Adults involved in the Fairfield County Basketball League will not behave in a manner that draws a technical foul call from a referee.
If you understand that basic principle, feel free to stop reading. If you do not, please read the rest of this message.
We are a MIDDLE SCHOOL league. Consquently, we have chosen to follow the principle that it is the responsibility of the adults involved in our league to lead-by-example and when they feel that the have been victimized by poor reffing, "homer" reffing, score keeping errors, clock management errors, boorish behavior from the refs or opposing team's fans, and the like the opportunity to be pursued, in that situation, is the opportunity to teach their players how to play through adversity and the opportunity to teach that "life-lesson" trumps all else. With this in mind, the FCBL revised its technical foul policy at the Fall 2017 meeting. The policy appears below.
FCBL Technical Foul Policy
rev. September 8, 2017
In youth sports, there is a high tolerance for the normal, expected violations of rules because players are learning the game. But there is and should be far less tolerance for conduct that detracts from the positive, nurturing, and instructive environment to which the FCBL aspires. With all of this in mind, the FCBL sets forth below, our policy on technical fouls. These rules apply to all games played between FCBL teams, league and non-league.
REPORTING REQUIREMENT: All technical fouls involving player, coach, or parent conduct are to be reported within 24 hours of being received. In other words, technical fouls are to be reported no later than the day after they are assessed.
DUTY TO REPORT: The duty to report rests with the head coach. This duty remains with the head coach even if not present at the game. A program director or assistant coach may make the report, but a failure to report will be considered the head coach’s responsibility.
REPORT MADE TO FCBL DISCIPLINARY DIRECTOR: The report must be made to the FCBL Director for Discipline at the email address jheinzmannesq@att.net. The report must contain the names of the individuals involved and a description of the conduct. The report must be in writing, sent by electronic mail, and the sender will preserve a copy of the email. The duty to report is on the offending program. We encourage the opposing team to also send a report to confirm the incident and so we may follow up on non-reporting issues.
AUTOMATIC SUSPENSION: Any player, coach, or parent who receives two technical fouls in a game, league or non-league, is automatically suspended for the next two league contests. There are no exceptions to this rule.
A player, coach, or parent who receives three technical fouls in a season will be suspended for the next two league contests. Each additional technical foul will result in an additional two league game suspension, i.e. the fourth technical foul will result in two additional games. A sixth technical foul over the course of a season will result in a suspension for the remainder of the season. Suspensions will also carry over to subsequent years if necessary.
FAILURE TO REPORT: A coach who fails to report a technical foul within the required time period may be subject to suspension or other discipline. The FCBL will consider discipline after a review of the failure to report. If it is determined that the failure to report was knowing and intentional, discipline will be imposed.
CUMULATIVE RECORDS TO BE MAINTAINED: The FCBL Director for Discipline will maintain a record of technical fouls for all active players and coaches. Records may be kept and consulted for future seasons and discipline in the future.
ADDITIONAL SUSPENSIONS PERMITTED: The mandatory suspensions are minimums, not maximums. The FCBL may, in its sole discretion, impose longer suspensions, even for a single instance of misconduct depending on the nature of the misconduct.
RESCINDING TECHNICAL FOULS: Under no circumstances will the FCBL rescind a technical foul. The referee’s decision on the matter is final and not subject to review.
We recognize that this is a different level of tolerance than those of the older leagues.
That is precisely the point of this message!
For perspective, you want to realize that we have previously suspended adults from participating in our League for one year, two year and "Lifetime" periods
For teams with "fans" that could not adhere to our level of required decorum, we have previously required their teams to play with no audience attendance, and have also expelled teams out of the League strictly due to their "fans" misbehavior.
We recognize that this is a relatively severe policy.
We are trying to avoid the unfortunately common theme of adult misbehavior in youth sports. We believe that positive problem-solving behavior is contagious. Unfortunately, and more specifically, we know that boorish misbehavior is definitiely contagious.
If you disagree with the severity of this policy, we understand and respect that is your right to do so. However, if you feel that you can not abide by it, we ask that you choose to not to particpate in our League.
If you have an issue with poor game officiating, do not get yourself in a technical foul-inducing situation during the game. Instead, go home and write a note explaining the details and forward it to your Division Director. It will be, in turn, forwarded to the Program Head that hired those officials.
Similiarly, if you see a case of outstanding officiating, please feel encouraged to pass that feedback along as well.
Thank you.
