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Recreational Program



 

The West Ottawa Basketball Association (WOBA) Stingers Recreational Program is intended to give as many players in the community as possible, the opportunity to play the game of basketball and provide them with a positive atmosphere to develop as players and people. Our group of Coaches are dedicated to helping players improve their basketball fundamentals with an emphasis on FUN!
West Ottawa Stingers recreational teams are a member of the West Ottawa Basketball League or the Eastern Ontario Baskeball League.(EOBL) and as such, games for many age groups will be scheduled to take place locally.. The objective of the West Ottawa Basketball Association Recreational Program is to provide an opportunity for players to learn and play basketball in a positive and supportive environment where they can grow, both as players and as people.
Game schedules for U10 boys and girls teams, U12 boys and girls teams and U14 boys teams are the responsibility of West Ottawa Basketball Association. For U14 girls, the game schedule is created by Kanata Youth Basketball Association and for U16 boys and girls and U19 boys and girls, EOBL creates the game schedules. 
  • West Ottawa Stingers recreational teams are selected with parity in mind – meaning the pool of available players are evaluated for various skills and distributed evenly across teams so that no one team is stronger than the other. Our first priority will be balancing our teams each season. The West Ottawa Basketball Association uses a combination of coach input and sometimes sort-outs to put our rosters together. Making best efforts to set balanced recreational teams affords all teams a level of opportunity for success every season. Mixing players on recreational teams each season provides a positive opportunity for players to build new relationships. Given the importance of team balancing, managing player requests provided during registration and providing the best experience to all of our players, there can not be any changes to teams once sort outs are completed. Players can expect to receive an email from their coaches the week before the season begins.
  • ​​The West Ottawa Stingers Recreational Program basketball schedules are determined based on our volunteer coaches' availability. Please note that the team schedules are not available until approximately the end of September after registration has closed and all players have been assigned to a roster.
  • During the registration process, there is an option to identify a maximum of one evening per week that a player is NOT available. Please indicate ONE DAY ONLY that you are not available as only one day will be considered. Although we cannot guarantee it, we do our best to accommodate these types of requests when feasible OR players registering for our West Ottawa Stingers Recreational Program can include a friend request however BOTH friends must request each other for the request to be considered.  Please only indicate ONE FRIEND ONLY as only one friend will be considered. Please keep in mind that when placing players on teams, there are a number of things to consider. West Ottawa Basketball does its very best to try and accommodate all requests to the best of its ability but sometimes we are not able to fulfill all requests. We appreciate your understanding. *If BOTH a night not available and a friend request are indicated on the registration form, the friend request will NOT be accepted.*
  • ​​Recreational U8 Small Ball and U10 levels practice for 1 hour and West Ottawa Stingers U12 to U19 levels practice for 1.5 hours, one night per week, in Stittsville/Kanata/Richmond gyms. Practices run on Mondays to Fridays, one evening per week, depending on gym availability and gym assignments. Players must be available to play on any weeknight other than the one night indicated during registration.
  • All West Ottawa Stingers teams play games on Saturdays or Sundays. All game times vary anywhere from 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.. The Year-End Tournaments are held in March/April at the end of the basketball season. While all practices and games are scheduled in advance, there can be school board cancellations or game changes on occasion during the season.
  • While many players participate in basketball alongside other activities, when schedules conflict, the West Ottawa Basketball Association will not be able to accommodate special requests that impact team roster shuffles and trades. Last-minute shuffles and trades cause significant disruption to other players and teams. In many cases, this also prevents us from achieving balanced recreational teams.
  • West Ottawa Stingers recreational teams are able to use "call ups" during the season should they find themselves short of players for a scheduled game. Call ups are players from younger recreational teams who can fill in for games if needed.
  • The recreational season starts in October and runs until April.
  • Players who attend West Ottawa Hornets competitive team tryouts who are not selected for the competitive team and are registered for either the competitive program or the recreational program, with automatically be placed on a West Ottawa Stingers recreational team. If the player is registered for the competitive program, a refund for the difference in registration fees will be processed. If a player is registered for "TRYOUTS ONLY" and not for one of the West Ottawa Basketball Association's programs they will need to register for the West Ottawa Stingers recreational program to be placed on a team for the season. Note that we cannot guarantee a spot on a recreational team for a player who has registered for Tryouts Only as teams may be formed by the time tryouts are completed.
  • Please note that if a player waits to register for a recreational team until after tryouts, their particular division may be full and the player will be placed on a waitlist.
  • The West Ottawa Basketball Association is dependant on gym time supplied by our schools. Therefore, if a school is closed for holidays or a school event, we do not have access to that school. The main holiday closings would be Christmas and March Break along with holiday long weekends such as Thanksgiving, Easter, Family Day etc. On some occasions, short notice is given so the West Ottawa Basketball Association will make every effort possible to work with our coaches to re-schedule canceled practices.
  • West Ottawa Basketball Association offers free skills clinics to our players throughout the season.
The West Ottawa Basketball Association participates in the West Ottawa Basketball League and the Eastern Ontario Basketball League, bringing together associations from Ottawa and the surrounding area to have fun, develop sportsmanship and compete against each other in a positive setting.

Coaches
  • Teams will have a minimum of two coaches: a head coach and an assistant coach(es).
  • Head Coaches or their designated Team Managers will be responsible for all communication between the club and the players.
  • Coaches will be offered and are strongly encouraged to attend club and other training sessions including NCCP Coaching Certification sessions and/or the OBA Club Coach Certificate training.
  • Coaches will have access to practice plans, drills and other supportive materials through Coach’s Corner, Coach Hoops and our Director of Development.
  • Coaches will conduct themselves in accordance with the West Ottawa Basketball and OBA Coaches Code of Conduct.
League Structure 
  • The West Ottawa Basketball League schedule will be determined by the VP of the Recreation Program.
  • Where possible the league schedule will be balanced (play each team the same number of times).
  • The number of teams in the league will be determined by the number of players registered in a specific Division/Age group.
  • There will be no less than 12 players and no more than 14 players on a team. Any exception to this rule must be approved by the VP of the Recreational Program.
  • For the U10-19 divisions, there will be a year-end championship tournament. The format of the championship tournament will be determined by the VP of the Recreational Program.
Ontario Basketball Association and West Ottawa Basketball League have an equal-play policy for all age divisions in our Recreational programs. Coaches are required to provide equal playing time for all players who are present at a game. It is recognized that during any given game equal play may not be possible due to the number of players on the roster for that game, injuries that may occur, or players fouling out, in which case a coach may, for example, use the unbalanced shifts to reward the commitment of players who attend practice. Coaches should, as much as possible, balance playing time over the course of the season.
  • The participation rule is in effect for an entire game.
  • Each game is 8 periods of 4 minutes each, stop time.
  • Halftime is between periods 4 and 5. Overtime periods are 2 minutes. The game begins with a jump ball, all other periods begin using the possession arrow and a throw-in straddling the centre line, opposite the scorer's table.
  • Substitutions occur only at the end of each period. Coaches must have their players ready at the scorer's table 30 seconds before the previous period ends.
The participation rule was formulated for the best interests of the players playing in a recreational league. It provides stage-appropriate competition that maximizes each athlete’s long-term fun. Every coach is expected to respect the intent of these rules and adhere to them.
It is the responsibility of all coaches to check the scoresheet during and after the game for accuracy of shift tracking. Should a violation in the participation rule occur, it is the responsibility of the coach to raise the issue.

Practice Attire
Recreational players should not wear their current-season uniform to practice; instead, players should wear a T-shirt and shorts. Jewellery should not be worn and only soft headbands should be worn. It is important to refrain from wearing anything that can be caught up during play. Players must wear proper non-marking footwear in the gyms. No outdoor shoes, boots etc can be worn in the facilities.

Practice Slots
West Ottawa Basketball Association depends on the various city school boards for gym time for our programs. The use of school gyms is dependent upon our teams' players, parents and coaches adhering to the rules put forth by the School Boards for the use of their facilities. It is important that we work together to ensure that all rules are followed by our members at all times. Please refer to GYM RULES on our website.
At times, practices may be cancelled due to a school event or closure. When this happens we will do our best to re-schedule practices based on gym availability.
We thank the Ottawa Carleton Catholic School Board, the Ottawa Carleton District School Board, Conseil Ecole Catholiques Centre-Est, the City of Ottawa and other facilities that provide us with access to their gyms each year. We appreciate the relationships we have built over the years with the School Boards and their staff.
 

West Ottawa Stingers Recreational Divisions
U7 Division Players 5 and 6 years of age in the year of registration Basketball provided by West Ottawa Basketball
U8 Division  Players 7 years of age in the year of registration Basketball provided by West Ottawa Basketball
U10 Division Players 8 and 9 years of age in the year of registration Size 5 - 27.5" basketball required
(boys and girls)
U12 Division Players 10 and 11 years of age in the year of registration Size 5 - 27.5" basketball required
(boys and girls)
U14 Division Players 12 and 13 years of age in the year of registration Size 6 - 28.5" basketball required
(boys and girls)
U16 Division Players 14 and 15 years of age in the year of registration Girls: Size 6 - 28.5" basketball required
Boys: Size 7 - 29.5" basketball required
U19 Division Players 16 to 18 years of age in the year of registration Girls: Size 6 - 28.5" basketball required
Boys: Size 7 - 29.5" basketball required
 
For more information on our recreational teams, please contact our Recreational Program VP.

 

West Ottawa Hornets U19 Team Win Bronze In Div 1!

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West Ottawa Hornets U19 Team Bring Home The Silver Trophy From IEM Tournament!

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West Ottawa Hornets U14 Girls Bring Home Gold!

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West Ottawa Hornets U12 Boys Team Win Gold at the EOBA Championships!

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