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2024-2025 BASKETBALL GUIDE

(Google Doc Version 24-25)


2024-2025 BASKETBALL GUIDE
1

Rule Changes and Points of Emphasis for 2024-25 1

Warning For Delay 1

Faking Being Fouled 2

Regular Season: 2

2. Winter Season – The winter season for girls’ & boys’ basketball shall open on December 2, 2024. Games may begin on December 13, 2024 2

Tournament Information 2

2024-2025 BASKETBALL GUIDE

The VPA Basketball Committee will develop and edit guidelines and establish practices to promote the best interest of member schools and students in the sport of basketball. The Committee will recommend policies for season and tournament participation, establish tournament dates and sites, and govern the events.

Volunteer V.P.A. member principals and athletic directors will be selected to represent various division-size schools and regional districts of the state.

As of 2012, all paid and volunteer coaches must complete the NFHS Concussion Education course before the first day of practice.

Rule Changes and Points of Emphasis for 2024-25

Warning For Delay 

Delaying a game and allowing it to develop into an actionless contest is not beneficial to anyone involved in interscholastic competition. One of the officials’ roles is to ensure the game maintains an appropriate pace of play, including throughout the administration of penalties, throw-ins, free throws, etc. The NFHS rules allow for officials to give an initial warning to teams that violate Rule 4-47, which defines a warning for delay as an administrative procedure by an official that is recorded in the scorebook by the scorer and reported to the head coach. Warnings may be issued for the following: • Throw-in plane violations; • Huddle by either team or contact with the free thrower that delays the administration of the free throw; • Interfering with the ball following a goal; • Failure to have the court ready, following a time-out; or • New in 2024-25, failure to immediately pass the ball to the nearer official. Any two delay warnings will result in a team technical foul. The warnings do not have to be issued for the same reason or to the same player or team member to escalate to a team technical foul. Officials must utilize the Warning for Delay as soon as the behavior occurs. Initiating the warning allows the behavior to be addressed early. Failing to address behavior that violates this rule before initiating a warning may create confusion among coaches and players, creating an environment that becomes more difficult to manage.

Faking Being Fouled 

“Faking Being Fouled” was added to the NFHS Basketball Rules Book twenty years ago as an unsporting foul committed by a player, resulting in a player technical. In 2004-2005, the Rules Committee addressed “Specific Unsporting Acts” as a Point of Emphasis, and “Flopping” was one of the points. Twenty years later, faking being fouled continues to be a point of concern for the rules committee. This year, the rules committee added a warning (4-49) and defined faking being fouled as: • Overtly embellishing the impact of incidental contact on block/charge plays or attempted tries for goal; • Using a “head bob” to simulate illegal contact; or • Using any other tactics to create an opinion of being fouled and therefore gaining an advantage. A warning will now be issued for the first instance, lessening the severity of the penalty while continuing to address the behavior. A technical foul will be assessed to the team for each subsequent occurrence. Officials will utilize the new signal No. 15 at the time the flop occurs. Providing officials with an opportunity to warn a player before issuing a technical foul will allow players to adjust their behaviors before receiving a harsher penalty


Regular Season:

  1. Official National Federation rules will be used during the regular and tournament season.
  1. Winter Season – The winter season for girls’ & boys’ basketball shall open on December 2, 2024. Games may begin on December 13, 2024
  1. Pre-Game Warm Ups: In order to allow for standardization and consistency around the state, pre-game warm-ups will be 15 minutes for both JV and Varsity games. It is important for host schools to allow a 15-minute warm-up time for the first game even if the bus is late. Visiting schools should be respectful of gym and time schedules and, if late, get players changed and on the court quickly.
  1. Scrimmages are not counted.  The maximum number of scrimmages allowed is 4. During tournament time only schools in the tournament may scrimmage.
  1. MOUTHGUARDS are recommended.
  1. If a school receives more than two ejections, by coaches or players during the regular season and/or tournament, the coach, AD, and/or principal will be required to meet with the Activities Standards Committee before being allowed in to continue in the tournament.
  1. The coaching box is 28′ from the end line.

Tournament Information 

  1. Selection Procedure:
    1. Teams must file an application with the V.P.A. (ScoreBookLive)
    2. Teams must play in the division for which they have been classified by the Activities Standards Committee according to policy.  
  1. All regular season games played away from the home court will be awarded “away points” in the index system for seeding to the VPA Tournament.  When completing the application, under the space marked Place, use H for Home Games, and A for Away games. The winning school is responsible for making sure the score is entered correctly.
  1. FOR (Boys): FINAL APPLICATIONS MUST BE ELECTRONICALLY FILED NO LATER THAN 8:00 A.M. (February 18, 2025)  PLEASE LIST THE ENTIRE SEASON’S SCHEDULE WITH RECORD AND INDEX POINT TOTALS ON THE APPLICATION.
  1. Applications to the tournament are compiled from Scorebook Live. Teams must notify the VPA if they are not entering the tournament. 
  • The regular season ends (on February 23, 2025) for girls and (on March 2, 2025) for boys. 
  • Only the first three games between the same opponents will be counted. 
  1. Recommended starting time for tournament games 

Evening, single game: Start at 7:00 P.M.

*Afternoon, single game: Start at 2:00 P.M.

*Afternoon, double-header: Start at 1:00 P.M., 2nd game approximately 3:00 P.M.

*Evening, double-header: Start at (6:00) P.M., 2nd game approximately (8:00) P.M. *Subject to change by agreement with tournament hosts.

If for any reason a starting time is changed, approval must be granted by the Executive Director in advance of any public announcement. If local conditions demand a change in starting time, approval must be granted by the observers on the spot.  Care and caution must be taken in changing at any time, especially when teams have to travel.  Starting times should never be made earlier unless an adequate announcement has been given.  In general, the higher-paired team will play the second game during all two-game events. This practice may be varied upon special request from far distant schools competing on school nights.

  1. Sites and officials for all games will be assigned through the V.P.A. office by the Basketball Committee. The higher paired team will be the host for play down and quarterfinals if the gym is suitable.
    1. Suitable floors must be a wood surface, 84′ x 50′ minimum.  Waivers may be granted if a written request to the VPA office is made prior to (January 30, 2024).  A sub-committee has been established to hear appeals.
    2. The VPA Basketball Committee has voted not to approve the following courts: Peoples
  1. After the tournament pairings and sites of the semi-final and final games have been officially announced, none of the competing teams may practice or scrimmage on these courts.  Any violation of this regulation will mean immediate disqualification for the remainder of the tournament.

(Tournament sites refer to Barre Auditorium and UVM).

  1. Through the quarter-finals, with prior arrangements made the day before, participating teams may request a minimum of 15 minutes of floor time to be completed 40 minutes before game time. The Athletic Director needs to communicate their school’s request to the home team. Half-time may be up to 15 minutes in length (semi-finals and finals at Barre and UVM).
  1. Play Down Dates:

Boys:  February 25/26, 2025

Girls: March 4/5, 2025

Quarter Finals:

Boys: February 28, March 1, 2025

Girls: March 7/8, 2025

Semi-Finals:

Boys: Monday, March 3-6 (D1@TBD)

           (D2/3/4 @ Barre Auditorium)

Girls:   Sunday, March 10-13, 2025 (D1 @TBD) (D2/3/4 @ Barre Auditorium)

Championships:

Boys:(D1 @ TBD) (D2/3/4 @ Barre Auditorium) March 7-8

Girls:   Thursday, March 7, 2025 (D1 @ UVM)

           Saturday, March 14-15 2025 (D2/3/4 @ Barre Auditorium)

BoysMondayTuesdayWednesdayThursdayFridaySaturday
Barre AudMarch 3March 4March 5March 6March 7March 8
DivisionD4 5:30/7:45D2 5:30/7:45D3 5:30/7:45D4D2D3
GirlsMondayTuesdayWednesdayThursdayFridaySaturday
Barre AudMarch 10March 11March 13March 14March 15March 16
DivisionD4 5:30/7:45D2 5:30/7:45D3 5:30/7:45D4D2D3

Playdown and quarter-final dates are subject to change by the VPA.

Every attempt will be made to develop tournament dates and sites well in advance, but with the understanding due to circumstances beyond the control of the Vermont Principals’ Association, such tournament dates and sites may be subject to change and/or tournament games may be in conflict if a school has more than one team participating in post-season play.

Application for admission to a tournament is made with the understanding that if selected for a tournament, the team will participate in said tournament under the conditions as stated above.

  1. SIZE OF SQUAD: Each team will be allowed to dress a maximum of fifteen (15) players for any contest. Schools must adhere to the social distancing guidelines for all non-playing athletes and coaches.
  1. The higher paired team will be designated at the time of the pairings, and will be the home team.  The rule book indicates an official uniform.  In our tournament, the higher-paired team will wear the white uniform and will be designated as the home team and the visiting team will wear the colored uniform.  In the event there is not enough contrast in the color of the uniforms between the two teams, the referee is directed to INSTRUCT THE VISITING TEAM TO APPEAR ON THE FLOOR WITH BIBS IN A COLOR CONTRASTING TO THEIR UNIFORM AND NUMBERED.  The higher-paired team will wear the light-colored jersey throughout the tournament.  Teams maintain the original seed throughout the entire tournament.
  1. The game ball will be furnished by the host school for playdowns and quarter-finals. Spalding will be the tournament ball in 2024-2024 for each game in the tournament. 
  1. The principal or designee of the participating school is responsible for the knowledge and implementation of crowd control procedures for spectators from that school.  He/she should report their presence to the Tournament or Site Director.
  1. Tournament Awards: In the State Finals, winners in each division will receive a trophy emblematic of the championship of their division.  The finalists in each division will receive a plaque. In the finals, the game balls will be presented to the coaches of the winning teams. 20 individual awards will be given to the teams in the finals.

If a team has utilized 8th-grade athletes on their sub-varsity roster during the regular season, those 8th-grade players are ineligible for promotion to the varsity squad for the duration of the tournament season.