Greetings! I run a High School intramural league (as some of you probably know from answering my variety of questions in the past!) and am trying to put together a handbook for the participants - I have 2 years of "well, that's just kinda the way I've done it in the past..." or "Hmm - never saw that one before, so here's what I'm gonna do..." stuff to remember, so I decided to put it in writing. I'm including my rules for the sports I run (Volleyball, Basketball, 3-on-3 tournament, and Flag Football), and have very nice, well defined rules for everything but basketball. For basketball, we use NFHS rules, with a few minor modifications for our specific situation. However, many of the students who participate (we had over 110 out of a school of 800 last year - 14 teams, 84 games) have never played before or have limited experience with what the actual rules in basketball are.

So here's my question - I am looking for some site or source of a simplified set of rules for basketball - I have a page of "commonly misunderstood rules" I may use also, but what I need is something much shorter than the NFHS rule book, but that covers the basics, and I would be likely to get permission to copy. Does anyone have any suggestions? It would be GREATLY appreciated, both by myself, and by all of the student refs I train who have to answer silly questions brought on by everyone knowing the NBA rules, but not the HS ones, or thinking that "reaching" is a foul! We won't solve all the problems, but I think it will help...

Thanks again!

No easy way out.
 

Order a "Simplified and Illustrated Rulebook" from the National Federation. I do not know of anything that would apply to what you are looking for, but that is close as it gets. Other than that you just need to have regular rulebooks and study them. NBA really are not that different than NF rules in principle, except for a few obvious ones. But other than that, basketball is basketball. Not nearly the problem football can bring.

Peace

www.nfhs.org

Re: No easy way out.
 

I have one of those - I realized after reading your reply, and it not making a whole lot of sense the first 1-2 times I reread it, I figured out what I was missing: I forgot to mention that I am a HS basketball official in PA - I know the rules (well, no better or worse than some of you out there :)) - I am looking for something I can give the players to help them ahead of time with some of the basics, like inbounding rules, free throw rules... simple stuff... basics of traveling without going into as many details as you need as a ref. I'm just looking for a simplified version of the rules, preferably typed out, and maybe several pages long (if such a rule set exists!) - I have the simplified and illustrated, but I don't think I'd be allowed to make copies and hand them out! :)

Re: Re: No easy way out.
 

You can buy the "Simplified and Illustrated" books and give them out. You can even buy slides with the information that is in the books.

There is no substitute for studying the rules or just reading specific rules to learn them. The "Simplified and Illustrated Rulebook" will show pictures that help illustrate what the rule says or how it showed be interpreted. I really do not know how you could simplify a rule like travelling without knowing what a pivot foot is and when it is established. There are no shortcuts to understanding this. Because most people think travelling happens when it looks funny. Basketball rules are not that hard to understand.

Peace