Winter Hoopfest Future Titans (Black)

Coaches & Parents,

This has been a hot-button topic all year and with cases near their peak, it's something the schools are continuing to pressure us about.

There has been a significant improvement in mask compliance the last few weeks and we are extremely grateful! Because of this compliance, we can continue to rent gyms!!!!

As such, the schools have told us that compliance must continue if we want to continue to offer these events.

It's been well-noted that facilities across the states have been shutting down. The gyms we have partnered with are working extremely hard to stay open. I cannot express how much I appreciate Salem-Keizer and Silver Falls School Districts as well as Capitol Field House and The Pac. Without their support, our events would be shut down.

With that said, OHA requires all masks indoors unless you are an active participant in the game (if you're a player on the bench, mask up. If you're a coach, mask up. If you're a spectator, mask up).

The political dynamics around masking are very well-documented. It has led to some very intense confrontations in the gym this year. We are following all OHA requirements for people responsbile for an indoor facility. However, we cannot physically put a mask on people; nor do OHA guidelines grant us any enforcement capabilities.

As such, we are not putting our staff in a potentially dangerous situation by confronting those being non-compliant with mask.....HOWEVER....

Going back to how I led off this e-mail; I sense the tide shifting very soon. It's not a matter of "if we lose gyms", it's a matter of "when we lose gyms." When that happens, we will have no choice but to drop teams. The teams we will drop from future events will be the ones who are non-compliant with OHA masking guidelines. One person can ruin it for a team. One non-compliant spectator can ruin it for a team. Again drops will only happen when we lose gym space.

I don't mean to come across as threatening, but that is the reality that we're up against. We cannot play games if we don't have the gyms. We don't have the gyms if we don't follow the rules the schools put in place. The schools are requiring us to follow OHA guidelines.

Again, I understand how frustrating this is for everyone regardless of your individual opinion on masking. We need everyone's help with compliance on this matter to keep these events running. Please don't give anyone a reason to shut these down!

Thank you,
-Nick

Coaches & Parents,

There have been some changes to the schedule that just finalized. Please give the website and the app about 10 minutes to update. The only changes to Saturday are extremely mild and only impact 3-4 teams total.

Sunday's schedule has been pulled apart and moved around quite a bit. Pleaes double-check brackets and potential times/locations for Sunday.

Thank you,
-Nick

Coaches,

The schedule for this weekend is now posted on our website: Oregon Amateur Basketball.

SCHEDULE IS FINAL...BUT PROBABLY ISN'T - Unfortunatley in 2022, the schedule is always subject to change. We sent out an e-mail yesterday advising people that no refund or credits will be issued to teams that withdraw for any reason after the schedule is published. However, we know that given everything that's out there right now, there is a lot that is out of anyone's control. We did our best in setting the schedule this weekend to minimize the impact that cancellations will have on an individual team. With that said, you must check the website and the app throughout the week for any changes.

UNIFORMS -The visiting team has the responsbility to make sure uniforms contrast to the referees satisfaction. Home/Away teams can be viewed on the venue schedule: https://basketball.exposureevents.com/176501/winter-hoopfest/documents Referees decision and any penalties imposed are final and not up for debate. Make sure you have multiple colors to wear!

SCOREKEEPERS - All teams are responsible for providing a scoreboard operator or someone to keep our "Game Sheet". This person is admitted free! The "Home" team will provide the scoreboard operator; the visiting team will keep the "Game Sheet". Home/Away teams can be viewed on the venue schedule: https://basketball.exposureevents.com/176501/winter-hoopfest/documents

MASK REQUIREMENT - We are following all masking requirements as laid out by OHA. The full requirement can be found here: https://secure.sos.state.or.us/oard/viewSingleRule.action?ruleVrsnRsn=283859 Please familiarize yourself with it before coming to any venue. More information will be posted on this later in the week. Bottom line, if you aren't going to comply with the requirement, do not come.

SPECTATOR BEHAVIOR - We have had some major issues with parents the last couple weeks. I have given Referees the discretion to assess technical fouls for spectator behavior and they are expected to do just that. If they choose to ignore spectators who are being verbally abusive or disruptive to the game, it will impact future assignments. This is further discussed at the bottom of the message.

SCHEDULE CHANGES - We have been running events with COVID hovering over us for more than a year. We frequently have teams drops with COVID issues. You must check the website and the app frequently for any schedule changes! Assume your schedule will change at some point!!!

FACILITIES OPEN – Facilites will open 30 minutes prior to the first game of the day. Do not show up early; you will be denied entry while we are setting up.

EVENT RULES:

2-16 Minute stop-clock halves. Last 2 minutes of the second half will stop if the lead is under 10. If the lead goes over 10 points, normal stop-clock rules will apply
3-Minute Halftime (Might be cut down if we are behind schedule)
3 Timeouts per game (1 additional per overtime up to a maximum of 3)
5 fouls per player
All Overtimes are 2 minutes
No pressing or Trapping with a 25-point lead
Everything else is NFHS rules

REFEREE ISSUES:

I CANNOT BE MORE CLEAR ON THIS: I NEED OFFICIALS MORE THAN I NEED TEAMS. Yes, we do drop teams from tournaments and ban then from future events with no refund for parent conduct. Parents and coaches are not to confront an official for any reason after the game. Doing so could be a barrier to your programs participation in future events or even completing this event. Refunds will not be given in these instances. If you have issues with referees, read below. Make sure your parents have this information! You are responsible for the conduct of your players and spectators! Referees are instructed to issue technical fouls for spectator behavior!

COACHES - All of our officials are certified. If you have issues with our officials, please note the time of game and court. Call me Monday to discuss the issue. I do not deal with referee issues in the gym. Do not call me about officials during the weekend; you won't like the answer I give you. I can't waive a magic wand and make them better; nor will I move officials to a different court.

That said, You guys are my eyes and ears and I value your opinion as coaches. I want to have the best referees on the court as possible. I need to know who the weak officials are and who the strong ones are. This way, I know who to retain and who to let go. You have a voice, you just need to use it in the right, respectable way.

PARENTS - If you have an issue with a referee, you must direct it through your coach. Parents or coaches who confront an official after the game or verbally abuse an official during the game will be banned from future games/events. This is not negotiable. You verbally harass our officials, you run the risk of getting ejected from the gym. I will not entertain conversations of "they need to have thicker skin". You open your mouth, you take on the risk associated with it.

We look forward to hosting you this weekend.

-Nick Larsen & Steve Adams
Tournament Directors
(541) 517-4160 (Nick)
(503) 888-8346 (Steve)
http://www.oabbasketball.com
http://www.thepacsalem.com
info@oabbasketball.com

Coach,

The list of teams and divisions participating this weekend is now available on our website: http://oabbasketball.com/weekend-game-schedule/

Please make sure I have you slotted in the correct division. If you believe you have been slotted in the wrong division or wish to request a different division, you must e-mail me tonight: info@oabbasketball.com

WITHDRAWL FROM TOURNAMENT - I am making this the top bullet point because it was a contentious issue in the past and was apparently skimmed over. TEAMS THAT WITHDRAW FROM THE TOURNAMENT AFTER THE SCHEDULE IS POSTED FOR ANY REASON (INCLUDING COVID ISSUES) WILL NOT BE GIVEN A REFUND OR A CREDIT. If you are uncomfortable with this policy or with the idea that some teams likely will not be testing asymptomatic kids, please withdraw before 5 pm Tuesday for full refund or credit. "COVID" may be the reason you are dropping, but it will be treated the same way it was pre-2020 when teams pulled out late due to an inability to field a team. Our normal refund policy is 7 days. We have shortened it to anytime up until the schedule is posted during this time. However once the schedule is posted, we need to move forward with the event. Every cancellation causes us to move backwards.

REGISTRATION CLOSED - We have reached capacity for this weekend and have closed registration. We have a stand-by list of about 15 teams and growing http://oabbasketball.com/onlineregistration/

SCHEDULES POSTED - Schedules will be posted to our website: http://www.oabbasketball.com Tuesday night by 11 pm.

VENUES - Games will be at Silverton HS, McKay HS, South Salem HS, West Salem HS, North Salem HS, Capitol Field House and the PAC.

TIME REQUESTS - Potential game start times range from 8 am to 8:45 pm on Saturday and 8 am to 7 pm on Sunday. Please do not e-mail us or text us requests. To request times you must fill out a time request online: http://oabbasketball.com/time-requests/ You do not need to do this if you are a traveling team and only need time to accomodate Saturday morning's drive and Sunday's commute.

HOTELS/LODGING - We have hotel discounts set up at The Hampton Inn & Suites: https://www.hilton.com/en/book/reservation/deeplink/?ctyhocn=SLEORHX&corporateCode=0003330081 and The Grand Hotel: https://res.windsurfercrs.com/ibe/details.aspx?propertyid=15354&rate=CapitalField&nono=1 (Promo Code: CapitalField)

Thank you for your support of Oregon Amateur Basketball events. We look forward to hosting you this weekend.

-Nick Larsen & Steve Adams
Tournament Directors
(541) 517-4160 (Nick)
(503) 888-8346 (Steve)