject to suspension for the entire season and all Sports
Connection leagues and events.
Staff
The Sports Connection will provide a league coordinator for all leagues. The
league coordinator is available to help the league run smoothly and to answer
any questions you may have. Please feel free to ask for their assistance or
email us at
office@SportsConnectionNC.com.
Rain Out Information
For Rainout information go to www.SportsConnectionNC.com or check the voice mail message at 704-749-7530. We will attempt to make-up the first two rainouts when possible and credit teams for any games less than 7 that we're unable to make-up. Other factors sometimes affect our ability to make-up games, as our contracts vary week-to-week, teams have certain requests, double-headers, the overall length of the season, etc. We take many factors into consideration with rainouts, as they obviously prolong the season and then force teams already registered for the next season to wait.
Every team in our leagues plays at least 7 regular season games and at least 1 playoff game. Teams on average play 9-10 games/season. We took an average of 9 games/season to figure our pro-rated amount for credits. Thus, for any rainouts not made up, you can divide your team fee by 9 and that is the amount you'll be credited. Teams must play in the NEXT season to receive that credit. At the conclusion of a season, we will review the number games not made up for each team, then issue the relevant credit to the captains whose teams are registered in the next season. As a reminder, we will post all rainout information on our website and rainout hotline (704-749-7530) within 2 hours of the first scheduled game time. Outside organizations such as Parks & Recreation make the initial decision to close parks based on field conditions. Their numbers are also posted on our rainout section. We will only cancel games for unsafe field conditions or thunder/lightning, not simply for the threat of weather. If games have begun and conditions change, the coordinators and staff will make the call following the same protocol as above.
Sports Connection – BASKETBALL League Rules
Governing Rules
1. Games will be played under the North Carolina High School Federation Rules. Each game will consist of two 20-minute halves, with a 4-minute half-time. Teams will shoot the one-and-one foul shot on the seventh team foul. All games will be governed by a running clock with the clock stopping only for timeouts and all violations occurring in the last minute of the each half. All overtime periods will be 3-minutes in length. Each team will have three full & two 20-second timeouts per game (a player/head coach may now orally or visually request a timeout). Additional full timeouts will be received per overtime period.
2. Scrimmages: If a team has to forfeit for any reason, teams may scrimmage against each other at all games with the exception of the final game of the evening. The lengths of the scrimmage are at the discretion of the staff.
3. If a team or individual of a team refuses to start or finish a game, the team or individual will automatically be suspended from this athletic event for one (1) year from the date of the infraction. PENALTY: Forfeiture of any awards and/or trophies won during the current season and a one (1) year suspension from play in question sponsored by the Mecklenburg County Park & Recreation Department.
4. Absolutely no one (players, mangers/coaches) will be permitted to participate in MCPRD activities under the influence of alcoholic beverages or possess or use any controlled substances before, during, or after their scheduled game(s) on County property. A suspension will be issued for one (1) calendar year from the date of the infraction.
Uniforms
All teams shall be of uniform dress consisting of same or similar color jerseys. Jerseys MUST have a permanent iron-on or stitched number (numbers written in magic marker, taped-on, or pinned-on are not allowed). Players may use any 2-digit combination desired. Jerseys must be worn by the 3rd regular season game.
Rosters & Players
1. All line-ups shall be first and last name only (No Nicknames). A name cannot be entered into scorebook unless the player is present at game time. Each manager should give the Official Scorer a written list of players and their numbers ten minutes before game time. Coaches are to make sure you check the scorebook before each game to verify all your players are listed for the game.
2. A late player must arrive in the gym and report to the scorer’s table before the 10:00 mark of the first half to be eligible for that game. Players added to the scorebook after the game has begun will be accessed a two-shot technical foul, for each late player.
Any manager knowingly or willingly playing a suspended or ineligible player will be suspended one (1) calendar year. Any manager/coach or player ejected from a game will receive a three game suspension for the first offense and a one-year suspension from the point of infraction for a second offense.
3. When a player incurs a wound that causes bleeding, the official must stop the game at the earliest possible time and instruct the player to leave the game for treatment by staff personnel. A player with blood on his/her uniform also must leave the game to have the uniform evaluated by staff personnel. If the staff rules that the blood has saturated the uniform, that affected part of the uniform must be removed before player can return to the game. That player becomes a substitute and can’t reenter the game until time has come off the clock.
Substitutions
During multiple free throws and personal fouls, substitutions may be made only before the final attempt in the sequence and/or after the final attempt has been converted.
Unsportsmanlike conduct will not be tolerated! Players, managers/coaches, and other team-affiliated persons must not attack or make physical contact of any aggressive nature with any other players, managers, coaches, or officials. (Anyone ejected from the game for physical contact will receive a one (1) year suspension from play, from the verified date of infraction).
The Sports Connection coordinator and umpire have the right to spot check rosters at any time. Players must have a valid Sports Connection Player's Card and a signed waiver before stepping on the field of play.
Additional rules and policies may be added or amended by Sports Connection before or during the season.