[BillyMac]

I'm trying to write a training handout. Comments? Constructive criticism? Please.

ADMINISTRATIVE TECHNICAL FOUL PENALTY TIME LIMITS

Officials do everything in their power to prevent administrative technical fouls. The crew arrives on the court at least fifteen minutes prior to game time. The referee meets with the table crew and reviews table responsibilities with both the home, and the visiting, scorekeeper, as well as the timer. The referee reviews the scorebook, looking for duplicate numbers, illegal numbers, and to check that the number of players on each roster coincides with the number of players warming up. Officials look for illegal uniforms, and illegal numbers, during pregame warmups. Once the game starts, substitutes anxious to enter the game are given the “stop sign” and are only beckoned when allowed by rule. Officials are very careful to count players after each substitution to ensure that there are only five players from each team participating before allowing the ball to be put into play. Officials notify teams, and their coach, whenever a team is granted its final allotted charged timeout.

Yet, despite officials doing everything in their power to prevent administrative technical fouls, these types of infractions still occur. All of a sudden, it’s realized that there are eleven players participating. The horn sounds at an odd time, and the officials are informed that a player’s number is not recorded in the official scorebook. Excess timeouts are requested, and granted. When these administrative infractions occur, officials must be prepared to deal with them, and penalize them, correctly.

Most officials are familiar with the various technical fouls that are associated with these administrative infractions; however, officials can be confused with the various time limits associated with penalizing these infractions. The rule book contains wording such as “penalized when discovered”, “penalized if discovered while being violated”, “after the ball became live following the first dead ball”, “once the ball becomes live”, “too late to penalize”, etc. One of the reasons why officials might be confused by the time limits for these penalties is due to the way that rule ten is organized. Rule ten is organized according to whom the technical foul is charged, thus there are sections for team technical fouls, coach technical fouls, player technical fouls, and substitute technical fouls. Within each of these sections, there are different time limits to penalize administrative infractions, which can be confusing.

Below is an alternative method of organizing technical fouls associated with administrative infractions. Instead of being organized by whom the technical foul is charged, it is organized by the time limit for penalizing the infraction. Organizing these administrative infractions into six sections according to the time limits should make it easier for officials to penalize these technical fouls, within the proper time limits, correctly.

1) Penalized when it occurs, pregame, after ten minute time limit:
a) Failing to supply the scorer with the name, and number, of each team member who may participate.
b) Failing to designate the five starting players.

2) Penalized if discovered before ball becomes live to start the game:
a) Changing a designated starter (with exceptions). If a player starts who was not designated to be a starter, the infraction has to be discovered, and penalized, before the ball becomes live to start the game. Once the ball becomes live, it is too late to penalize this specific infraction, and no penalty can be assessed.

3) Penalized when they occur, after ten minute time limit. These three infractions occur when the scorer is advised to add to or change the scorebook. The foul must be charged when it occurs and enforced when the ball next becomes live. Once the ball has become live, it is too late to penalize:
a) Adding a name to the team member list after the ten minute time limit. When such a player legally enters the court, the player’s name, and number, must be entered into the scorebook.
b) Requiring the scorer to change a team member, or player, number in the scorebook (with exception), after the ten minute time limit. If there is no request for change, or if a team member does not become a player, thus avoiding the change, there is no penalty.
c) Requiring a player to change to a number in the scorebook after the ten minute time limit. If there is no request for change, or if the team member does not become a player, thus avoiding the change, there is no penalty.

4) Penalized when discovered:
a) Having identical numbers on team members, and/or players, after the ten minute time limit. This infraction is charged upon the discovery of identical numbers. Only one team member may wear a given number, the other must change to a number not already in use before participating.
b) Permitting a team member to participate while wearing an illegal uniform number. This infraction is charged when discovered. The team member with the illegal uniform number may participate without further penalty and is not required to change his/her number. If no changes are made to the scorebook, no infraction has occurred.
c) Requesting an excess timeout. The penalty for an excessive timeout is charged when discovered.

5) Penalized if discovered while being violated:
a) Having more than five team members participating simultaneously, if recognized by an official before the ball becomes live following the first dead ball. If it was not recognized by either official, but was called to their attention after the ball became live following the first dead ball, it is too late to assess any penalty.
b) Player participates after changing a number without reporting the change to the scorer and an official.
c) Team member participates after being removed from the game for disqualification.

6) Penalized if discovered before the ball becomes live:
a) Substitute enters the court without reporting to the scorer, and/or, without being beckoned by an official, except between periods. This infraction is charged if recognized by an official before the ball becomes live following the first dead ball. Once the ball becomes live, the substitute is a legal player at that point, the foul is not penalized.