By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
The new Basketball Champions League season is drawing near and the competition has issued a series of protocols through a letter to teams in order to safeguard the successful completion of the season.
Said protocols refer to game postponement in case of multiple positive COVID-19 tests within the team, ruling out the cancellation of games with 20-0 wins. Given the changes in the regular season format that BCL issued a few days ago, the schedule is much lighter and allows for rescheduling if such need occurs.
For BCL, the tip-off of the new season will strive to be as successful as the Final Eight Tournament in Athens, where zero positive cases have been detected, with constant testing within the Athens Hilton “bubble”.
As of Tuesday, it was made known that teams underwent further testing upon returning to their countries from Athens, Greece again with zero positive tests. An overall success for the competition that succeeded in protecting players’ and staff’s health in the midst of the pandemic.
Below the protocols issued for the new season, per Basketball Champions League’s letter:
Game postponement
A club may request the postponement and rescheduling of a game under the following conditions:
– A club has less than eight (8) players available to participate in a game
– Players unavailability is supported by positive PCR test results, issued by an accredited testing
laboratory
– Request is sent no later than 72 hours before the scheduled tip off time of the game
Additionally, the BCL further clarified the guidelines for players’ registration to the games.
New deadlines for registration of players
Following the change of competition format and the development of a new calendar for the 2020-21 season, the deadline for player registration on the last Friday before the first game of the club in the season, has been modified as follows:
– Friday, 16 October 2020 (for Groups A, B, C and D);
– Friday, 23 October 2020 (for Groups E, F, G and H).
After these dates, the roster of the club will be considered as final and a maximum of four (4) changes/additions of players will be allowed during the BCL Regular Season.
The deadline for changes/additions during the Regular Season is set for midnight (CET) on Monday before each club’s next game.
As already announced, a fifth (5th) player addition/change, will be allowed for clubs that will qualify for the 2021 BCL Play-Offs.
Additional registrations of club’s youth players
In order to support clubs in cases of possible restrictions on player availability caused by the Covid-19 test results, a club will be allowed to additionally register players from the club’s youth teams for the 2020-21 Basketball Champions League season. More specifically, a maximum of six (6) players, not older than twenty (20) years on the day of registration, will be eligible for registration during the Regular Season as a replacement of any player/s unable to participate in team activities following a positive Covid-19 PCR test.
Deadline for registration of such players is set for 2 hours before tip-off and the BCL administration will be available to support clubs in this process.
In such instances, the club will need to designate the player/s to be removed from the Club Delegation Roster (CDR) list (if no space in the 16 available slots), with a possibility for that player to be re-assigned again, once the player/s participation is confirmed by the BCL Medical Compliance Officer.
Any request for change/addition of a player from the CDR list, following a positive Covid-19 test, must be supported by a positive PCR test result, issued by an accredited testing laboratory. Authorization for such a change must be given by the BCL Medical Compliance Officer. Such a change/addition shall not be counted as or included in the list of up to four (4) changes allowed by each club during the BCL Regular Season, or fifth (5th) change/addition in the BCL Play-Offs.
Minimum number of players and home-grown players on a BCL game
Taking into consideration the possibility that only a limited number of players is available for a specific game, relevant adjustments are also made to the BCL Home-Grown Players rule.
More specifically,
Total number of Players in the game scoresheet for Minimum number of Home-Grown players
- 11, 12 Players – 5 HG Players
- 10 Players – 4 HG Players
- 8, 9 Players – 3 HG Players
- 6, 7 Players – 2 HG Players
- 5 Players – 1 HG Player
Referee nominations
Referees nominated for BCL games have to also adhere to the Return to Play Protocol and undergo the same challenges relating to international travel. In order to safeguard that all BCL games will be officiated in the best possible conditions, the following will be applied:
– A total of 5 referees will be nominated for each game; two additional Referees coming from countries with close proximity of the home country will be on “stand-by” and available in case any of the nominated referee/s cannot participate in the game
– Exceptionally, referees form the official list of BCL Referees from the same country as one of the participating teams to a game might officiate games of the BCL.