A PARENT'S GUIDE TO GALLATIN EMPIRE LIONS MIDGET BASKETBALL PLAYERS

1. Participation in the Bozeman Midget Basketball League with respect to age and grade in school shall be determined as follows: a) Boys and girls who will be in fifth or sixth grades during the current season. b) Home-schooled boys and girls, between the ages of 10-13, will be allowed to participate, but will be allowed to play for a maximum of two seasons, with the approval of the Committee. 2. Each participant shall have a written consent from their parent or guardian to play, and the parent or guardian must waive all claims for injuries. Each participant is required to have a medical release form. Participants may be required to have a birth certificate checked as proof of age before being allowed to play.

SCHEDULE AND PLAY

1. League play will commence in late October or early November and will be concluded the weekend before Christmas break. Practice and games will be conducted Thanksgiving weekend. 2. Practices will be on Saturday, and games on Sunday, unless otherwise determined by the Midget Basketball Committee. Coaches will notify their players as to times of practices and games for their teams. 3. Practice will be limited to times and places designated. Practice time will be once a week, and will not exceed two hours total per week. 4. There shall be no less than seven, nor more than ten, players to a team. Coaches shall be instructed to attempt to play each player no less than half of each game. It shall be the policy of the program to teach players fundamentals, teamwork, and sportsmanship. There shall be no more than two coaches per team, nor more than a total of two sons or daughters of coaches per team. The Committee shall conduct a clinic as soon as practicable after registration, wherein all players can be evaluated, with an attempt made to divide the teams as equitably as possible. 5. Teams comprising a majority of players from outside the Bozeman Public School system shall be permitted only when there are a sufficient number of players from a given area to comprise two or more (boys or girls) teams. Allowances shall be made to allow two to three players from the same area to compete on the same team, provided such an allowance does not compromise the overall competitive nature of the program.

GAMES

1. Standard high school rules shall be utilized in all games, with accredited referees to be present at all games. Games shall be fifty minutes in length. A continuous clock shall be used, with the exception of the last three minutes of the game, when a standard clock shall be run. Each team shall have two times out per game. In the event of overtime, the overtime shall run three minutes, with team allotted an additional time out. Substitutes must check in at the scorer's desk, and may be allowed in at any dead ball or after a made basket. Substitutes must be recognized by the referees before entering the game. 2. Offense: All teams will receive instructions as to, and utilize, a motion offense, currently being used at Chief Joseph Middle School and at Bozeman Senior High School. 3. Defense: Man to man defense shall be the designated defense of the League. No double-teams or zone defenses will be allowed. After a made basket or free throw, the team taking possession shall be allowed to inbound the ball and take it