What is NCBC?
The North Central Basketball Club (NCBC) is a non-profit, volunteer driven, community basketball association. This association was designed for the development of youth basketball for boys and girls ranging in age from 6 to 18 years. We are proud members of the Calgary Minor Basketball Association (CMBA), who organizes schedules and arranges games involving community based basketball teams throughout Calgary.
Does NCBC have an office and employees?
NCBC is strictly non-profit and volunteer driven. We depend completely on volunteers for all aspects of our operations. We have no formal office space. Without volunteers there is no community basketball. Please show appropriate respect and patience for these hard-working individuals.
When does the basketball season begin?
Tykes practice and play from mid-September to late February/early March (facility availability dependent).
u11, u13, and u15 player evaluations will be in September. The team seeding round will begin early October with regular season games starting early November and continuing through to Christmas. Seeding rounds are used to help find peer-to-peer team play; so initially your team might be placed in division 2 based on their number (aka Team 2), but are better suited for competitive play in division 4.
After the Christmas break, the regular season continues January and February. City playoffs are held at the start of late February/early March. Provincial playoffs follow City playoffs for successful teams.
The HS u18 age group is broken down into two seasons: Fall and Winter. For the Fall season, player evaluations will be held in early September, with games running into November. If there is sufficient interest from HS u18 players who have not made their High School teams, teams for a Winter season from January to late February/early March will be created. We will contact the HS u18 players/parents by email regarding Winter season registration.
When and where are practices?
Practices occur 1 (possible 2nd - based on facility availability) time per week in the evenings at community school gyms. Practice times are arranged with the team coaches through the Gym coordinator, starting as early as 6pm and as late as 9pm (earlier time slots are given to our younger teams as often as possible). NCBC makes use of school gyms in/and around our Zone boundaries in Calgary for all practices. Gyms are determined only AFTER evaluations are complete, teams are set, and coaches have been assigned.
When and where are games?
Tykes games/practices are scheduled by NCBC, are always in the evening, and rotate at gyms in/and around our Zone boundaries in Calgary. There are 2 or 3 sessions each night with the first session usually beginning at 6:15/6:30PM. Actual gym and session times will be determined based on gym availability and player numbers.
u11, u13, u15 and HS u18 games are scheduled by the CMBA (Calgary Minor Basketball Association) and are Saturdays ONLY. CMBA games may be located anywhere in Calgary. CMBA games can begin as early as 8am and start as late as 5pm. NCBC has no control over CMBA game times or locations. Provincial playoffs are traditionally rotated between Calgary and Edmonton based upon CMBA's decisions/direction over the season of play.
What is involved with the Tykes (Learn to Play) program?
Please see the Tykes FAQ for more information.
How are teams formed?
For the u11, u13, u15 and HS u18 age groups, evaluations are scheduled in September to place players in their appropriate skill category. Players will go through a number of drills and skill tests including scrimmaging. Players with similar ability will be placed on the same teams. All placements will be final. Players should make every effort to attend these evaluations as it is the only way players can be placed on the right team for their ability. It is the player's ability that determines what team they will play on, not the parents of the player.
Tykes do not have player evaluations.
Who coaches the teams?
All coaches are volunteers; they consist of parent coaches and volunteer coaches from the community. Coaches are only assigned to teams after evaluations as players are first placed and then volunteer availability is assessed and assigned. Teams are greatly benefited when two coaches can work together, sharing the responsibility and the time commitment. Coaching is a very rewarding, challenging and fun experience for those who take on this commitment. Learn more.
How do coaches get training?
NCBC will have clinics put on for first year coaches by CMBA or those interested at no charge to the coaches. Those coaches wishing to take NCCP level clinics will be reimbursed by NCBC if they submit their receipts.
What happens if no one volunteers to coach a team?
NCBC will make every effort to find coaches for all teams. However, if no parent/guardian volunteers and an alternate coach cannot be found, the team will be disbanded.
Why are there different fees for different periods of the online registration?
Registration fees are tiered to increase in three increments as the online Registration period progresses. It's important for NCBC to have an early understanding of expected age group participation rates in order to properly plan for gyms, coaches, and other resources. The increasing fees are in place to encourage early registration.
What do my registration fees pay for?
Fees you pay cover the following expenses: CMBA (Calgary Minor Basketball Association) fees, player/coach insurance fees, gym rentals, coaching clinics, uniforms, equipment, first aid kits, and basic administration costs. For Tykes, the fees are less as this is a house league and we do not pay CMBA or ABA fees. The cost for Tykes includes a participation award, a basketball, and a uniform shirt which the player gets to keep.
Why can't I pay my registration fees by cheque/cash?
We register over 600 players in a typical season. The volunteer efforts to process cheque/cash fee payments was a significant amount of work that we eliminated. On a weekly basis, cheques/cash needed to be picked up from the mailbox, manually applied to registrations, and physically given to the Treasurer for bank deposit. Volunteers needed to perform all these tasks, and had to deal with NSF cheques. In addition, refunds had to be processed as cheques going back to the parents. Every year we were left with a loss due to fees that are never paid.
For all of these reasons, we now require payment through credit card at the time of online registration. No player will be registered until payment is received.
Why do I need to pay $50 if requesting financial assistance?
The $50 is a deposit on the registration fee. For example, if registering for u13, the fee is $475. You have paid a deposit of $50, leaving a balance owing of $425. You will then request financial assistance for $475. If financial assistance covers less than $475, you owe the difference. If financial assistance covers $425, then we are good. If financial assistance covers more than $425, we will refund you the difference up to $50. If there is a cancellation before evaluation, the $50 deposit is a penalty just as it is for everyone else.
What is the family discount?
The family discount is intended to provide a 50% discount on player registration fees for families with 3 or more players registering in the same season. The discount can be requested AFTER player evaluations have finished, as we can then confirm your registration of the 3rd, 4th, 5th ... etc. players in a family. You will make your request (again, AFTER player evaluations) by emailing into registrar@thunderbasketball.ca . Your request for the family discount can ONLY be made after evaluations are done, and it is your responsibility to send in this request by no later than September 30th. Only the fees for the youngest player registrations in a family are eligible for this discount. For example, if u13, u15, and Tykes players are registered from the same family, only the Tykes registration would be eligible. The refund will be applied to the credit card registration fee after approval from the NCBC Registrar.
Why do I need to wait for a credit card refund for the family discount?
The family discount is configured as a post-registration refund because of problems in past years with ineligible people claiming a family discount. It is a much simpler process for NCBC to process a refund once eligibility has been confirmed, rather than reprocessing an incorrect registration.
What is CMBA and what does it do for us?
Calgary Minor Basketball Association (CMBA), provides: gyms, schedules, refereeing and training for referees for all age categories. They maintain a website for information as well as game schedules and results. They provide a disciplinary component to the leagues to enforce fair play and compliance. They work with Alberta Basketball on training, Provincial playoffs, and referee and player development issues.
What communities are part of NCBC?
Our boundaries are from Sarcee Trail in the west to Deerfoot Trail in the east. It extends south to the Bow River and as for north as the City of Calgary boundary. To check if you live within our boundaries, go to the CMBA site for generally information or hit up the Zone Finder to check by address. Yes we know the Zone Finder is kind of terrible, but you can manually zoom in to check the map... we have faith in your ability to see the boundaries and sort this out.
Can I register to play community basketball in a Zone outside of my community boundaries?
The process for a player wishing to play for another Zone is governed by CMBA rules. Please review article 4.6.1 below in regards to transfers.
The only transfers that may be considered are when the zone is unable to offer a program or level suitable to the player in question. Playing with friends is not a reason for transfer.
The CMBA Executive & Office will be reviewing transfers at the end of August and the beginning of Sept.
What if a player cannot attend practice?
NCBC is a community based organization and being as such they must play a player. If that player is in good standing, having paid fees, provided proof of birth, and they show up for games, that player should be on the court at least twice per half.
What if a player has not registered?
That player cannot be evaluated. That player cannot be placed on a team. That player may not attend practices. Players are placed on teams and registered on a first come, first served basis.
What if a player is injured, becomes ill, or has a family member become ill in the time period between registration and before evaluations begin?
Full refund will be provided without penalty.
What if a player withdraws after the withdrawal deadline for any other reason than injury or illness?
Penalty shall be applied according to the deadlines set out at registration.
What if a player feels they should be on a higher division?
Evaluations are done by a group of volunteer coaches who do the best that they can with the tools they are given. All placements are final. The withdrawal penalty still applies as set out in our polices for registration.
What if I want to play with my friend(s)?
If you wish to be placed on the same team as a friend, this needs to be made with your registration which is in advance for evaluations, for it to even be considered. If there is a significant skill level difference between you and your friend, you would both need to play for the lower level team. We cannot guarantee that it will always be possible to move players between teams for these kinds of reasons because of the potential impact to other teams and players.
What if a player feels they should be in a higher category (age group)?
Before you consider this option know that we may NOT be able to accommodate this request based on player registration alone; if the higher category is full or has a waitlist we aim to first place players in their age group as we cannot have players "play down" a category.
If you do still wish to be considered for a higher program you first must complete all registration information as required for your appropriate category. After your registration is complete you may make your request, complete with all player registration details, to president@thunderbasketball.ca with the email subject: Play Up Request - ______. Place your players name and desired category in the blank space of the email subject (ie. Play Up Request - Steve Kerr u13 to u15). In the body of the email please briefly (3-4 sentences) list where you played last season, name of team/coach, and reason for request.
We will evaluate your request based on a number of considerations towards the player, potential team, and our organization as a whole. We will inform you of our decision before evaluations and all decisions are final as they impact our program implementation. Refund policies do NOT change if your request cannot be met, it is a request and not a guarantee.
What if a player registers after evaluations?
The player will only be placed on a team as space permits. It will be up to the discretion of our organization as to whether or not they will accept a late registrant onto a team. If there is more than one space open in a category, that player should be evaluated and placed with players of like ability. As previously stated, all players must be fully registered first before they can be evaluated and officially placed on a team.
What if the full registration process has not been completed, ie: proof of age or payment is incomplete?
That player will not be registered with CMBA, and subsequently, if that player plays they will make their team ineligible by playing and that team will be forced to forfeit any games in which that player has participated. The defaulting player will also be withdrawn from the team roaster and NOT placed on any other team, they will have forfeit their opportunity to play for the season.
How do I supply a proof of age document?
If NCBC does not already have a proof of age on file for a player, the player will be contacted after registration with a request to supply a document. The document may be any government issued document (birth certificate, passport, Alberta health care, driver's license, …) that specifies the player's name and date of birth. The preferred way to get this document to NCBC is by uploading the document to the RAMP registration system.
What size of basketballs are used?
Tykes and u11 play with a size 5 ball (27.5").
u13 boys and girls play with a size 6 ball (28.5").
u15 to HS u18 girls play with a size 6 ball (28.5").
u15 to HS u18 boys play with a size 7 ball (29.5").
Skyline Athletics in Calgary has any size you need.
Address: 6120 2 St SE, Calgary, AB T2H 2L8
Phone: (403) 253-4911
What is the uniform deposit for?
All players are required to provide a uniform deposit. Uniforms represent a major expense for NCBC, and as such we need to ensure they are returned in good condition. A uniform deposit is required with your registration. Once a player's uniform has been returned in acceptable condition at the end of the season, the deposit hold is released. If the uniform is not returned or is not in acceptable condition, the deposit will be secured against the uniform.
Tykes do not need to provide a uniform deposit as they keep their uniforms at the end of the season.
How do I let NCBC know if I moved or changed my email?
If you move during the season or have changed your email address please update your account information by logging into the RAMP registration system and make the necessary updates.