Little Dribblers’ Basketball, Inc.
Regulations
(Revised September, 2014)

ADMINISTRATION:

Little Dribblers’ Basketball, Inc. is administered by a Board of Directors through its National headquarters office at 911 Houston, Levelland, Texas 79336.

REQUIREMENTS FOR BECOMING A CHARTERED LITTLE DRIBBLER LEAGUE:

In order to register with Little Dribblers’ Basketball, Inc leagues must complete the online registration at www.littledribblers.org.  Once registration is completed and all fees have been paid, the league will become a Chartered Little Dribbler league.  Becoming a Chartered league enables the league to claim their particular boundary area (as determined by their local school district boundary area) solely for their league.  No other Little Dribbler league may cross their boundary lines for purposes of claiming player.  Little Dribblers’ Basketball, Inc. will not allow any other Little Dribbler league to register for that boundary area.  As long as a Chartered league remains in good standing, registers each year and pays all fees, their boundary area is protected for the sole use of their league.

1) Registration-all registration must be completed online.  By submitting the Registration Application, leagues are agreeing to abide by all Little Dribblers’ Basketball, Inc. Rules and Regulations.  They are certifying that all information provided is correct.

2) Fees- Annual Registration Fees are determined by the particular division.  A separate registration fee is required for boys and girls.  Fees can be paid online using a credit card or by a mail in check.

 Continental-$300     American-$400     National-$400

INSURANCE: 

All Teams must be covered by group accident and liability insurance before the team will be permitted to compete in any Little Dribblers’ competition.  Approved accident and liability insurance coverage will be available through Little Dribblers’ Basketball Headquarters by a licensed insurance carrier.  Insurance information will be available on the web site. Leagues must have a current Certificate of Insurance on file with Little Dribblers’ Basketball, Inc. prior to any tournament play.

PROGRAMS, DIVISIONS, LEAGUES, TEAMS AND PLAYERS:

 Programs: The organization provides separate, but identical programs for both boys and girls.

 Divisions:

 The programs are classified into three divisions based the size of the school district based on the UIL of Texas District Classification.

 Continental Division-Schools with a total high school enrollment of 314 & under.

 American Division- Schools with a total high school enrollment of 315-1059.

 National Division- Schools with a total high school enrollment of 1060 and up. This division is also opened to non-league teams as well as leagues that do not want 
to be limited to one particular school district. 

Leagues:

Each division is divided into separate leagues based upon the age of the player.  Age eligibility is determined by the player’s age as of August 1st of the
tournament year.  For the 2014-2015 season, the eligibility date is August 1, 2015.

Teams:

Each team, in local league play, shall consist of a minimum of six (6) players, and a maximum of (10) players.

 Players:

1)The league age of a player is determined as of August 1st  of the tournament year involved;

2) A player who has not participated in more that 50% of the regularly scheduled local league games shall not be eligible for tournament competition. Exception:This does not apply to the National Division.

3) A player shall only play on one Little Dribblers’ All-Star team in a specific tournament.

4) Little Dribblers’ Basketball, Inc. highly recommends that Little Dribblers leagues support and follow their local school districts policy of No Pass No Play.  

Coaches/Board Members/Volunteers:

Little Dribblers’ Basketball, Inc. strives to insure that all adults that have direct access to children, do not have a history of behavior that can prove to be detrimental to
children.  Each individual league is responsible for selecting coaches and board members that will provide a safe, positive and nurturing environment for children.  One
tool that will be utilized to help leagues in their coach selection is KidSafePlus® which is a secure, online National background verification system including search of 
Sex Offender Registries. Leagues are responsible for the fee for each coach’s background check.  Leagues can opt to require the individual coach to cover the cost of
 the Background check.  The cost per coach/board member will be $6.50.

All coaches and current members of the league Board of Directors must agree to submit to a background check using the KidsSafePlus® Background Service through
SportsSignUp.com.  Team Rosters cannot be submitted unless all coaches listed on the roster have received an Approved Background check.

 In addition to coaches and board members, leagues may utilize the KidSafePlus® Background Check System for other volunteers in their program.  

If a coach or board member received a Denied Background Check, Little Dribblers’ Basketball, Inc. will make the final decision regarding the coach’s ability to coach a 
Little Dribbler team. 

JURISDICTION:

All competition, local, district, state, regional, national or international, shall be played under the jurisdiction of Little Dribblers’ Basketball Inc. Headquarters.

PROOF OF AGE DOCUMENTATION:

Every player enrolled on a Little Dribblers’ Basketball roster must provide proof of age to his/her local league administers prior to their first scheduled game.  The following documents are accepted as proof of age:

1) Original Birth Certificate

2) Certified Birth Certificate-this can be purchased from your County Clerk or other designated official in charge of vital records.

3) Original Passport

4) For children born outside of the United States that do not have an original birth certificate, contact the National Office for acceptable forms of proof of age eligibility.

PLAYER INFORMATION:

All players must be entered into the Little Dribblers’ Basketball player database using online player registration provided through SportsSignUp.com.  The cost for online player registration is $1.75 per player.

Exception:  If a league is contractually bound to use another online player registration system, Little Dribblers’ Basketball Inc. will provide a CSV formatted document for leagues to export their player information from their online player registration provider into our system.  Once the terms of that contract have lapsed, the league will be required to use the Little Dribblers’ Basketball online player registration system.

LEAGUE MASTER SCHEDULE:  

All leagues are required to have a schedule of all league games.  The schedules should be kept on file with the league president.  The National office may request a copy of the schedule if a conflict or protest arises. 

SCORE BOOKS:

 Each league must maintain official score books for all local league games.  The National Office may request documentation of participation in the case of a dispute regarding player eligibility.  The official score books shall be kept by the league president until the National Tournament is completed for that season.

PROTESTS AND RULE INTERPRETATIONS:

Protests:  In order to be considered, protests must be in writing and signed by the league president. Emails from the league president will be accepted as a formal protest. 

 Local league play: The league president shall resolve any disputes or protests using the guidelines established by that local league.

Regional Tournament: The Regional Tournament Director shall resolve any dispute or protests that arise during the Regional Tournament. If a protest involves a team
 from the host league, the tournament director shall consult with the Executive Director of Little Dribblers’ Basketball, Inc. before ruling on the protest.

National Tournament:  Disputes and protests submitted during a National Tournament shall be decided by the National Tournament Director.  If the protest or dispute
involves a team from the host league, the tournament director shall consult with the Executive Director of Little Dribblers’ Basketball, Inc. before ruling on the protest or
 dispute.

Protest Fee: There will be a $50.00 fee for each protest submitted during a Regional or National Tournament.  The fee shall be submitted to the Tournament Director
before a ruling can be made on the protest.  

If the protest is found to have merit and the ruling is in favor of the team filing the official protest, the fee will be returned to the league president at the conclusion of the 
 tournament.  If the protest is denied, the Tournament Director will send the Protest Fee to Little Dribblers’ Basketball, Inc. at the conclusion of the tournament

Protest timing:  Protests must be made in a timely manner so that the dispute can be resolved with little or no scheduling delays. Protests that could possibly result in
the outcome of a game being changed, must be submitted to the tournament director before the next scheduled game of each of the teams involved.

Clarifications and Interpretations: Formal rule clarifications and interpretations must be requested in writing (mail, fax or email) by the league president.  Once a written
request for Clarification or Interpretation is received, the National Office will respond in writing. 

 Forfeits:  During Regional and National tournaments, all forfeits must be approved by the Executive Directors of Little Dribblers’ Basketball, Inc.