Where can coaches find the Conta

Where can coaches find the Contact List to make pre-meet phone calls/emails?

To ensure that all teams will be at your meet, it is the responsibility of each host team to contact the coaches or contacts for all teams attending the host’s meet approximately one week in advance to verify the attendance of the visiting teams and the start time of each team’s first game. This season we will again be emailing this information to host teams and including email addresses to aid in contacting visiting teams. If you do not receive this list by email the weekend before your home meet, please contact Terri at terri@gnbl.org and I will resend immediately (we have found a number of incorrect or inactive emails in our records). Please note that if you choose to email the visiting teams, you must receive a confirmation in return (not just a read-receipt); otherwise you should make contact by phone.

Coaches who want to get the name of another coach or two from neighboring communities for purposes of setting up a scrimmage can request the name and phone number by sending an e-mail to Tracie Tilton at tracie@gnbl.org . All such requests must be sent via e-mail or USPS. We will not process voice mail requests.

If you haven’t submitted a particular coach’s name and contact information (address, phone number and email) from your community as of yet, do so immediately or his/her name won’t be accessible to us for our the emailed contact list or for pre-meet phone calls.

The League does not publish a League-wide contact list on the League’s website. Our principal motivation is one of privacy. More and more organizations that are promoting basketball camps, selling products, recruiting for all-star teams, etc., are using the League’s contact list to solicit coaches. Many coaches have complained to us about these calls, particularly involving their cell phones, unlisted home phones and work numbers.

How can I get extra ribbons if I have more than 12 players at a meet?

Per League Rule A-3, each coach at each meet will receive 12 ribbons to distribute to his/her players inscribed with one of the following: First Place, Second Place, Third Place, Fourth Place, Fifth Place, Sixth Place, Seventh Place and for Eighth place. No trophies will be awarded. Awards will be purchased centrally to achieve the best possible price break. The process to be used for the distribution of awards for the season is described in Attachment #3 to the League Rules.

Coaches can purchase additional generic ribbons at cost plus shipping charges from our supplier, Apple Awards. These ribbons are the same size and color as the ribbons received at Great Northwest meets. Each is inscribed with the words "Great Northwest Basketball League Meet," and the appropriate place taken (i.e., First Place, Second Place, etc.); however, these ribbons do not have the date or location of the meet inscribed on them. Please contact Stacey at Apple Awards, 715-634-6860 or stacey@appleawards.com for further information.

How much does each meet cost?

Each team will be assessed a charge of $120 per 4-game meet, but will also receive a credit of $70 for each team hosted (including the host team). Fourth grade teams playing in 3-game meets will be charged $95, but will receive a hosting credit of $50 for each team hosted (including the host team). Teams that fail to submit a fully completed roster as described in Paragraph C-1 of these Rules will be charged $135 for each meet played without having met the requirements of Paragraph C-1. For example, if a team submits its roster on a timely basis and plays in four meets and hosts one, it will pay receive a credit of $80 net to support its local program ($120 times 4 meets = $480 gross expense less $560 hosting credit = $80 credit). On the other hand, if a team plays in eight meets and hosts none, its fee will be $960 ($120 x 8 meets). This fee is due in November, December or January of each season, within 14 days after the League invoice is received.

How do I get my team into a meet opening?

Coaches can call or e-mail Terri Green at 715-386-4317 or terri@gnbl.org to request filling a meet opening (phone calls are preferred). Meets will be filled on a first come, first served basis, with preferential treatment given to existing League members, and those communities looking to join the League next season at all grade levels for which they have traveling teams of that gender. We will fill openings with teams of appropriate strength for that particular meet. (For example, an "A" team will not be allowed to fill an opening at a "C" level meet, or vice-versa.) Click here for Meet Openings.

Background on The Great Northwest Basketball League

For those of you who are not familiar with The Great Northwest Basketball League, here is some background. The League started play in the 1995-1996 season with 33 teams of 5th and 6th grade girls. Eighteen years later, The Great Northwest has over 1200 teams – equally split between boys and girls.

The League boundaries generally extend from Rochester, Minnesota, up through the eastern suburbs of the Twin Cities, up to Duluth/Superior, over to Ashland and Hurley, down through Lakeland-Minocqua, Antigo, Stevens Point, Wisconsin Rapids, and Reedsburg, over to Viroqua, Westby and La Crosse. However, there are several communities outside these boundaries who also play in The Great Northwest.

The League is really a substitute for tournaments. Unlike many tournaments, all League meets are played in one day – Saturday only – no Sundays. Eight teams are scheduled to play in a host community with two courts (there are optional formats for hosting two six-team meets on three courts or a five-team meet for host communities with only one playing surface). The teams are divided into two groups of four. All teams play a round-robin in their group. At the end of the round-robin play, the two teams with the best record in each group play each other for first place, the two teams with the second best record in each group play for third place, etc. To keep costs down, there are no team trophies, but each player on each team gets an oversized (12” x 2 ½”) custom-made ribbon with the location of the meet they attended, the date and the place they finished.

League Growth

The League has been successful for several reasons:

· By playing four games in a nine-hour day, the players get maximum playing time in a very efficient manner. Many existing non-League tournaments are two-day events and thus not very family-friendly, or provide fewer guaranteed games if they are only one day in duration.

· The cost on a net basis is very low. Each meet will cost a team $120, but teams receive a $580 hosting credit for each full eight-team meet they host. All League fees, net of credits, go to purchase awards presented at the meets, as well as pay for the cost of phone calls, printing, postage, website communication and human resources. Host teams provide their own officials, but keep all admission fees and concession profits.

· By centrally scheduling games, the League maximizes the number of different teams members get to play without traveling great distances. Prior to the League, Superior and Tomah probably never played before. In this League, they are strategically scheduled in some place like Chippewa Falls – halfway in between. Teams playing a 20 game schedule (5 meets) can expect to play 17 or more different teams – and no team more than twice.

· The League seeds teams so that weaker teams are playing only each other on a given day. The same is done with the stronger teams. Meets are put together at four ability levels: 1) A/B+ teams; 2) B+/B teams; 3) B/B- teams; and 4) B-/C teams.

All of this information (and answers to virtually any other questions) can be found in the League Rules at this link:

League Rules and Attachments

It is very important that every coach in the League read and understand the Rules before their first meet