Basketball Rulebook

Games

Court and Equipment

• Games are played on a full-size basketball court.
• Frederick Social Sports provides all the equipment needed, including a men's regulation ball.

Regulation Game

• Games are two 20-minute halves with a running clock and no shot clock.
• Halftime is a 3-minute break.
• The clock stops with a minute left in the first half, and for the last 2 minutes of the second half if the losing team is within 15 points.

Timeouts

• Each team gets two 1-minute timeouts per half. The clock stops for timeouts.
• Each team may use only one timeout in overtime.
• Unused regulation timeouts do not carry over into overtime.

Overtime

• Overtime is 2 minutes, and the clock stops on every dead ball.
• If the game is still tied after overtime, play resumes with a jump ball and the first team to score wins.

Weather

In case of bad weather, Frederick Social Sports will do its best to cancel games with as much notice as possible.

Fouls and Penalties

Fouls and Free Throws

• A player fouls out after 5 personal fouls.
• Bonus free throws, per half:
  • 7th to 9th team foul: 1-and-1
  • 10th team foul and every one after: 2 shots
• Free throws are played on the release.

Dunking

No dunking is allowed.

• A player who dunks gets a personal technical.
• A dunk during warm-ups is a team technical.

Warnings and Technicals

• Referees may give warnings at their discretion. If unruly behavior continues, they may call a technical.
• A player who gets two technicals in a game is dismissed from the game and must leave the facility immediately.
• An incident report is written for every player dismissed for technicals.
• A player who is teched out in two games in a season may not play for the rest of the season, with no refund for the remaining weeks.

Teams and Players

Eligibility

• All players must be at least 21 years old.
• Players must be on a team roster and have signed the waiver and completed the registration form.
• Players must wear their current Frederick Social Sports basketball shirt at all times. A player without their current team shirt will get a roster check. However, there is no exception to this rule in the playoffs and championship round.

Team Size

• Each team must have at least 8 to 10 players, with no maximum.
• Teams play up to 5 players on the court at a time, and no fewer than 3.
• If a team does not have at least 3 players at game time, it forfeits.

Rosters

• No roster changes are allowed after Week 3, except injury replacements.
• Send all roster changes and injury replacements to fredericksocialsports@gmail.com.

Injury Replacements

• Each team may make no more than two (2) injury replacements for the whole season.
• If an injury happens during the last regular season game, the captain may not add a replacement player for the playoffs. It is the captain's job to have enough players on the team in case this happens.
• Injuries are handled case by case.

Substitutes

• A team without enough players may use subs from another team, but only to reach the required 5 players, plus one more sub.
• Every sub must be a current registered member of that sport and league.
• Teams must tell the league commissioner ahead of time if they need subs.

Forfeits

• If a team knows it won't have enough players, it must notify Frederick Social Sports at least 24 hours before game time.
• A team that does not give notice in time is fined $50. The fine goes toward the opposing team's bar tab.
• The fine must be paid before the forfeiting team can play the following week.

Standings and Playoffs

Playoffs

• Playoffs are single elimination and begin the week after the last regular season game.
• The number of teams that make the playoffs depends on how many teams sign up. Frederick Social Sports announces the number once sign-ups are complete.
• A replacement player must play at least one (1) regular season game to be eligible for the playoffs.
• Teams with more than two (2) forfeits during the season do not qualify for the playoffs.

Tiebreakers

Ties in the standings are broken in this order:

1. Head-to-head
2. Overall point differential (points for minus points against)
3. Common games point differential
4. Coin toss

If more than 2 teams are tied, head-to-head applies only if all of them have played each other. Otherwise, skip to overall point differential and continue down the list until the tie is broken.

Officials and Conduct

Referees

• Every game has one referee on the court, provided by Frederick Social Sports.
• All referee decisions are final.
• Only the team captain may approach the referee with questions or concerns. Calls already made still stand.

Conduct

This is not a FAFO atmosphere. We're all here to have fun, so treat basketball as a social sport. We know some teams are more competitive than others and some light-hearted trash talk will happen.

• Fighting and excessive obscene language may lead to suspension or ejection from the league.
• The referee may eject players from the game for any of these reasons.
• Every ejection is reported to the league coordinators, who decide whether further action is needed.
• An ejected player must leave the court and the premises immediately.

Alcohol

Alcohol is strictly prohibited at game locations.