By-Law Amendment
At the recent club meeting, two items were presented as agenda items for proposed changes to our by-laws including changes to the basketball size for under 12 competitions and the Representative Player Rule.
A third change to the by-laws is also listed below which is to comply with the legislation regarding gendered competitions in juniors.
We welcome your feedback on the above feedback prior to the Association moving to the next stage of the process.
Size 5 Basketballs for U12 Domestic
Proposal
Implementation the use of size 5 basketballs for our under 12 domestic competition, aligning with the recent move by Basketball Victoria.
More information
Recently Basketball Victoria have endorsed the use of size 5 basketballs for all under 12 age groups for trainings and competitions run by Basketball Victoria.
Currently our under 12 players use a full regulation high 10 foot ring and use a size 6 basketball. For female athletes, this is the same ball as used by adults.
The research has proven that using a basketball that is disproportionate to a child’s growth stage will prevent them from succeeding with the acquisition of inappropriate skill acquisition and muscle memory. This is detrimental to their long-term basketball pathway and offers a less enjoyable experience overall.
To put it in comparison, the current rule for an under 12 child to use a size 6 basketball is comparable to an adult playing on a 14 foot ring.
Young children as early as 9 years old are currently expected to project a heavy ball high enough with the core strength, leg strength and upper body strength they do not have. This results in poor technique which limits a child’s ability to develop as a player.
Benefit #1
Ability for kids to develop correct shooting techniques which will aid their long term skill development and acquisition.
Benefit #2
Encourage more young girls and boys to experience success win our sport, encouraging them to continue participation.
Benefit #3
Improved creativity and game style for young kids.
We welcome your feedback on the above prior to the Association moving to the next stage of the process.
Representative Player Points Rule
The domestic clubs at the last club meeting unanimously agreed the need to be a change to the current rules in relation to representative player participation in the domestic competition.
Prior to approval from the SPBA Board of Management, we are seeking feedback from the SPBA members regarding the following change.
Proposal
Remove clause 3.9 (click here to view) and replace with the below:
Teams may not have more than four junior representative players within a single team.
Teams that exceed this limit of players due to players having been selected to a representative team are exempt if the relevant players have played for the domestic team for two or more consecutive seasons.
Players that play up an age group do not count as a representative player.
Exemptions may be granted to ensure a competitive and fair competition by the SPBA.
More information
The current rule places a detrimental impact on our domestic program and our association values by:
- Forces teams to split up if they wish to begin playing representative basketball
- Forcing players to play up an age group as the current teams in the age group cannot accommodate the points restriction the current rules place on them
- Prevents players from playing if they can not find a team that has room and alignment with the current points rule
- Due to players not playing in correct age group or not playing at all it both dilutes and creates bigger differences in skill level of teams. The quality of grades changes which in it self results in games with large margins
The current rule which was implemented three years ago is more appropriate to an Association with a significantly larger junior competition as there is more room for representative players to play across the domestic competition.
Local similar sized Associations have recently adopted a similar change in rules surrounding representative players and have commented that it has proven to be much more beneficial for the domestic competition as a whole.
We welcome your feedback on the above feedback prior to the Association moving to the next stage of the process.
Gender Rules for U12 and below competitions
Note – this amendment is not open to feedback due to the change is to comply with legislation.
Currently, our By-Laws are in contradiction to the Commonwealth Sex Discrimination Act 1984 in that children under the age of 12 years old must be allowed to participate in either gendered competition.
Our By-Laws only currently state:
“Ideally we wish to provide single sex competitions however girls can play in boys competitions in Under 9 and Under 10 competitions.”
Section 42 of the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 states:
It is not “unlawful to discriminate on the ground of sex, gender identity or intersex status by excluding persons from participation in any competitive sporting activity in which the strength, stamina or physique of competitors is relevant.”
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply in relation to the exclusion of persons from participation in:
(a) the coaching of persons engaged in any sporting activity;
(b) the umpiring or refereeing of any sporting activity;
(c) the administration of any sporting activity;
(d) any prescribed sporting activity; or
(e) sporting activities by children who have not yet attained the age of 12 years
Change
Delete:
“Ideally we wish to provide single sex competitions however girls can play in boys competitions in Under 9 and Under 10 competitions.” – Page 11
Delete:
“Girls are eligible to play in boys competition” – Page 12
Insert:
“For junior competitions at an under 12 age and younger, children may participate in either gender. For U9, U10 and U12 competitions, competitions will be gendered and it is recommended players participate in the gender they identify as.”
Feedback
We welcome all members feedback on these proposed changes before they are presented for final approval to the Board of Management.
Please fill in the below details:
If you have any further enquiries about these proposed changes, please contact General Manager, Ben White at gm@sthpen.com.au.