TOURNAMENT RULES
Rules & Regulations
Game Play
- The Hooptown USA Tournament will be governed by the National Federation of High School (NFHS) rules. All Hooptown USA Tournament specific rules are listed below.
Length of Game/Clock Management
- Game time will be two 20-minute halves with a running clock except for the last minute of the first half.
- Elam Ending Rules – We will be implementing the Elam Ending rules used by The Basketball Tournament since 2018. Highlights of the Elam Ending rules:
- The game clock will shut off at the first dead ball under 4 minutes.
- Eight (8) points will be added to the leading team’s score (i.e. score is 75-70 at the first dead ball under 4 minutes. The target score will now be 83 points).
- The first team to reach the target score wins!
Pre-Game
- In order to start a game, both teams must have a minimum of 4 players present that appear on the team’s official roster. Two players must be on the floor to finish each game. Each team member must sign in and present ID to Scoreclock Operator. Each team will be allowed a 5-minute grace period to reach the minimum of 4 players present. If after the 5 minutes, the team still does not have 4 players, they will forfeit the game.
Rostered Players
- The minimum amount of players a team must have to register for the tournament is 7 and the maximum is 12.
Timeouts
- Each team is allowed two timeouts per half – 1 full timeout and 1 30-second timeout. Any unused timeouts from the first half will not carry over into the second half. In case of overtime, teams will be allowed one extra full timeout per overtime. If at any time a player is disqualified from the game, the respective team is allowed 15 seconds to replace the disqualified player.
Shot Clock - All divisions will utilize a 30-second shot clock.
Overtime
- In case of a tie at the end of regulation, there will be a 2-minute overtime period with stop clock time. All additional overtime periods will consist of 1 minute with stop clock time. No game will end in a tie.
Technical Fouls
- All technical fouls will result in an automatic two points and possession for the opposing team.
- In a game:
- 2nd: Ejected from the current game and the following game. The ejected player must immediately leave the facility and is not allowed to attend the following game. If a player fails to leave the facility, it will result in an automatic forfeiture by his time.
- Flagrant and Intentional Fouls (as stated in the NFHS rules – listed here for clarification)
- All flagrant and intentional fouls will result in an automatic two points and possession for the opposing team.Flagrant Foul – A flagrant foul may be a personal or technical foul of a violent or excessive nature, or a technical nonconduct foul which displays unacceptable conduct. It may or may not be intentional.
- Intentional Foul – An intentional foul is a personal or technical foul that may or may not be premeditated is not based solely on the severity of the act. Intentional fouls include, but are not limited to:
- Contact that neutralizes an opponent’s obvious advantageous position.
- Contact away from the ball with an opponent who is clearly not involved with a play.
- Contact that is not a legitimate attempt to play the ball/player specifically designed to stop the clock or keep it from starting.
- Excessive contact with an opponent while the ball is live or until an airborne shooter returns to the floor
- Contact with a thrower-in as in Rule 9-2-10 PENALTY 4 in the NFHS 2019-20 Rules Book.
Player Conduct
- Suspensions:
- As mentioned above, if a player is ejected from a game, they will automatically be suspended for the following game. The ejected player must immediately leave the facility and is not allowed to attend the following game.
- Verbal Threats:
- Verbal threats will be taken very seriously. Any player, manager or person connected with the team that verbally threatens an official, player or spectator will immediately ejected from the game and banned from the remainder of the tournament.
- Fighting:
- Absolutely no fighting. Any fights will result in an immediate lifetime ban from the Hooptown USA Tournament. Verbally, physically, or sexually threatening any Hooptown USA Tournament employees, Spokane Basketball Officials or rental facility staff will result in an immediate lifetime ban from the current and any future Hooptown USA Tournaments.
- Definition of Fighting – Fighting is a flagrant act and can occur when the ball is dead or alive. Fighting includes, but is not limited to combative acts such as:
- An attempt to strike, punch or kick by using a fist, hands, arms, legs or feet regardless of whether contact is made.
- An attempt to instigate a fight by committing an unsporting act that causes a person to retaliate by fighting.
- Disagreement with Officials
- Hooptown USA Tournament officials are contracted through the Spokane Basketball Officials (SBO). If team captains are satisfied or dissatisfied with the performance of an official, we request that the team captain file a formal complaint via email and submit to Connor Walsh, the League Manager, at connor@spokanehoopfest.net. Players are prohibited from discussing a disagreement with officials following games.
- Communication with Scoreclock Operators/Scorekeepers - Players are not allowed to address the Scoreclock Operator or Stat Keeper.
Officials
- Hooptown USA Tournament will provide three paid officials supplied by the Spokane Basketball Officials Association (SBO), all of which are certified by the National Federation of State High School Associations and the WIAA/WOAA. There will not always be a Hooptown USA Tournament representative in the gyms, which means the officials have the authority to remove any players from a game or facility if deemed necessary. Officials will have the final say in all rulings made on the court.
Jerseys
- All teams are required to wear matching (same color) reversible shirts/jerseys with unique numbers on the at least the back of the jerseys. If any teams do not have matching colored shirts with unique numbers, the offending team will be assessed a team technical foul and the opposing team will be automatically be awarded 2 points.
Jewelry
- Jewelry is prohibited during games. Players will not be allowed to play in the game until the jewelry is removed to the satisfaction of the officials.
First Aid
- Ice packs, tape and other necessary first aid equipment are the responsibility of the team and will not be provided by the Hooptown USA Tournament.
Drugs and Alcohol
- No player shall appear on the court under the influence of alcohol or drugs in such a manner that they have no control of his/her faculties to the extent that there is a chance of physical injury to him/her or others. If a player appears to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs, the player will be immediately ejected from the facility, suspended from the team’s next scheduled game and/or probation for the remainder of the season.
Spectators/Children
- There is a standard of conduct expected of every member and person associated with a Hooptown USA Tournament team. If in the opinion of the official(s) the game cannot be continued in a sportsmanlike manner, the game shall be forfeited by the offending team. b. Officials are not required to warn a player or Team Captain prior to ejection. When a player is ejected from a game, he/she must leave the facility immediately or the team will forfeit the game. c. The team captain is responsible for their spectators. Spectators displaying inappropriate behavior will be asked to leave the facility or the team will forfeit the game. There is a zero-tolerance policy regarding spectators causing undue interference with the playing of games. Any spectator who conducts themselves in an inappropriate, offensive, and/or disruptive manner, including entering the court area during a game will be ejected and banned from attending an indefinite number of future games. Teams accompanied by any disruptive spectator(s) are subject to immediate disqualification of the game and possible suspension from further play.
Refund Policy
- No refunds will be made for the Hooptown USA Tournament once the registration closes on February 3, 2020.