Home Headlines Junior High Basketball Championships REMINDER: Junior High / Middle School Basketball Year-End Tournament Eligibility Reminders

PUBLISHED ON January 04, 2023


As the Junior High / Middle School basketball season is now upon us, Basketball Manitoba would like to remind all teams at this level of the eligibility rules surrounding any players competing in the Championships.  The full eligibility rules state...
  1. 'Junior' athletes are classified as being currently in Grade 7 or 8 and born after January 1, 2009
  2. 'Senior' athletes are classified as being currently in Grade 8 or 9 and are born after January 1, 2008.
  3. All athletes are eligible to play in the JHBC that played in your school’s program in the current school year, based on each Division’s eligibility guidelines. 
  4. EXPANDED RULE IN 2023: Teams must enter the JHBC with the same roster they have competed with all season.  
    1. *** NEW FOR 2023: The grade advancing of players from a younger team that was not part of your roster all season to an older grade team is NOT permitted.  Teams must compete in the JHBC with the same roster they competed and qualified with all season.  For example, players who played on a Grade 7 team all season are not allowed to play up on the grade 8 team for the JHBC.  Players who played on a Grade 8 team all season are not allowed to play up on the grade 9 team for the JHBC.
    2. The combining of 2 or more teams at the same grade within a school to form a 'combined team' or 'All-Star team' to then enter the JHBC is NOT permitted.  If a school hosts more than one team at a given grade and gender level, they must register for the JHBC as 2 independent teams.  The selection committee will base the JHBC seedings on a single team's record and the combining teams at the end of the season will make the process of properly placing teams in the schedule inaccurate.  Should a school host 2 or more teams at the same grade level, they are all welcome to apply as individual teams to be considered for the JHBC.                  
  5. All participants MUST be full-time students of the current school they are representing. 
  6. The team must have the school's administration approve their participation in this event.  
  7. No players are allowed to move down to a team that they did not play for in the current school year (i.e., If a Grade 9 team does not qualify for the JHBC and the Grade 8 team does, no players from the Grade 9 team can be brought down to the Grade 8 team).
  8. Players are permitted to play as many as 3 GAMES up at a higher level in the current school year and remain eligible for their current grade team.  Once a player plays 4 OR MORE GAMES at a higher level, they are no longer eligible for the JHBC at the younger grade level.  All tournaments played 'up' are considered as 2 games as defined by the MHSAA.  
    1. Examples include if a Grade 9 player moved up and played 4 games or more at the Junior Varsity / Varsity levels, they are ineligible to compete in the JHBC at the grade 9 level.  If a Grade 8 player moved up to the Grade 9 or Senior level and played 4 games or more during the current school season, they are ineligible to compete in the JHBC at the grade 8 level.  Please note that for a grade 9 or under athlete to compete at the Junior Varsity or Varsity level, their name must appear on an MHSAA eligibility form with that respective team from within your school prior to their roster freeze date (typically mid-January).  
    2. Players who play in the MHSAA Varsity or Junior Varsity Basketball Championships cannot also participate in the JHBC.   
  9. All teams that participate in the JHBC must have played at the same level they played in during the current school year's season.  For example, if a Grade 9 team played at the “Junior Varsity” level for the current school year season, or if a grade 9 player played up at the Varsity level all season, they are ineligible for this JHBC.
  10. Teams must declare what players will be on their roster for the JHBC, prior to their conference playoffs. Teams adding new players after this point will be declared ineligible for the JHBC.
  11. Appealing Rules of Eligibility.  Please submit a letter stating the full details of your appeal on behalf of your player/team with your JHBC Application.  The JHBC Committee will review each case at the selection meeting and will inform you of the ruling.  All decisions of the JHBC committee are final.  Please send this information by email to Adam Wedlake at adam@basketballmanitoba.ca.
The Junior High Basketball Championships will occur March 20-23, 2023.  
Read the full eligibility rules and other details tied to the JHBC at...

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