In district basketball, teams are unable to play zone defence in Under 14s and below during Friday night and Saturday morning games.

Basketball SA uses the following Basketball Australia Zone Buster Manual. This document can be downloaded here.

Please note the following:

• Important note – The referees on any game are not responsible for any Zone Defence issues and should not be approached with related questions.
• Should a coach be concerned his opposition is playing zone defence he should raise the issue with the local Court Supervisor. The Court Supervisor will monitor the game, and this may take some time, before determining if an issue exists.
• Should a player/s or team be found to be playing Zone Defence then the offending team coach will be given a warning at the next opportunity. Should the same team be observed playing zone defence following the warning the Court Supervisor is empowered to enter the court at the next opportunity (dead ball/whistle) and instruct the umpire to issue the coach a Technical foul. After the shot, the game will recommence from where it was stopped. Further breaches will be reported.

During these junior competitions some Basketball SA Court Supervisor staff, just like club coaching staff and players, may not have a high level of experience in detecting Zone Defence. We expect club support in understanding this and ensure all communication is in a positive and supportive manner.

The World Association of Basketball Coaches has created the following document to help understand the importance of young kids not playing zone defence too early in the basketball lives. This document can be downloaded here.