Proclamation of the 2024-2025 Nicosia Men’s Amateur Basketball Championship
Article 1 – General – Scope of Regulations
This Proclamation outlines the format for the Nicosia Men’s Amateur Basketball Winter Championship and the necessary procedures and Regulations that participating teams must adhere to.
The Championship is aimed at amateur athletes and its main goals are to promote the sport of basketball and provide an opportunity for amateur athletes to participate in basketball games. The tournament will be based on the principles of transparency, ethics, consensus, and fair play.
Article 2 – Standard References
In addition to the provisions of this Proclamation, the Championship will also take into account the following Regulations and Legislation (the latest version of these documents always applies):
- General Regulations of the Cyprus Basketball Federation.
Article 3 – Team Participation Rights
Teams with amateur basketball players are eligible to participate in the Championship, provided they have submitted their registration by July 12, 2024. The Board of Directors may, exceptionally, accept teams after this date if the required number of teams to hold the Championship is not met.
All teams that competed in the 2023-2024 season are also eligible to participate without re-applying, by making a verbal or written statement to the organizers by July 31, 2024.
Participating teams must submit a roster with all their basketball players in advance, attaching copies of their identity cards if requested or deemed necessary. The list of players for each team must include a maximum of twenty (20) players. The list must be submitted to the Championship’s Board of Directors no later than thirty (30) days before the official start of the Championship (i.e., before the date of the first game of the season) to receive the relevant approval.
All team rosters will be reviewed and approved by the Winter Championship’s Board of Directors, which may refuse a player’s participation if it deems they do not meet the Participation Regulations, and the team must replace them with another player if necessary. The Board of Directors, at its own discretion, may reject any player and/or team it deems appropriate for competitive purposes or for any other reason, for the good of the Championship.
During the Championship, teams are not allowed to use players who have not been declared on their roster and received General Assembly approval by the end of the season. At no point is a change to a team’s roster permitted.
Note: In case of exceptional circumstances (e.g., a team having an unusually high number of injuries or injuries in a single position), the Board of Directors may, by way of exception and at its discretion, allow the replacement of one or more players on a team’s roster.
Article 4 – Player Participation
Players participating in the Championship:
- Must have completed their 29th year of age before the official start of the Championship, i.e., before the date of the first game of the season.
- Are not allowed to be paid for their participation in the Winter Championship. This offense is punishable with a lifetime ban from the Winter Championship for the player and a one-year ban from the Championship for the team.
- Are not allowed to play for more than one team in the Winter Championship during the same season, whether as a player or coach.
- Are not allowed to participate in teams from different leagues (e.g., Nicosia and Limassol) in the same season.
- Must have a valid and current KOA Health Certificate.
- Must be registered on the player list of the team they are playing for before the championship begins.
- Must not have participated in the A’ Division of the Cyprus Basketball Federation Championship (Basket League) in the last 5 years (the last five seasons).
- Must not have participated in any professional championship of another country in the last 5 years (the last five seasons). Players who have participated in championships in other countries must inform the Championship’s Board of Directors.
- Each team has the right to include a maximum of 3 players from the A’ Division of the Cyprus Basketball Federation Championship (Basket League) and/or other professional leagues in other countries, provided more than 5 years have passed since their last participation. Players who have played in the A’ Division of the Cyprus Basketball Federation Championship and are over 50 years of age are not included in this category and have the right to participate like any other player.
- Each team has the right to include a maximum of 3 players who participated in the B2 Division of the Cyprus Basketball Federation Championship in the previous season.
- The total number of players from the two previous categories combined can be a maximum of 5 players.
- Players who participated in the B1 division of the Cyprus Basketball Federation Championship in the previous season are not eligible to participate.
Article 5 – Board of Directors – Team Managers
The Board of Directors operates according to the statute of the Approved Association registered with the Registrar of Associations under the name “The Winter” Amateur Basketball Association. Each team must designate a Team Manager. The members of the Board of Directors, as well as the Team Managers and their substitutes, must serve as role models for the other participants.
Article 6 – Tournament Format
A total of 20 teams will participate in the Championship. Games will be held daily from Monday to Friday, starting at 6:00 PM. The first game for all teams will take place during the week of October 14-18, 2024.
Phase A – 2 Regions (Morfou & Keryneia):
The teams will be divided into two Regions, with 10 teams in each. They will be split into 3 seeding groups based on the rosters they submit, and a draw will determine which teams play in each Region. The seeding groups will be the first with 6 teams, the second with 8 teams, and the third with 6 teams, depending on the teams’ strength. Each region will have 3 teams from the first group, 4 teams from the second, and 3 teams from the third. The teams for each Region will be determined by a draw. Therefore, each region will essentially have 3 very strong teams, 4 medium-strength teams, and 3 lower-strength teams.
All teams will have played 9 games in Phase A. Depending on their final ranking in Phase A, teams will carry over points to Phase B as follows: in the Gold Category, 1, 2, or 3 points; in the Silver Category, 1, 2, 3, or 4 points; and in the Bronze Category, 1, 2, or 3 points. After the end of the regular season of the two Regions, and based on the teams’ standings, three Categories will be formed as follows:
Phase B – 3 Categories (GOLD, SILVER & BRONZE)
- GOLD Category:The first 3 teams from each Region will form the 6-team GOLD Category and play a new league of 5 rounds (single games) – 5 weeks, 15 games. The top 2 will advance to the Final Four. Teams ranked 3-6 will play qualifying games up to 2 wins (with their Phase B head-to-head game counting) as follows: 3 vs 6 and 4 vs 5. A Final Four will then be held with two single-elimination semifinals and a single final, which will take place at neutral venues.
- SILVER Category:The 4 teams from each Region that finished in places 4 to 7 in Phase A will form the 8-team SILVER Category and play a new league of 7 rounds (single games) – 7 weeks, 28 games. The top 4 will advance to the Final Four (two single-elimination semifinals and a single final).
- BRONZE Category:The last 3 teams from the two Regions will form the 6-team BRONZE Category and play a league of 5 rounds (single games) – 5 weeks, 15 games. The top 2 will advance to the Final Four. Teams ranked 3-6 will play qualifying games up to 2 wins (with their Phase B head-to-head game counting) as follows: 3 vs 6 and 4 vs 5. A Final Four will then be held with two single-elimination semifinals and a single final, which will take place at neutral venues.
NOTE: In the event of a tie in points, only the games between the tied teams in Phase B will count, not the result from Phase A if they were in the same region.
Cup Tournament
- Cup Phase A:From the 20 participating teams, 12 will be drawn to advance directly to Cup Phase B. The remaining 8 will play against each other to qualify 4 for Phase B. There will be 4 knockout games. The draw will randomly determine the home team for each pairing. Limassol teams can participate voluntarily. Those interested must declare their participation by the end of September and will play all their games in Nicosia.
- Cup Phase B:There will be 8 knockout games with the participation of 16 teams. The pairings and home teams will be determined by a draw.
- Cup Phase C (Quarter-finals):There will be 4 knockout games with the participation of 8 teams. The pairings and home teams will be determined by a draw.
- Cup Phase D (Semi-finals):There will be 2 knockout games. The pairings will be determined by a draw. Both games will be held at a neutral venue.
- Cup Phase E (Final):The final will be held at a neutral venue.
Match Postponements
The game schedule is BINDING for every team once it is announced, and it will be announced in a timely manner so that all participants can organize their obligations. Teams do NOT have the right to postpone games. The games, times, and dates are binding after their announcement and cannot be changed for any reason. In exceptional cases, the day, time, and venue of a game may be changed, but only with the consent of the Championship’s organizing Authority.
Article 7 – Courts
The games will be held at courts that each team has secured for its home games. Any cost for the use of the courts will be covered by the home team. All teams must have secured their own home court. At this time, the following courts have been secured:
- Agios Dometios Primary School
- Geri Gymnasium
- Agios Dometios Gymnasium
- Apostolos Varnavas Lyceum, Strovolos
- Latsia Lyceum
- Dali Lyceum
- English School Indoor Arena
- Agios Dometios Indoor Arena
- GC School of Careers
The venues for the semifinals and finals of the three Categories, as well as the Cup, will be decided by the Board of Directors based on availability and cost. The Agios Dometios Indoor Arena has priority. In case of unavailability of courts for home games, a decision may be made to hold the game at the court of another team in the Championship. Additionally, if needed, other courts may be used for the purposes of the Championship, either free of charge or for a fee.
Article 8 – Game Procedures
Each tournament game will use two (2) professional referees and three (3) table officials. All games must be played with a 24-second shot clock for each possession. An electronic scoreboard will be used to keep the score, along with a 24-second clock. A professional nurse must be present at every game.
Statistics will be kept for the performance of all players in the Championship, including stats for points, offensive-defensive rebounds, blocks, steals, and assists. The statistics will be kept via an electronic platform and will be available online to all participating teams. All players on the teams must be registered on this platform.
Article 9 – Disciplinary Offenses / Penalties
- A team that does not appear for a scheduled game is penalized with a forfeit (20-0 loss). A team that does not appear for a second scheduled game in the same season is also disqualified from the playoff phase. In the case of a team not appearing for a playoff game, the team forfeits and is excluded from the remainder of the Championship. The Board of Directors will decide on that team’s participation in the next season.
- Player ejection due to behavior or unsportsmanlike conduct (e.g., altercation with an opponent, Referee, or Official): The player is suspended for the next game of their team, if they have been ejected with a disqualifying foul (D).
- Irregular player participation: Forfeit of the team in that specific game and in any other games in which the player participated irregularly.
- Repeated irregular player participation: The team is expelled from the Championship. In this case, the organizing authority will decide whether to replace the team with one of the alternates or to continue with one fewer team. If a replacement is not made, the remaining games will be awarded to their opponents with a score of 20-0.
- Team withdrawal or expulsion from the Championship: In this case, the organizing authority will decide whether to replace the team with one of the alternates or to continue with one fewer team. If a replacement is not made, the remaining games will be awarded to their opponents with a score of 20-0.
- Altercation between teams: Forfeit of both teams in that specific game. In the case of a second incident, the team is expelled from the Championship.
- Any other case of a disciplinary offense not foreseen above: The penalty is decided on a case-by-case basis by the representatives of the organization and applies to any subsequent repetition of that offense.
Article 10 – Transparency
The financial data of the organization (Statement of Income/Expenses) will be made available to all participating teams during the Championship.
Article 11 – Participating Teams
- Cyprus Certification Company – Dikefalos Geriou
- Nicosia Municipality (Makedones)
- Think Colour
- Cyprus Sportswriters Association
- First Shoot Basket
- P & P
- Nicosia Wizards
- EUC Warriors
- Cyprusbasket
- UNIC Senior Eagles
- Blue Cats
- Nicosia Bar Association
- PN99 Basketball Team
- Crepaland Steam Train BC
- Olympos Wolves
- Famagusta Ballers
- Moufflons
- Super Dads
- ESOBGA
- Old Bulldogs
Article 12 – Participation Cost / Financial Management / Transparency
(NOTE: This article may be revised depending on team registrations for the 2024-2025 season)
The cost of participation in the Championship is approximately €1600 per team and is intended to cover the cost of organizing the Championship. Player registration on the electronic statistics platform (Swish) is not included in this cost. The Participation Fee per team must be paid in advance to the Treasurer of the Board of Directors before the start of the Championship, by October 11, 2024.
The financial management of the Championship will be handled by the Winter Championship Board of Directors, and the financial data of the organization (Statement of Income/Expenses) will be made available to all participating teams through their Team Representatives during the Championship.
Article 13 – Miscellaneous
Communication activities for the organization of the Championship will be carried out, including promotion through communication channels such as social media and the Winter Championship website, as well as other media outlets, with the support of the Winter Basketball Championship.
The voluntary contribution of team members to various aspects related to the organization of the Championship is encouraged wherever there is a need.
At the conclusion of the Championship, trophies and medals will be awarded to the teams and players who finish in the top three positions.
Nicosia, September 27, 2024
