Statement of Intent:

1. To provide an instructional basketball league for 3rd   through 8th grade boys and girls who live in the school districts of the member communities.
2. To teach and encourage good sportsmanship, team work, and enjoyment of the game.

League Fees, etc.: There will be league fees but no insurance fees associated with this league. It is suggested that community sign-up sheets contain a clause absolving the Community Coordinator, Coaches, Schools, and League, of any liability in case of accident or injury to the players. Each community is recommended to provide insurance for their respective association and individual players.

Team size: A minimum of 9 players to a team. Maximum team size is at the Coach's discretion.

Team configuration: Please note this is a community based league. Please consider team size if you have non-community based travel players. Schedule changes will not occur to work around travel players.

League Choice: Communities may place teams in either the A league (Gold) or the B league (Silver) or the C League (Bronze). It is strongly recommended that we properly evaluate or teams and program before we make these decisions. Communities over 350 high school students should consider a team in the gold division. A second Gold team should be considered if a high school has over 600 students. After the schedule is complete no team can change to a different division. Once a team is in a division they must play in that divisions league tournament.

5^th -6^th Bronze Divisions: Players should have little or no playing experience

4^th Bronze Divisions: This division is intended for new players with very little experience.

All Gold and Bronze Divisions: If less than 8 teams all teams will be moved to Silver

3rd Bronze: The division of which all 3^rd teams will play

Division Changes: After the schedule is complete no team can change to a different division. Once a team is in a division they must play in that division's league tournament. The league director may move a team up or down a division for tournaments only. If this is determined through communication with the community coordinator and the league director. The criteria for this shall include zero wins or zero losses. Note: the team shall be moving to the highest lower division if winless or to the highest upper division in undefeated.

Schedule: League games shall consist of Saturdays and Sundays based on gym availability. The schedule will be posted on based on the timing sheet posted on the website. Any schedule changes after that time will require a $50 fee to be paid to the director. Normal emergency's such as loss of gym, avoiding a forfeit will not be required to pay the fee but this will be at the director's discretion.

Rust Off tournaments: These are non-roster events designed to provide and option for extra games when the league is not having regularly scheduled games.

Coordinator Identification: Each site shall have the gym host identified by wearing a shirt that includes the host schools name.

Conditions Form/Roster: All players shall provide the Red Cedar league with a conditions form (wavier) and the head injury awareness form provided by the MHSAA complete with signatures for each individual player on that one individual team. One copy of this waiver will be on file with the league. Each team shall also provide a roster for their individual team. This will be with the coaches and on file with the Red Cedar league. Players can only participate on one Red Cedar team and once the roster is on file players shall remain with that team.

Coaches: All coaches are required to have NFHS training (Concussion in sport v2.0) and to have the certificate with them at all Red Cedar League events. The Red Cedar league recommends but does not require that all coaches are aware of the signs of sudden-cardiac-arrest. On-line training can be obtained through the NHFS course sudden cardiac arrest. Follow this link for training:  https://nfhslearn.com/courses/61032/sudden-cardiac-arrest

Emergency Information: Each individual player shall complete the emergency information and consent form. A copy of this form will be in the coach's possession at all Red Cedar Youth basketball events.

Weather and cancellations: Each individual community coordinator in communication with the other community coordinator shall make decisions on the weather. Make-up of these delayed or cancelled games shall be that decision of the effected communities. If the game is not played due to weather and cannot be made up the game shall be considered a tie. A winter storm warning in any of the participating counties will result in all games being cancelled as determined by the league director

Teams that "no show": Teams that do not show up for a scheduled game will be subject to a mandatory $100 penalty to be paid to the league director.  All penalties will be submitted to the host community to help offset payments to officials and gym costs. The final determination will be made by the league director.

Admission Fee: All sites where the games are held shall charge a standard admission of $3.00 for adults, $2.00 for students. Any further discounts shall be up to the host community. Admission for league tournaments and doubleheaders will charge a standard admission of $5.00 for adults, $2.00 for students. Any further discounts shall be up to the host community.

Tournament Concessions: It is the right of the host community to provide concession facilities. It is also the right of the host community to deny individual teams from bringing in their own concessions.

Communication: Only the Board of Directors and the League Director will have any say in any rule changes. The participating community will follow these rules and will not make any changes at their site when having home games

Ref Pay: Each community coordinator shall establish ref pay account. If a community has a team playing at an alternative site and is responsible for officials it will be the responsible community coordinator to communicate with the host site and to make a payment to ref pay to cover the officials with the host sites established account. The host site will pay the officials. Each coordinator should look ahead at the schedule and have this completed before the scheduled contest.

Ejections: If a player, coach or spectator is ejected from a contest they will be suspended from the next contest. A second offense shall result in removal from the league for the remainder of the season. The host site is responsible to report this to the league. Officials shall file an incident report to the host site. This shall be completed in 24 hours and turned in to the league director. This form will be in the possession of each coordinator and will be at all games. If a player, coach or spectator is removed from any league tournament or league sponsored tournament the will not be eligible for the remainder of the tournament.

Referees: Two referees for each game. Registered officials are mandatory. Each official shall place the registration number in the official scorebook and have the number on file with the league director. Home team Community Coordinators will arrange for and pay referees. Games may be played if only one referee attends, by no means shall we use an imposter.  The rate for the registered officials will be set at $30.00 per game for 3rd thru 6^th grade. $35 per game for 7^th and 8^th grade. The league will try to make paying for official's as even as possible. The home team on the schedule (defined as official payment) will be responsible to pay for the officials no matter the location.

Game Schedules: Game schedules will be arranged to provide ½ of season games at home, ½ away. If an 8-game season is decided upon, a team may only have 3 home games. Please be aware scheduling with odd numbers may add additional games to provide everyone with the minimum amount of games .It is suggested that gym reservations be made for all Saturdays and or Sundays between (12/01/2018 and (3/10/2019) until a league schedule is agreed upon. There is also a chance for some non-league scheduling if at the Community Coordinator's discretion, as long as there is no conflict with the league game schedule. Non-league games will be coordinated between the effected Community Coordinator, and the non-league Coordinator.

Gold Division Teams: All Gold division teams shall play each other up to a minimum of 9 games. Please be aware scheduling with odd numbers may add additional games to provide everyone with the minimum amount of games. This will require these teams to play both Saturday and Sunday on some weekends. This may also force some teams to only have 4 home games with some teams only having 3. Teams will still be expected to pay for the officials for half of the games played. One week on the schedule with consist of a position day.

7/8 Girls Game Schedules: This league is for 7^th and 8^th grade girls only. The 7^th and 8^th Girls will begin 11/10/2018 with the first 4 weeks at one or two sites to work around gym time. This schedule will be mostly doubleheaders with exceptions to the number of teams which sometimes make this impossible.  You will play two games and go home whenever possible. The league will attempt but sometimes it is not possible to provide each team a home date based on gym time provided by that community. Each community should provide gym time. Each team should plan on playing up to 7 to 9 regular seasons games. Each team should budget to pay for the officials up to 5 times. This cost is $350.00 per team. This will be paid at the game site as specified by the schedule. The home team no matter the location will be responsible for the officials.

7/8 Boys Game Schedules: This league is for 7^th and 8^th grade boys only. The 7^th and 8^th Boys will begin 1/12/2019 with the first 4 weeks at one or two sites to work around gym time. This schedule will be mostly doubleheaders with exceptions to the number of teams which sometimes make this impossible.  You will play two games and go home whenever possible. Each community should provide gym time. The league will attempt but sometimes it is not possible to provide each team a home date based on gym time provided by that community. Each team should plan on playing up to 9 to 11 regular seasons games. Each team should budget to pay for the officials up to 6 times. This cost is $420.00 per team. This will be paid at the game site as specified by the schedule. The home team no matter the location will be responsible for the officials.

General Schedule Information

1. Games will be played on Saturdays and Sundays from 8:30am to 7:30pm. Please make sure your coaches are aware of this. Changes to the league schedule may be made by mutual consent of the Community Coordinators of the affected teams. The home Community Coordinator will be responsible for obtaining gym time, officials, score/time keepers, etc. for the rescheduled game. A rescheduled game may not conflict with any other games, for the affected teams, in the league schedule. If mutual agreement to rescheduling a game is not reached, the game will be held as originally scheduled.
2. To the greatest extent possible, each community will host, or travel to, one other community on a Saturday or Sunday.
3. Any community with needs that exceed the Saturday-Sunday requirement may have their schedules limited or shortened to create fairness within the league.
4. End of Season Tournament: Tournament dates and locations will be finalized by Jan. 14.
5. Tournament Dates (subject to change but the dates are pretty solid at this point)
1. Dec 15^th weekend – 7/8 Girls Gold and Silver
2. Feb. 16th weekend –  5^th- 6th Girls Gold, 5^th-6^th Boys Gold, 5^th-6^th Girls Silver, 4^th Girls and 4^th Boys Gold
3. Feb. 23rd weekend –  5^th- 6th Boys Silver, 4^th Boys
4. March 2nd weekend – 7/8 Boys Silver
5. March 9^th weekend – 7/8 Boys Gold
6. Tournament locations will be finalized by Jan. 14

Tournament divisions:

1. Within each division the league tournaments shall be split if there are more than 12 teams.
2. The split will be based on records with the top half in tournament A and the bottom half in tournament B or C if needed and will be seeded within the division after the separation. (See Tiebreakers below)
3. The division in case of odd teams shall be up to the director and all decisions shall be considered final
4. The director shall have the right to move down the 0-8 team in any gold division

Tournament Host:

1. The league shall provide medals for 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd and sportsmanship
2. The league shall cover the cost of the officials for the tournament you are hosting
3. The host shall decide the sportsmanship winner based on coaches, fans and players attitudes during the tournament.
4. Host sites shall be determined by the director with an emphasis on equal division based on the location and quality of the site
5. Site host home teams may play up from lower tier tournament but cannot play down
6. This shall occur within their division only (Gold B to Gold A)
7. Tournament Host must be willing not to have a team in their respective tournament
8. Tournament officials shall be scheduled by the host site but should be aware under certain circumstances may be provided by the league.

Tie Breakers Gold Divisions: Tiebreakers will be used in case of a tie. These tiebreakers will be used only for determining seeds and/or placement in the league tournaments. This can be used in any division or geographical division. This should be communicated between coordinators and coaches. The tiebreakers shall be as follows:

Tiebreaker #1: Head to Head record with tied teams

Tiebreaker #2: Head to Head point differential with tied teams

Tiebreaker #3: Overall record vs common opponents

Tiebreaker #4: Overall point differential vs common opponents

Tiebreaker #5: Coin toss

Tie Breakers Silver and Bronze Divisions: Tiebreakers will be used in case of a tie. These tiebreakers will be used only for determining seeds and/or placement in the league tournaments. This can be used in any division or geographical division. This should be communicated between coordinators and coaches. The tiebreakers shall be as follows:

Tiebreaker #1: Head to Head record with tied teams

Tiebreaker #2: Head to Head point differential with tied teams

Tiebreaker #3: Coin toss

Community Coordinators and League Directors Responsibilities:

1. Member communities will provide a Community Coordinator who will also act as community representative at league meetings.

1. The Community Coordinator will attend the league meeting prior to the start of the season and be responsible for communicating league information to coaches, players, etc.
2. The Coordinator will oversee the recruitment of coaches and players for their community teams. The Coordinator will recruit support personnel for home games as necessary for admission gates, concessions, clock, and scoreboard keepers, and if desired, a named Assistant Coordinator, who will assume these responsibilities during the Community Coordinator's absence.
3. The Community Coordinator will be responsible for determining and collecting any player fees, gate charges, etc., necessary to maintain their programs.
4. The Community Coordinator will procure gym time for home games.
5. The Community Coordinator, or a named assistant, will be present at home games for any problems which may occur, and will be responsible for paying referees.
6. All Community Coordinators will be considered League Officers. Any proposed changes to accepted league policies would be decided by majority vote via phone or email conducted by the League Director. This includes admission of new member communities/teams.
7. The Community Coordinator will be responsible for naming a successor in such time, as he/she does not wish to continue as Coordinator. The name and phone number of the new Coordinator is to be reported to the League Director.

2. League Director Responsibilities:

1. The League Director will be responsible for calling the league meeting at least two weeks prior to the start of the season.
2. The League Director will be responsible for disseminating league communications to all members.
3. Building the schedule, organizing the rules, cancellation notice of events, updating league standings.
4. Coordinate with outside companies and grant permission to take photo's at events and promote outside shirt sales.

Tournament payment:

1. All tournament fees shall be paid by January 17^th 2019 for the 3-6^th grade divisions. This fee is $150 per team.
2. All tournament fees shall be paid with the league registration with the 7/8 boys and girls registration. These due dates are 10/23/2018 for the 7/8 girls and 12/26/2018 for 7/8 Boys. This fee is $170 per team.

 Tournament Refund

1. Tournament refunds will be granted in full if notified in writing on the following dates.

1. 7/8 Girls November 17^th 2018
2. 4/6 grades January 24th 2019
3. 7/8 Boys January 28^th 2019

Tournament Cancellation

1. Tournaments may be cancelled due to emergency, weather conditions, etc. will be handled as such.

1. Tournaments cannot be moved, changed to single elimination or any other possibilities. Once it is cancelled it is cancelled
2. As checks are mailed 3 days prior to tournament, upon cancelled these monies must be returned to Red Cedar Sports.
3. $70 will be refunded to each team and paid to the community
4. A portion of the money will be paid to each host site 

League Configuration

1. Teams will be placed in East and West Divisions as can be best determined.
2. Subdivisions within each division will be developed based on geographic location.
3. League director will factor in location and skill level of teams to determine each team's placement within a division and subdivision.
4. Communities are recommended to place team(s) in the Gold division based on the ratio:  1 Gold team per every 600 high school students. 

Tournaments

1. 4^th – 6^th Grade:  Participation notification and tournament fees must be received no later than Jan. 11.  Teams may cancel participation prior to Jan. 24th.  Cancellations received after Jan. 24 will result in forfeiture of all tournament fees.
2. 7^th – 8^th Grade Boys and Girls require all tournament fees to be paid in advance with all other league fees.

School of Choice

1. All players are required to be a resident of the community based team they are playing for.  In       the case of private school based teams (i.e. Lansing Catholic and subsidiary schools, Lansing Christian, etc.), all players must attend the school they are playing for.