I don't know if there's a participation rule for this league or not. I only get the game rules and the referee instructions, not the instructions that go out to coaches. However, for the local rec league of which I am a Board member, our rule is that if a player shows up for both practices during the week, they must play at least half the game on the weekend. Teams in this league generally have 8 or 9 players (3rd and 4th grade boys usually have 10), so making sure everyone gets their fair share of playing time is not a problem. It's up to the parents to monitor this, and they can report inequities to the Board.

Interesting. Well, the one league I work, the participation rules are included with the special basketball rules (no press/etc).

I only asked about it because the referees get sucked into this. My philosophy is that I'm not there to monitor or enforce the participation rules. That's why the parents / scorekeepers are there. HOWEVER, the referees do need to know what the rules are to answer any questions about it.

As a vet, I know the rules backwards and forwards, but the high school and college kids reffing (and also coaching) don't know the rules well and all sorts of weird stuff happens. It is unfortunate, but that's the way it is.