Heat policy reminder

With the warm weather Ballarat is experiencing at the moment please refresh yourself with our heat policy which is in line with Basketball Victoria’s policy. Staff will monitor court conditions regularly and offer as much assistance to ensure all players, coaches, referees and spectators are comfortable and enjoying the game.

Below is the Heat policy which you will find on each score bench as a reminder:

Heat Policy as per Basketball Victoria policy

  • All stadiums must be fitted with a thermometer. On hot days, court temperature must be taken hourly whilst the stadium is in use and must be recorded in a permanent record kept at the stadium. If the stadium is in sections, the temperature must be taken in each section.
  • When the court temperature reaches 30°C, competition organisers must consider implementing and where the temperature reaches 35°C, must implement the following timing rules:
  • If a game is played in halves, the game time must be reduced by 2 minutes per half with 2 team timeouts per half. The clock must stop for each timeout and the referee must call an additional compulsory timeout close to the half way mark in each half. Each team must call a timeout before the compulsory timeout and after the compulsory timeout. In the event the coaches do not call a timeout as required, the referees will intervene and call a timeout and attribute them to the respective teams.
  • If a game is played in quarters, the referee must call an additional compulsory timeout in each quarter if no timeout has been called by halfway through the quarter.
  • The clock must stop for every whistle in the last minute of the first half and the last 3 minutes of the second half (this may be modified for local conditions in domestic basketball).
  • When the court temperature reaches 40°C games must be abandoned. Subject to any rule or ruling by a competition organiser.

On Court Air-Conditioning Policy

  • Air conditioning is to be used in conjunction with the Heat Policy regulations governed by Basketball Victoria.
  • On days of potential implementation of the Heat Policy, regular temperature checks will be made by Basketball staff. When the court temperature reaches 30 degrees, the air-conditioning is to be turned on.
  • Regular temperature checks need to be maintained by Basketball staff. If the conditions continue to heat up, it is likely that the court temperature will remain stable with the air-conditioning remaining on.
  • If the conditions have peaked at 30 degrees on court, it is likely that the temperatures on court will fall rather quickly and the air-conditioning can be turned off for the comfort of both players and spectators.
  • If for any reason the air-conditioning fails and the court temperatures continue to rise, then the usual Heat Policy Regulations will come into force at 35 and 40 degrees.