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2011 Meadow Gold/Wells Fargo Competitive Basketball Program
Presented by Kroenke Sports, Sports Authority and the Gold Crown Foundation
Colorado's Premier Junior High Basketball Program Since 1994 -- Now In our 17th Season!
Program Features
• Each team receives 10 free tickets to a 2010-2011 Denver Nuggets game, with opportunity to buy additional tickets at an exclusive Gold Crown discounted price • League and postseason tournament schedules in ultra-efficient Gold Crown "doubleheader" format • Referees provided for all games • T-shirts for all players and coaches • Ability to purchase team jerseys and equipment at an unadvertised, exclusive price through Sports Authority Team Sales • Opportunity to practice and play games at the six-court Gold Crown Field House in Lakewood, Colorado’s premier basketball facility • Online basketball rules testing • Criminal background checks run on all coaches • Program liability insurance • Updated weekly standings and newsletter available electronically • Team/individual postseason awards • Opportunity to play at halftime of college or professional games • Preseason basketball clinics for officials and parents • Preseason coaching seminars for all coaches • Postseason coaches social celebration • Special Gold Crown Note: Spectators NEVER pay an entry fee for Gold Crown Games, regular season or postseason!
Program Overview
Now celebrating its 17th season, the Meadow Gold/Wells Fargo Competitive Basketball Program is the foremost competitive basketball league in Colorado for teams of sixth, seventh and eighth grade boys and girls. Roster rules are designed to build teams of student-athletes from the same geographic area who will end up going to high school together in their communities. Each grade level for boys and girls will feature two divisions: Gold and Silver (see enclosed information on league divisions) in an effort to level the playing court. The program also has a mandatory "positive participation" education program for coaches and parents to help create the most enjoyable environment possible to compete and learn in for the student-athletes. Last year, over 450 teams from the Denver Metro area and all across the Colorado Front Range participated in this program, making it the largest middle school basketball program in Colorado (see enclosed map) and one of the largest in the United States. This year, the program looks to continue its great tradition with more than 475 teams projected to participate.
Team Registration
League fee is $1,350 per team (same as 2010!). Registration is by team only; individuals seeking teams can contact Gold Crown for possible assistance finding a team. Team registration is open from Sept. 1 through Oct. 15, 2010. However, due to a limited amount of space available in each grade level, teams will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. Once divisions are full (see table below for maximum division numbers), we will begin team waiting lists. To go "green," we have eliminated paper registration and teams must register online by visiting our website at www.GoldCrownFoundation.com where a $150 non-refundable per team deposit is due at the time of registration. The balance of the league fees is due on or before Dec. 3, 2010; after Dec. 3, fees increase to $1,450/team. The Gold Crown Foundation recognizes the situation of some teams and individuals; contact our office at basketball@goldcrownfoundation.com or 303-238-6626 to discuss scholarship needs.
Maximum Number of Teams Per Division (S=Silver, G=Gold, So=Southern League):
Boys Divisions
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Division |
6S
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6G
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6So
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7S
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7G
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7So
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8S
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8G
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8So |
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No. of Teams |
72
|
28
|
8
|
68
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36
|
8
|
64
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44
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8
|
Girls Divisions
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Division
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6S
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6G
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6So
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7S
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7G
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7So
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8S
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8G
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8So
|
|
No. of Teams
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44
|
16
|
8
|
44
|
20
|
8
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44
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24
|
8
|
Regular Season Game Play: Jan. 8 through Feb. 20, 2011
Sports Authority Postseason Tournament: Feb. 27; March 4, 5 and 6, 2011 (all teams qualify)
Schedule Note: All teams will play a 15-game schedule. This includes 13 regular-season games and a minimum of two postseason tournament games in a pool-play format.
Roster Rules & Guidelines
The intent of the roster rules for the 2011 Meadow Gold/Wells Fargo Competitive Basketball Program is to build teams of student-athletes who will end up going on to high school together in their communities and to not allow teams any unfair advantages when they assemble their rosters. Teams should be formed with the most level playing court possible. With this philosophy in mind, we attempted to make our roster rules simple to follow. We realize this is a competitive program and as such, we rely on the honesty and honor of coaches and program directors to help us uphold the integrity of the league by adhering to the following roster rules:
General Roster Rules:
• Team rosters must have a minimum of eight players and are allowed a maximum of 13.
• A player’s eligibility is based on current school grade, not age.
• Players may "play up" a grade level (seventh graders playing in the eighth grade league, for
example), but the league will not allow players to "play down" a level.
• Players are eligible to play on one roster only and may not play on different teams in the league,
regardless of grade, age, gender, gold/silver division, etc.
• Before a player is allowed to play in the league, he or she must be on an official Gold Crown
roster; for a player to be eligible for the Postseason Tournament (March 4, 5 and 6), the player
must play in at least one regular season game.
• Rosters are due no later than Dec. 3, 2010. Note: Teams who fail to turn in a completed roster
by Dec. 3, 2010, face expulsion from the league.
• No roster changes or additions will be allowed after Jan. 14, 2011.
Public School Team Eligibility:
• A minimum of 70 percent of a public school team’s players must attend the public schools that
feed their area public high school. For a complete list of feeder schools, please check our website
at www.goldcrownfoundation.com.
• If a player currently attends a private school, charter/option school, or home school, then his or
her public school team eligibility is based on the local public high school boundaries for the area in
which that player lives.
• For a player to be eligible to participate on a public school team for which that player does not
meet the above public school rules (and not count against that team’s "70 percent rule"), that
player must have a sibling that attends or attended that public high school or have a
sibling/parent/guardian who is employed by that public high school.
Private School Team Eligibility:
• A minimum of 70 percent of a private school team’s players must attend a private school. The
remaining 30 percent of a private school team’s roster may be made up of players who attend
public, charter/option or home schools.
• For a player to be eligible to participate on a private school team for which that player does not
meet the above private school rules (and not count against that team’s "70 percent rule"), that
player must have a sibling that attends or attended that private high school or have a
sibling/parent/guardian who is employed by that private high school.
Charter/Option School Team Eligibility:
• A minimum of 70 percent of a charter/option school team’s players must attend a charter/option
school. The remaining 30 percent of a charter/option school team’s roster may be made up of
players who attend public, private or home schools.
• For a player to be eligible to participate on a charter/option school team for which that player
does not meet the above charter/option school rules (and not count against that team’s "70
percent rule"), that player must have a sibling that attends or attended that charter/option high
school or have a sibling/parent/guardian who is employed by that charter/option high school.
NOTE: In some cases, teams may be asked to provide further documentation for verification their roster meets the Gold Crown requirements. We will not hesitate to penalize teams that are proven to not honor these rules - teams found in violation of any of the roster rules as outlined above will face forfeiture of games and/or disqualification AND EXPULSION from the league.
Game Rules
The league will use high school rules with the following exceptions: Each game consists of four six-minute, stop-clock quarters with the clock stopping on all dead balls. However, if the score differential is 15 or more points in the last two minutes of the fourth quarter, the clock will not stop unless a time-out or injury occurs. Each team will have two full time-outs per half. Press Rule: Teams that are ahead on the scoreboard by 20 or more points in the second half of games will not be allowed to apply defensive pressure in their opponent's backcourt. After one warning, additional violations of this rule will result in a technical foul called on the coach. A further explanation of the game rules will be discussed at the coaches seminars.
Schedule Format
Teams will play two games per week with a majority of the games scheduled for Sundays. Most Sundays will consist of game times between 8:00 AM and 9:00 PM with teams playing two games using Gold Crown's ultra-efficient "doubleheader" format. In this great format, team "down" time is greatly reduced and it will take either just two or three hours for teams to play their two games. The league will also use Saturdays for doubleheader games as gym time dictates. All teams will play seven weekends of regular season games using the doubleheader format, except for the weekend of Feb. 5 and 6, 2011, when all teams will only play one single game (Super Bowl weekend). The first round of the Sports Authority Postseason Tournament will include divisional playoffs. Teams advancing from the first round of the Sports Authority Postseason Tournament will be scheduled in the single-elimination playoffs the final weekend. A typical regular season weekend schedule in a gym site is as follows:
Hour 1: Team 1 vs. Team 2 Hour 5: Team 5 vs. Team 6
Hour 2: Team 1 vs. Team 3 Hour 6: Team 5 vs. Team 7
Hour 3: Team 3 vs. Team 4 Hour 7: Team 6 vs. Team 8
Hour 4: Team 3 vs. Team 4 Hour 8: Team 7 vs. Team 8
League Divisions
Each boys and girls grade level will feature two divisions: Gold and Silver. The Gold Division is considered the more competitive of the two divisions. However, the Silver Division is also competitive, but will not be as strong from top to bottom. Due to a limited number of openings in each division, teams will need to decide on their division as soon as possible. Because of the complexity of building game schedules, the last possible date to decide on Gold and Silver Divisions is Monday, Nov. 8, 2010. Once the Gold and Silver Divisions are finalized, we will then divide teams based on geography using east, west, north and south as general guidelines for placing teams. This format helps to minimize travel distance for teams. However, with the overall size of the program, the Gold and Silver Divisions, and gym time availability, teams should expect some amount of travel to and from different sites around Denver and the Front Range.
Gold and Silver Note: Programs/feeder areas with three or more teams in the same grade are encouraged to enter at least one team in the Gold Division. Depending on the circumstances, certain exceptions may be made after a review from the Gold Crown League Office.
Gym Time Commitment
As has always been the case, all participating teams in the Meadow Gold/Wells Fargo Competitive Basketball Program are required to provide the league with gym time (either Saturdays or Sundays) for regular season or tournament games. In addition to providing gym time for games, teams are also responsible for providing their own volunteer coaches, scorekeepers, uniforms, and practice time for the duration of the season. The gym time commitment and commitment from volunteers is one of the keys to this program's longevity. Gym time parameters for teams are as follows:
• If a program registers one team in any of the 6th, 7th, or 8th grade divisions, that team must
provide gym time totaling a minimum of 8 hours. This can be divided between 4 or 8 hour blocks of time.
• If a program registers multiple teams, an additional 8 hours of gym time per team is required.
• When a team turns in gym dates, the Gold Crown Foundation will make every effort to schedule
that team in their "home" gym on those dates. However, due to various scheduling conflicts, we
cannot guarantee that each team will always be scheduled in their "home" gym.
• Host teams should allow one-half hour at the beginning and at the end of each scheduled day for
set up and take down.
• Teams need to provide high school, middle school gyms or other adequate facilities. Gym usage
must include a working scoreboard, restroom access and bleachers for seating.
• Teams, NOT Gold Crown, are responsible for paying any gym time fees. If a team cannot obtain
gym time free of charge, it is the responsibility of that team to pay for any fees that might be
incurred for game or practice usage. Teams are allowed and encouraged to sell concessions or
have fundraisers to cover these costs; however, league policy prohibits teams from charging a
gym entry fee for games to subsidize these costs.
Gold Crown Field House Note: If a program is unable to obtain gym time in its local area, the Gold Crown Field House is available for rental to meet teams’ gym time commitments. All Gold Crown teams receive a discount rate for game time rentals during the Gold Crown season. The discount game rate for Gold Crown teams is only $37.50 per hour per court. This rate includes all building supervision, setup, custodial and security costs. The gym time requirements listed above remain the same if a team supplies time in the Gold Crown Field House. The Gold Crown Field House will be available for Saturday (after 1:30 PM) and Sunday (all day) rentals during the regular season and the first round of the postseason. Game time gym rental at the Gold Crown Field House is available on a first-come, first-served basis at below market rates exclusive for teams in the Meadow Gold/Wells Fargo Competitive Basketball Program. For further information and to reserve court time for a team's gym time commitment, contact the Gold Crown Basketball office at 303-238-6626. The Gold Crown Basketball office will coordinate gym time commitments in the Gold Crown Field House for games in this program only; all other Gold Crown Field House usage inquiries (practices, tournaments, etc.), must go through Tammy Tucker, Gold Crown Field House Director, who can be reached at 303-233-6776, extension 223.
Gym Dates
Teams are encouraged to turn in their gym dates as soon as possible. We have a set amount of time needed for each weekend; when we reach that requirement, we will no longer accept time and you will need to find another date that is not full. The last possible date to turn in gym time is Friday, Oct. 15, 2010. Teams should select gym time from the following list of league dates for the 2011 season:
Jan. 8 or 9
Jan. 15 or 16
Jan. 22 or 23
Jan. 29 or 30
Feb. 5 or 6
Feb. 12 or 13
Feb. 19 or 20
Feb. 27 (Sports Authority Postseason Tournament)
Note: The single-elimination playoffs and championship games scheduled for March 4, 5 and 6, 2011, will all be played at the Gold Crown Field House; therefore no additional gym time is needed for this weekend
Coaching Seminars
As part of Gold Crown’s continued commitment to promote good sportsmanship, we will host three coaching seminars for all coaches participating in the 2011 program. The seminars will be held on Monday, Nov. 1, 2010 in the South Metro Denver area, Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2010 in the North Metro Denver area, and Saturday, Nov. 6, 2010 at the Gold Crown Field House. It is mandatory for the head and assistant coaches from each team to attend one of these seminars in order for their teams to participate in the 2011 season. Once teams register, coaches will receive more detailed information on the mandatory seminars. These seminars will feature guest speakers, demonstrations and team T-shirt pickup. Gold Crown will explain our league philosophy and the meetings are designed to help coaches, regardless of their experience level, provide their players with the best experience possible for the upcoming season. Note: Scorebooks and game balls will be available for Building Supervisors to pick up at these seminars.
Parent Seminars
Youth sports can be a fantastic experience where young athletes learn lessons that can last them a lifetime - when the adults involved understand and play their appropriate roles. We want our kids to succeed, but sometimes adults lose sight of what those appropriate roles are when it comes to their kids and sports. We adults can get hung up on our definition of success and lose vision of what our kids want and need from sports. To address this, Gold Crown will again host a series of parent seminars for the 2011 season to help parents improve their children's experience. These seminars will feature Gold Crown staff as well as guest speakers. Each team must designate a "Parent Representative" who will attend one of these meetings. Topics will include: listening to your kids, love of the game, expectations and more. Each seminar will feature drawings for prizes. These seminars will be on the same dates and sites as the Coaching Seminars (Nov. 1, 3 and 6, 2010). It will be mandatory for at least one parent representative (a non-coach) from each team to participate in one of these fun and informative parent seminars. We want parents to help make sure the focus of the program remains on the student-athletes and to share what they learn at these seminars with their fellow team parents. We recommend coaches solicit their team parents for a volunteer parent representative early.
Rules Testing
The Gold Crown Foundation requires all head and assistant coaches to pass an online basketball rules test. Brushing up on rules, even for experienced coaches, can help coaches (and parents!) create a better relationship with officials and benefits the players and foster a deeper love of the game for everybody. The online test will be available at www.GoldCrownFounation.com by Nov. 1, 2010. Coaches must score 80 percent or higher to pass by Dec. 3 or their coaching eligibility will be in jeopardy. The test questions are developed by Gold Crown staff and professional basketball officials who are experts at understanding the game and have experience seeing things that are often misinterpreted by coaches, players and spectators. Coaches are encouraged to have their team parents and players take the rules test as well. There is no limit on who can take the test or how many times. Understanding the rules better helps everybody enjoy the games more!
Final Check-In December 3
The last possible date to turn in any remaining league fees, submit team rosters and individual player registrations, and complete the coach’s background check and rules test is Friday, Dec. 3, 2010. All remaining fees should be paid by check and mailed to: Gold Crown Foundation, 150 S. Harlan St., Lakewood, CO 80226. Team rosters and individual player registrations as well as the coach’s background check and test must be completed online at www.GoldCrownFoundation.com; no hard copies will be accepted. Late Penalties: Teams that have not paid in full by Dec. 3 will have their team fees automatically increased to $1,450. Teams that have not paid in full by Dec. 30, 2010 will be removed from the league. Teams that do not turn in complete rosters or player information forms will face penalties such as game forfeitures or player suspensions once the regular season begins.
Team Tryouts
If you would like us to post information regarding tryouts for Gold Crown teams in your area on our popular "Team Tryouts" bulletin board, please e-mail dates, times, sites, contact person, and any other pertinent information to Basketball@GoldCrownFoundation.com or fax to 303-233-5005. This is a free service provided by the Gold Crown Foundation for teams in the program - the more we can help you get the word out on your teams and the more kids who want to play the better this program will be!
Southern Colorado League
For the 2011 season, The Meadow Gold/Wells Fargo Competitive Basketball Program will again offer a Southern Colorado Competitive League for teams in the Monument, Colorado Springs, Pueblo and other Southern Colorado areas. The Southern Colorado Competitive League will contain one division only for all 6th, 7th and 8th grade boys and girls leagues. There will be no separate Gold and Silver Divisions. Each Southern League will consist of a single Silver Division. There may be a limited inter-league schedule between Southern Colorado Competitive League teams and Silver Division teams from the Denver Metro area. The regular season schedule would be limited to no more than two weekends of inter-league play. These two weekends could include more travel for some teams, as the inter-league games will be played in both the Southern Colorado and South Denver Metro areas. The first round of the Sports Authority Postseason Tournament on Feb. 27, 2011, will include divisional playoffs with Southern Colorado Competitive League teams competing against teams from the Denver Metro Silver Divisions. Southern Colorado Competitive League teams advancing from the first round will be seeded and scheduled in the single-elimination playoffs against teams from the Denver Metro Silver Divisions on the season's final weekend (March 4, 5 and 6, 2011). Again, Southern League teams should expect extra travel on these weekends of the Sports Authority Postseason Tournament.
Southern Colorado League Note: For scheduling purposes, each division must have a minimum of eight teams to form a league. If there are not enough teams in specific leagues (less than eight), teams will be offered three options: 1. The opportunity to play in the Silver Division in the same grade level in the Denver Metro Competitive League; 2. The opportunity to "play up" a grade level (for example, a sixth grade team playing the 7th grade division); or 3. A full refund of any registration fees paid.
Online Registration for the 2011 Season
In an effort to streamline the registration process, all team, coach and player registrations for the 2011 season will again take place online at www.GoldCrownFoundation.com - there will be no "paper" registrations. Please remember that all registration information and league fees must be turned in to Gold Crown by December 3, 2010.
Team Registration: Coaches will enter all of their team's information via a secure form on our website and receive instructions on how to confirm their team's spot in the program by making a deposit payment of $150 online with a credit card. Teams will not be included in the scheduling process until we have received the $150 deposit per team. Coaches will also need to access the Excel spreadsheet download of a Gold Crown roster form from the website that they will need to complete and return electronically to the Gold Crown Basketball office on or before December 3, 2010.
Coach Registration: All head and assistant coaches will need to complete a registration form with all of their contact information and agree to our Coaches Code of Ethics. To further secure the safety and well-being of the student-athletes in our program, the Gold Crown Foundation requires all head and assistant coaches to complete a national criminal background check. A volunteer coach is not eligible to coach in the program until he or she completes the background check process. NO EXCEPTIONS. We have partnered with E7 Sports, a national leader in youth sports administration, for our criminal background checks. The background check process is quick and simple and takes less than five minutes.
Player Registration: Each player on every roster must complete the Gold Crown online player registration process, which is easily completed at our website at www.GoldCrownFoundation.com, starting September 10, 2010. When each player registers, the player, along with a parent or legal guardian, must provide contact information and review and agree to the Gold Crown Parent and Player Code of Conduct and Ethics. Also, each participant’s parent/guardian is required to electronically sign a Gold Crown Liability Waiver before the player is eligible to participate in the 2011 league. NO EXCEPTIONS.
NOTE: Teams that do not complete the online registration process properly face penalties such as game forfeitures or player suspensions.
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