BASKETBALL HANDBOOK 
Tournament Rules & Regulations 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 

EVENT:  
Friday 2nd March, 9:00 am until 3:00 pm 
 
 
 
 
 
Competition Rules and Regulations 
 
1. Rules 
As  per  the  guidelines  set  out  by  the  British  Schools  of  the  Middle 
East Handbook. 
 
2. General Information 
a. All matches will be played on grass 
b. Players  should  ensure they are wearing football boots and shin pads. 
Children will not be allowed to play without them. 
c. Kings School Al Barsha will provide all officials. 
d. Goal Height will be 8 foot. 
e. Match balls will be size 5 
 
3. Referees 
a. There will be 1 referee and 1 scorer on each court. 
b. In  any  game,  the  referee  will  have  the  authority  to  administer  the 
rules  of  play.  The  referees decision is final. Only the Team Coach may 
approach  a  referee  for  clarification  of  any  rules  or  disputes  on  the 
court. This may only be done at half time or full time. 
 
4. Number of players 
a. Each  team  should  consist  of  10  players,  with  5  on  court  at  any  one 
time. 
b. A  maximum of 2 of the 10 players may be girls, but those girls cannot 
participate in the girls football event. 
 
5. Key rules 
a. No travelling 
b. No double dribble 
c. No contact with opponents (pushing, pulling,, holding) 
d. On  loss  of  possession,  the  defending  team  MUST  withdraw  to  the 
halfway line 
e. Double teaming one player is not permitted 
 
6. Full court press 
No  pressing  in  the opponents half. If a goal is scored, or possession is 
lost,  the  defending  team  must  immediately  retreat  to  beyond  the  halfway 
line. If this rule is violated a free pass from half way will be awarded. 
 
7. The following rules are not imposed  
3-second  rule.  ​Whilst  the  3-second  rule  in  the  key  will  not  be strictly 
enforced,  players  who  clearly  are  not  attempting  to move in and out of the 
key  will  be  warned  and  then  will  be  called  for  'loitering'  in  the  key.  The 
absence  of  the  3  second  rule  is  designed  to  allow  the  game  to  flow  but  if 
coaches  and  players  do  not  play  within  the  spirit  of  this  (absent)  rule  then 
the referees will have no option but to penalise these teams. 
 
 
 
 8. Inbound passes 
a. Two feet must remain out of the court when passing in. 
b. Coaching is permitted during play from the sideline. 
 
9. Defence 
There will be no zone defence 
 
10. Fouls 
a. Half  court  man  to  man  defence  must  be  played  with  no  double 
teaming 
b. Double  teaming  or  zone  marking  will  result  in  a  warning  and  a 
technical foul 
c. 5 fouls will result in one free throw worth 2 points 
d. Fouls will reset at half time 
e. The  clock  will  only  stop  in  the  last  minute  of  the  game,  and  the 
management of this time is down to the referees decision 
f. All shots will be 1 throw worth 2 points 
 
11. Fouled in the act of shooting 
If  fouled  in  the  act  of  shooting,  two  free  shots  shall  be  awarded  to 
the  player  fouled.  The  remaining  players  should  stand  on  the half way line. 
The ball will be dead on both attempts and the defensive ball awarded. 
 
12. Free Throws 
Free throws may be taken from the front of the circle. 
 
13. Scoring 
a. 2 points for each basket 
b. 1 point for each free throw 
c. 3 points for each basket scored from behind the 3 point line. 
 
14. Duration of the game 
a. Each game will be 7-minutes each way.  
b. Games will be individually times using a ‘running clock’ 
c. Teams change ends at half time with a 2-minute changeover. 
d. Each team is permitted 1 time out per game. 
 
15. Substitution 
a. There  is  no  limit to the number of substitutions that can be made by 
a  team  provided  that  players  used  do  not  exceed  the  maximum 
squad number of 10. 
b. Substitutions  can  only  be  made  when  the  ball  is  dead  and  should 
take  place  at  the  halfway  line.  A  player  must  leave  the  court  before 
the replacement goes on.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 16. End of the Game 
a. There  will  be  a  hooter  to  signal  the  end  of  time  but  the  referees 
whistle will determine the end of the game. 
b. Three cheers and handshakes are encouraged. 
c. Team managers shall shake hands. 
d. It  is  expected  that  team  captains  and  managers  shake  hands  with 
the match officials. Coaching is permitted during play from the side. 
 
17. Pool Phase 
a. There  are  16  competing  schools,  the  teams  will  be  divided  into  4 
pools of 4. 
b. Each pool will be selected randomly by the host school. 
c. No extra time shall be played during the pool phase.  
d. Each  team  will  play  3  games  in  a  round-robin  competition  to 
determine places for play-off finals. 
 
18. Match Points 
a. The following points will be awarded during pool play: 
b. Win: 3 points 
c. Draw: 1 point 
d. Defeat: 0 points 
e. At  the  conclusion  of  the  pool  phase,  the  teams  in  each  pool  are 
ranked  one  through  four  based  on  their  cumulative  match  points, 
and identified respectively as winner, runner-up, third and fourth.   
f. If,  at  the  completion  of  the  pool  phase,  two  teams  or  more  are  level 
on  Match  Points,  the  following  criteria  will  be  used  in  the  following 
order  until  one  of  the  teams  can  be  determined  as  the  higher 
ranked:  
i. The result between the two teams; 
ii. Goal difference. 
iii. Goals scored. 
iv. Goals conceded 
g. If  none  of  the  above  produce  a  result,  a  shootout  will  take  place.  3 
members  of  the  team  take  1  free  throw  each,  alternating  with  the 
other  team,  followed  by  sudden  death  if  scores are even after 3 free 
throws. 
 
 
 
 
19. Playoff Phase 
a. The  top  2  placed  teams  at  the  end  of  the  pool  stage  will  qualify  for 
the  cup  competition  and  compete  in  3  playoff  games  to  determine 
positions 1 through to 8. 
b. The  bottom  2  placed  teams  at  the  end  of  the  pool  stage  will  move 
forward  into  the  playoff  challenge  for  positions  9  through  to  16. 
Teams  will  compete  in  3  playoff  games  to  determine  their  final 
position. 
 c. Based  on  the  final  ranking  in  each  pool,  the  knockout  phase 
structure will be as follows... 
 
LOSERS WINNERS
CUP 
PLAYOFFS 
POSITIONS 1-8

5th Place Semi  Cup Quarter 

5th Place Final Cup Semi Final Cup Final
Final Final
Winner 5SF1 Vs  5SF1: Loser QF1 Vs  QF1: 1st Pool A vs  SF1: Winner QF1 Vs  Winner SF1 Vs 
winner 5SF2 loser QF2 2nd Pool D winner QF2 winner SF2

QF2: 1st Pool C Vs  3rd Place 

7th Place Final 2nd Pool B  Playoff
Loser 5SF1 Vs loser  5SF2: Loser QF3 Vs  QF3: 1st Pool D Vs  SF2: Winner QF3  Loser SF1 Vs loser 
5SF2  loser QF4  2nd Pool A  Vs winner QF4  SF2 

QF4: 1st Pool B Vs 

2nd Pool C 

 
 
LOSERS CHALLENGE  WINNERS
PLAYOFFS 
POSITIONS 
9-16
13th Place  9th Place  9th Place Semi 
13th Place Final 9th Place Final
Semi Final Quarter Final Final
Winner 13SF1 Vs  13SF1: Loser 9QF1  9QF1: 3rd Pool A vs  9SF1: Winner QF1  Winner 9SF1 Vs 
winner 13SF2  Vs loser 9QF2  4th Pool D  Vs winner QF2  winner 9SF2 

9QF2: 3rd Pool C 

15th Place Final Vs 4th Pool B 
11th Place Final

Loser 13SF1 Vs  13SF2: Loser 9QF3  9QF3: 3rd Pool D  9SF2: Winner QF3  Loser 9SF1 Vs loser 
loser 13SF2  Vs loser 9QF4  Vs 4th Pool A  Vs winner QF4  9SF2 

9QF4: 3rd Pool B 

Vs 4th Pool C 

 
 
 
20. Overtime: Playoff games only 
a. In  the  event  that  scores  are  tied  at  the  end  of  normal time, during a 
quarter  final  or  semi  final  game,  the teams will play for an additional 
5  minutes.  If  the  teams  are  still  deadlocked  at  the  end  of  overtime, 
the result will be decided by a shootout. 
b. In  the  event  that  scores  are  tied  at  the  end  of  normal  time  in  the 
final,  two  5  minute  periods  of  overtime  will  be  played  (with  a  1 
minute  break  between  each  period)  before  resorting  to  a  shootout 
to determine the winner. 
c. All fouls carry over from the second period of normal play. 
d. Each team is permitted 1 timeout per overtime period. 
 
21. Shootout 
a. In  the  event  that  scores  are  tied  when the final hooter sounds at the 
end of extra time, the following procedure will be followed: 
i. The referee will blow their whistle to stop play. 
ii. All players to remain on the court. 
iii. No substitutes can be made. 
iv. The  Team  Coach  will  select  3  players  to take 1 free throw each 
and submit their names and order to the referee 
v. The  referee  will  perform  a  coin  toss  with  both  Team  Coaches 
to determine who takes the first free throw. 
vi. Each  team  will  alternate  until  3  free  throws  have  been  taken. 
If  one  team  is  not  ahead  on  goals  after  the  3  free  throws,  the 
shootout will proceed to sudden death. 
 
22. Point allocations: 
Competition points for the tournament will be awarded as follows: 
 
PLAYOFF RESULT  PLACING  POINTS 

Cup Final Winner  1st  16 

Cup Finalist  2nd  15 

3rd Place Match Winner  3rd  14 

3rd Place Finalist  4th  13 

5th Place Final Winner  5th  12 

5th Place Finalist  6th  11 

7th Place Final Winner  7th  10 

7th Place Finalist  8th  9 

9th Place Final Winner  9th  8 

9th Place Finalist  10th  7 

11th Place Final Winner  11th  6 

11th Place Finalist  12th  5 

13th Place Final Winner  13th  4 

13th Place Finalist  14th  3 

15th Place Final Winner  15th  2 

15th Place Finalist  16th  1