Hi everyone,

As we approach the finals, I wanted to take a moment to share some important updates, as well as some interesting news from this past week.

Illegal players

This can happen when a player, for example: plays in a purple division game when they are a gold division player, or an U14 player playing in a U12 game.

Recently, Southwest Metro conducted an analysis involving 2,000 players and found 17 instances where players participated in teams they were not eligible for, these games were all forfeited and you may have seen some teams drop in position.

I’m proud to announce that Runcorn Rockets had zero occurrences! This is a testament to the hard work of our coaches and the integrity of our club. Despite having nearly 400 more members than the next largest club which had 7 occurrences; we also have 600 more members than any other club and we were able to maintain compliance without a single incident of illegal players in the wrong division.

Season last game

The last club game of the season will be 6/7 June and then Semi Finals 13/14 June and Finals 20/21 June. To review the junior competition rules.

[Junior Competition Rules](https://www.piratesbasketball.net.au/_files/ugd/438ec7_40fcbe34b79a4bf7828a462161f6b51e.pdf)

In the first week of the finals, the matchups will be as follows:

- 1st place vs. 4th place

- 2nd place vs. 3rd place

Preparing for finals

To all Coaches, Parents & Players – we have organised a free Finals Mindset Development Session! Matthew Hodgson is running our session and the link is in the WhatsApp groups.

It’s not just about skill – it’s about how we think, prepare and lead.

Registration for season 2

Registrations for season 2 will be available the end of next week. We say every registration time please try to register as soon as possible so you don’t miss out we do not want any players that played in season 1.

Long tees have arrived

We had long tees made for our China trip and they were so popular we decided to get some made for everyone. They are made of similar material to our normal tees so you will be able to get many months of wear from them.

The long tees are only $35 and avaialble from our store room at Runcorn State High school between courts 1 & 2.

Photos of all the teams

We have had professional photographers taking photos of all our teams playing and we are posting them in the team WhatsApp group.

There are a few other things happening, but I will keep them for a later date. Don’t forget the Coaches’ game this Saturday night at 5:30pm at Runcorn.

From the courts

Mark Smith

President Runcorn Rockets Basketball