Adelaide Community Basketball Association (ACBA) has adopted the following guidelines regarding the playing of basketball in hot weather conditions, which relates to players and officials.

Irrespective of the predicted maximum temperature, stadium managers, coaches, team managers and referees should adopt the following as appropriate, in cases of hot weather:

Stadium Managers should:

  • Take steps to maximise airflow and reduce heat build-up in stadiums
  • Make an assessment of playing conditions and advise referees and coaches,
  • Cancel or postpone games if playing conditions are considered unsafe.

Coaches should:

  • Ascertain whether any players have known medical conditions which may be affected by heat,
  • Ensure that players take adequate fluid during the game,
  • Be alert and react to any signs of distress/potential distress in players,
  • Make substitutions as appropriate,
  • Utilise available time-outs.

Referees should:

  • Call additional time-outs
  • Extend the breaks between quarters

Team managers should:

  • Ensure that players take adequate fluid before, during and after the game,
  • Be alert and react to any signs of distress/potential distress in players,
  • Ascertain whether players have medical conditions which may be affected by weather conditions

No-one should ever feel as though they must play if they believe it is unsafe or they are feeling distressed

This Hot Weather Policy relates to Junior Domestic competitions managed by ACBA and has been developed to alert administrators, players, coaches, officials and parents/care givers when a game will definitely be cancelled due to extreme heat.

The policy has been based on these competitions being played anywhere between 8:00am to 6:00pm. On days when the forecast maximum temperature as published by the BoM that day is 38 degrees or higher, all Junior Domestic games will be cancelled or postponed, except those at air-conditioned stadiums.

On days when the predicted maximum temperature as published by the BoM that day is 35 degrees or higher, timing rules for all games will be modified as follows:

  1. Referees to call a time-out at the half way point of each period, if one has not already been called
  2. The quarter, half and three quarter time breaks to be extended by a minute

Bureau of Meteorology Website