General Rules

CBO GENERAL INFO & GUIDELINES – revised October 24, 2022

* GRADE SPECIFIC RULES AVAILABLE ARE AVAILABLE ON THE WEBSITE *

 

REMINDER:  NO TOLERANCE RULE

There is a No Tolerance Rule for spectator interference during a game.  Interference shall be subject to the judgment of the referee, parent monitor or CBO official present at the game, and can include, but is not limited to, any of the following:

 

1. Complaining about or challenging the calls of the referee.

2. Negative comments directed at the referee, players or coaches of either team.

3. Trash talking/foul language and/or taunting, comments regarding race/ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation.

4. Walking onto the court before the conclusion of the game.

 

The referees are being advised of this standard and will be strictly enforcing it. The first offense will result in the game being stopped and the referee giving a warning to the team and involved party. The second offense, at the same game, will result in the involved party being ejected from the gym and the involved team being assessed a technical foul.

 

   I.          REGISTRATION AND FEES

Sure-shot Division                                   $ 400.00

PeeWee-2 Division                                  $ 650.00

MBL-3 thru JBU-8 Division                   $ 1,000.00

Prep divisions                                           TBD

Fees must be submitted with final roster

 

    II.          FORMS & LEAGUE INFO

A. The official CBOSL roster form must be properly completed with the signature of the coach or representative attesting to the authenticity of players' ages and grades. The names, addresses, & cell #s of the head coach and team representatives must be listed. Form must be typewritten and submitted (16 hard copies) on the CBOSL roster form along with an electronic “soft copy”.  Files are downloadable from the CBOSL website.

 

B. Deadline for adding a player to the roster of 3rd through 8th grade teams is the Friday prior to the second scheduled league game of the season (this refers to all games for the league, not an individual teams 2nd game. Byes and cancellations do not add another week to this deadline) Fees and completed paperwork must be delivered to a CBO Commissioner by 5:00PM on said Friday.

1) Sure Shot and Pee-Wee teams may add at any time during the season after obtaining league approval.

2) Prep teams (9th – 12th grade) have until the Friday prior to the 3rd League scheduled games of the season.

 

C.  The minimum number of active players on a roster for each division is seven. Active players are defined as having played at least 60% of the regular season unless there is a valid medical reason which has been reported prior to the game. Additionally, all members must be an existing member in good standing of the San Fernando Valley Japanese American Community Center, South Bay FOR, Venice Youth Council, or the West LA Youth Club. Teams that do not adhere to these rules will not be allowed to participate in the following year.

 

D. Divisions are determined by grade of the current regular basketball season, see Tables 6 and 7 in Appendix.

E.  Timer’s Sheets & Score Sheets – Forms can be downloaded from the website.

1) Timer’s Sheet & Score Sheets must be type written and match the team’s roster (lowest uniform number listed first).Do not modify or delete players who do not show up to the game. Only scorekeepers are allowed to make changes.

2) If a player is absent from a game the reason shall be noted next to the players name.

3) Excused absences allowed; illness, injury, school, church, and Boy Scout events.

4) Incorrect forms will result in a team technical at the start of the game.

 

 

F.  CBSL Schedules

1) Circumstances that are not under our control may force us to delay the release of schedules and/or make changes to schedules that have already been published.

2) All teams are responsible for checking the website up to the Saturday evening prior to game day for any time changes, gym changes, or cancellations

 

 

G. CBSL League Seasons & Tournaments

1) Winter League 

a) Sure Shots thru JBU-8 divisions.

b) November through April, Sundays.

c) Seasons are usually 10 games. Only 8 games are guaranteed due to odd numbered divisions and unforeseen cancellations.

d) Game start times range from 9:00am to 4:00pm

2) Spring Prep

a) JAL-9TH thru SR-12 divisions, CBSL and CYC teams.

b) February thru April, games on Sundays.

c) Game start times range from 9:00am to 4:00pm

d) 6 game seasons, only 5 games are guaranteed.

3) Megalopolis Tournament

a) 2nd weekend of March, game dates TBA.

b) Open to MBL-3 thru JBU-8 divisions only.

 

H. Team Jumping/Team Stacking/Player Raids

Team jumping by players and Team stacking by coaches/parents are discouraged and punishable by a 1 year (calendar year) suspension.

1) Players wishing to change teams/organizations/leagues must sit out 1 year from the date they are dropped by their original team/organization/league. All player drops must be filed with CBOSL within 30 days of the date of drop. All players transferring to teams/organizations belonging to another league must obtain their release from CBOSL.

2) Written appeals to the 1 year suspension can be made to the CBOSL Board. ONLY appeals based on severe non-basketball-playing related issues will be considered. Examples of severe non-basketball-playing issues include, but are not limited to, a player moving to a new area (proof of move or school records may be required), player’s safety concerns. All basketball-playing related issues such as, but not limited to, coaching changes, playing time and conflicting parent/coaching philosophies will NOT be considered for appeal and the player will have to serve the suspension.

3) Players on teams which have disbanded (teams falling below the 7 player minimum) may play on new teams without serving the 1 year suspension. However, all players who dropped from the team, causing the team to disband, must serve the 1 year suspension.

4) Coaches judged guilty of Team Stacking or Player Raids will be suspended for 1 year.

 

I.   Teams requesting to play up one division must have the approval of the CBO board. Once approved, the team must play a minimum of 2 years in the upper division. After the second year, the team will be allowed to move back down to their grade appropriate division. For the first league year in the upper division, the team will be ineligible for league awards and participation in the Megalopolis Tournament. Teams with player(s) 1 grade younger will not be allowed to play up one division.

 

J.   A player can play one grade above his grade division providing he has written approval by his coach and parents and a favorable ruling by the CBOSL commissioners.

1) Players will not be allowed to play 2 or more grades above their grade division.

2) Players that successfully petition to move up a division must stay in that division for 2 years before they may petition to move back down to original division.

3) Exception noted for players in Transitional Kindergarten programs (See table 7 in appendix).

 

 

K. Any team entering the CBO league in the MAL-5th Grade through JBU-8th Grade division will be ineligible for league awards and participation in the Megalopolis Tournament during the first league year.

 

L.  Any team that changes or adds 50% of their existing roster in MAL-5 thru JBU-8 division will be ineligible for league awards and participation in Megalopolis Tournament for one year.

 

  III.          PLAYING TIME RULES.

A. Playing Time

1)     Each player must play a MINIMUM OF 5 CONSECUTIVE MINUTES PER HALF. Any violation will result in forfeiture of game and disqualification from eligibility for the Sportsmanship Award.

2)     Playing time for MBL-3 and older will be recorded on time sheets by the timekeeper. It is NOT the responsibility of the scorekeeper to inform coaches of lack of minutes played. If a player arrives late before the last 5 minutes of the first half, that player should play that half; if less than 5 minutes remain, the player must wait until the second half.

3)     Exception – The coach may decline to play a player for disciplinary reasons if the coach declares that fact to the opposing coach, timekeeper, gym monitor, and referee before the game.

B. Player Attendance - Attendance will be kept for MBL-3 thru JBU-8.

1) If a player does not play at least 60% of the regular season games, he will be disqualified from the Megalopolis Tournament.

2) Excused absences for injury and illness do not count against the 60% rule.

3) A player must play at least 5 consecutive minutes in BOTH halves of a game to count towards the 60% participation.

 

 

  IV.          PLAYING RULES

 

A. Equipment

1)     Ball

a)     Sure-Shot thru PW-2:  Size 5, 27”-27.5”, youth ball

b) MBL-3 & MBU-4:  Size 6, 28.5” ball

c) MAL-5 & up:  Regulation Men’s Basketball

2)     Basket Height

a) Sure Shot 8’-8.5’ basket

b) PW-2 & up Standard 10’ basket.

 

B. Team Uniforms

1)     Teams must wear similar colored and styled tops.  Shirts must be tucked in.

2)     Uniforms must have numbers on front (2” minimum) and back (4” minimum).

3)     Legal numbers are: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 00, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, & 55. A team roster shall not have both numbers 0 and 00.

4)     Only players that had a non-legal uniform number that can be verified on the official roster of a sanctioned CBO team prior to and including the 2017-2018 seasons are allowed to keep that number. All other players must conform to the legal uniform numbers listed in section 3 above.

5)     Home team shall be indicated on the schedule. If not then the Home team is the team listed on the left hand side of the schedule. Home team must wear a white or light colored jersey. The opposing team must provide contrasting color upon approval by the referee and scorekeeper.

6)     No jewelry of any kind allowed. Except for religious or medical reasons.

7)     Each uniform infraction constitutes a Team Technical Foul (2 Free Throws).

 

C.  Mercy Rule

1) When the point spread reaches 25 points, the mercy rule shall go into effect.

2) The scoreboard will be turned off in the 2nd half of the game. The official score will be entered as 1 to 0.

3) A warning will be given to any team exhibiting unsportsmanlike conduct during the remainder of the game.

4) Examples of unsportsmanlike conduct include, but are not limited to; taunting, pressing, stalling, trash talking and fast breaks.

5) 2nd violation will result in a technical foul against the coach and a one game suspension.

6) 3rd violation will result in a forfeit of the game.

 

D. Coaches

1) All coaches must be certified by CBO. No one is allowed to coach or sit on the bench at any time of the game without a valid CBO Coaches Card.

2) No more than two coaches allowed on the bench. One coach is allowed to stand, remaining coach must be seated.  

3) One of the two coaches must be over 18 years old.  

4)     Only the first 2 coaches listed on a roster will be officially recognized per team.

5)     EXCEPTION:  See grade specific rules regarding Sure Shot and Pee-Wee teams.

 

E.  No shot clock in any division.

 

F.  Three point shot allowed only when line is permanently marked.

 

     V.          TECHNICAL FOULS, EJECTIONS, AND SUSPENSIONS (other than General Rule II.,I.)

 

A. All suspensions are subject to review by the CBOSL Board for possible additional penalties.

 

B. All suspensions shall carryover to succeeding seasons.

 

C.  Players, Coaches or Spectators who display aggressive behavior before, during or after a game will be suspended for a period determined by the CBOSL board.

 

D. Definitions of fouls and penalties.

 

1) Team Technical:  A technical foul is counted as a personal foul and a team foul. Technical fouls assessed against player for a rule violation (such as an improper uniform) will be counted as a team technical not as a player technical for purpose of player disqualification. No suspension to the player. Intentional and Flagrant Fouls are counted as personal fouls.  Flagrant fouls are also counted as team technical fouls.  The fouled player will receive two free throws, while all other players must stand behind the half-court line.

2) Intentional Foul:  Contact away from the ball or when not making a legitimate attempt to play the ball or a player, specifically designed to stop or keep the clock from starting.  Intentional fouls may or may not be premeditated and are not based solely on the severity of the act.  A foul also shall be ruled intentional if while playing the ball a player causes excessive contact with an opponent.  The fouled player receives 2 free throws and the ball.  No suspension to the player that committed the intentional foul.

3) Flagrant Foul, Ejection from game, Fighting: Unnecessary or excessive contact against an opposing player with intent to harm the opponent in a violent or savage nature, or displays of unacceptable conduct. The player who committed the foul will be ejected from the game and is subject to the following penalties:

a) On the first offense, the player will be automatically suspended for at least the next 3 following games.  The CBOSL Board reserves the right to assess any additional suspension.

b) On the second offense, the player will be automatically ejected from the remainder of the game and suspended one calendar year from the date of the last incident.

 

E.  Player/Coach Ejections

1)     If a coach or a player is ejected from a game/gym due to conduct or via two (2) technical fouls, a 3 game suspension will be assessed.

 

F.  Spectator Ejections

1)     Unsportsmanlike conduct by a spectator against any player, coach, referee, CBO official, scorekeeper, gym monitor or other spectator, including but not limited to: trash talking, foul language, and/or taunting towards any person, a technical foul may be assessed against the team and the spectator will be ejected from the game and will serve;

a) 1st offense; 3 game suspensions.

b) 2nd offense same season; permanent suspension from the league.

2)     Referees, gym monitors, and CBO commissioner may eject any spectator from the gym.

G. Decorum related technical fouls include but are not limited to; trash talking, foul language, taunting, excessive arguing with the referees, unsportsmanlike behavior, and comments regarding race/ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation.

1) Player

a) 1st offense; 1 game suspension.

b) 2nd offense same season; 3 game suspension.

c) 3rd offense same season; 1 calendar year suspension from date of 3rd technical foul.

2) Coach

a) 1st offense: 1 game suspension.

b) 2nd offense same season; 3 game suspension.

c) 3rd offense same season; 1 calendar year suspension from date of 3rd technical foul.

 

  NO APPEAL ALLOWED TO THE SUSPENSION OF A COACH FOR A DECORUM RELATED TECHNICAL FOUL

 

H. Serving a suspension

1) Player - The suspended player must be in uniform on the team’s bench for the duration of the suspension.  If not, the game will not count against the suspension.  The gym monitor will notify the Commissioners of any such incidents.

2) Coach and Spectator - Suspended Coaches and Spectators may not be at the gym or gym grounds during the game(s) in which they are suspended.

 

  VI.          GENERAL RULES AND INFORMATION

 

A. Food and beverages are not allowed in the gyms.

 

B. Smoking and alcohol are not allowed on facility property.

 

C.  Forfeits

1) Teams will forfeit its game or games for any of the following infractions:

a) Failure to have a CBO approved coach on the bench during the game.

b) One of the CBO approved coaches must be at least 18 years of age.

c) Use of an ineligible player.

d) Failure to have at least 5 players on the floor ready to play at the scheduled time with a grace period of 10 minutes permitted.  

i.          MBL-3 thru JBU-8 may borrow 1 player from a lower division of their same organization to make a 5-man team and avoid the forfeit. Borrowed player must be on the official roster of a team that is entered in the current CBO season being played.

ii.          MBL-3 thru JBU-8 teams that forfeit a game may borrow a player from the same grade or 1 division lower of any CBSL organization to play a ‘Scrimmage Game’. Borrowed player must be on the official roster of a team that is entered in the current CBO season being played. Game is still entered into the League Standings as a loss to forfeiting team, forfeit fee still applies.

iii.          To avoid a forfeit, Prep teams JAL-9 thru Sr-12 will be allowed to borrow four (4) players to field a team of 8. Borrowed player must be on the roster of a team that is officially entered in the current CBO season being played.  Prep Teams may borrow players in the order found on Tables 3, 4, & 5 in the Appendix.

 

D. Penalties & Fees   

1) District organization will be responsible for paying a forfeiture fee of $350.00 if its team forfeits a game.  The district organization may recover the fee from the team which forfeited the game.

2) Teams wishing to cancel a game will be assessed a cancellation fee of $175.00, provided they notify the commissioner in writing (or by e-mail) by Wednesday 5pm prior to the game. If the deadline is passed, the FULL forfeit fee will be assessed. Cancelled games count as a loss in the standings and will not be made up.

 

E.  Protests

1) Protests may be filed with the scorekeeper or gym monitor at the time of the infraction or dispute.  The scorekeeper will indicate on the score sheet that the game is being played under protest.

2) Protests may also be filed in writing with the Commissioner within 48 hours of the game.  The protest must fully detail the incident and alleged violation.

3)     Protests are handled through your organizations commissioners; in person protests at Board Meetings are not allowed.

4) A $50.00 deposit must be filed with the protest.  The deposit is refundable if the protest is upheld by the CBOSL Commissioners.

 

F.  Injuries - All injuries must be reported to the Gym Monitor or CBO Commissioner on site who in turn will notify the CBO Board

1)     A player who is believed to have a concussion is to be removed from play right away.

2)     Players can only return to play or practice after at least 24 hours and with permission from a health care professional.

3)     See Table 8 in Index for concussion protocols

 

G.     Division Championships: see table 1 in Appendix below.

           

H.     Awards:

1)     MBL-3 thru MAL-5: 1st, 2nd, & Sportsmanship winners receive trophies.

2)     MAU-6 thru JBU-8: 1st and 2nd place receive t-shirts, Sportsmanship receive sweatshirts.

3)     Awards will be given at the season ending Jamboree.

4) Grade levels with only one division, championship and second place awards will be given.  For Grade levels that consist of more than one division (i.e. Gold and Silver), only a championship award will be given to the 1st place team in each division.  If multiple teams tie for the championship or second place, then the CBO Tie Breaker will be applied to determine the team placements (see below).

 

5) CBO Tie Breaker: Tie breakers will be determined as follows in descending order until the tie is broken.

a) 2 Teams

i.          Winner of head to head games between tied teams during the season play.

ii.          Lowest margin of loss in games between the tied teams during the season play.

iii.          Best Sportsmanship score.

iv.          If still tied after items 1-3 above, all tied teams will receive awards.

b) 3 or more Teams

i.          Teams that are still tied will advance to the next step until the tie is broken.

ii.          Best winning percentage of regular season games between the affected teams.

iii.          Lowest margin of loss in regular season games between the affected teams.

iv.          Best Sportsmanship score.

v.          If still tied after items 1-3 above, all tied teams after item 3 will receive awards.

 

6) Sportsmanship award shall be given to the team with the highest “Referee Voted Score” per game.  Referees will evaluate and score, after each game, the sportsmanship displayed by each team’s players, coaches and parents.  The Referee scored evaluations of teams will be totaled at the end of the season to determine which team receives the sportsmanship award.  In the event of a tie, the team with the lower win-loss percentage shall win the award. Teams still tied shall each receive an award.

 

7) Teams winning the sportsmanship award will be notified in advance by CBO. In order to receive the award at least 50% of the team must attend the season ending Jamboree where the award will be presented. Teams that win the sportsmanship award but less than 50% of the team are able to attend the Jamboree must inform CBOSL at least 10 days before the day of the Jamboree. In such case the 2nd place sportsmanship team will be given the award at the Jamboree (provided they have 50% of the team in attendance). Sportsmanship winning teams that do not give CBOSL the 10 days’ notice and less than 50% of their team attends the Jamboree shall be ineligible for the award the following season.

 

8) Teams which receive a championship or 2nd place award, although worthy, will not be eligible to also receive the sportsmanship award.  The non-1st or 2nd place team with the highest “Referee Voted Score” shall receive the award.

 

ENFORCEMENT OF RULES

1.   The Head Commissioner is empowered to enforce CBOSL rules and regulations.

2.   Any ruling of the Head Commissioner may be appealed to the CBOSL Board of Commissioners in writing, by e-mail.

3.   The CBO Sports League Commissioners reserve the right to deny participation in the league to players, coaches, parents or teams who willfully violate the intent or the spirit of the rules.


APPENDIX

Table 1

Division Champion Format for MBL-3 thru JBU-8

Table 2

Table 3

Table 4

Table 5

 Table 6

 Table 7

 The CBOSL recognizes the creation of a 2-year ‘transitional kindergarten” program by the California Legislature pursuant to the Kindergarten Readiness Act of 2010. As such, a player who is in the first year of transitional kindergarten may play in the Sure Shots – K division. Further, that same player may continue playing on the same team even if that team plays in a grade division one year above the player’s grade, e.g., player is in the second year of transitional kindergarten while the team now plays in the Sure Shots – 1st division. This is being allowed as if approval and a favorable ruling by the CBOSL commissioners had been given under General Rule § II.J. However, this may be revoked (a) if either his coach or parents rescind their approval in writing or (b) by motion which is passed by the CBOSL commissioners.

Note – Player may be required to provide proof of enrollment in transitional Kindergarten at any time.

Table 8

Please visit the CDC concussion website for more information.

CDC home page -     https://www.cdc.gov/headsup/index.html

 CDC concussion training link -  https://www.cdc.gov/headsup/youthsports/training/index.html

 CDC coaches concussion training link - https://www.cdc.gov/headsup/youthsports/coach.html