FAQs Page

Q. What is Tri-County Boys Basketball?
A. Tri-County is a competitive basketball league that is organized for players who have played before. Tri-County runs from the first week of January until the first week of March. Until this year Tri-County has consisted of grades 5th through 8th. For the 2010 season, a 4th grade option will be added as well. Oregon has traditionally only competed in 6th, 7th and 8th grades, but will field a single 4th grade and a single 5th grade team for the 2010 season. Players in the 4th, 5th and 6th grades may compete in either the Oregon Youth Basketball League (OYBL) or in Oregon Tri-County Boys (OTC-Boys).


Q. Is Tri-County the same as Middle School basketball?
A. No, they are separate leagues. Middle School ball is organized through the Oregon School District. It is usually coached by teachers and runs generally from the last week in October to mid-December. Tri-County is run by volunteers, and dads usually coach the teams.


Q. What type of commitment is expected?
A. Tri-County is a four-day-a-week commitment. Practices are held twice a week and games are played on Saturday and Sunday for eight consecutive weekends starting January 9-10. The season concludes with the Tri-County tournament.


Q. Where and when are practices and games held?
A. Most of the 7th and 8th practices and games will take place at the Oregon Middle School (OMS), with practices starting the third week of December. Time slots are mainly 6:30pm to 8:30pm and 7:30pm to 9:30pm. The 4th, 5th and 6th grade teams will practice at the following sites, Brooklyn Gym, Netherwood Knoll Big Gym and Prairie View Big Gym; practices for the 4th, 5th and 6th grade teams may begin in November. For each team, there are usually eight home games held at OMS and eight road games with communities such as Waunakee, DeForest, Stoughton, McFarland, Middleton, Madison, Verona, etc. Game starting times vary from 8am to 5pm. Occasionally there maybe weeknight road games.


Q. How is Tri-County structured?
A. The Tri-County governing body will assign the teams into divisions based on geography and competitive experience. For the 4th and 5th grades, the leagues may be split geographically into divisions based on individual community requests. For the 6th, 7th and 8th grades, the leagues will be divided into divisions based on talent and competitive experience.


Q. What are the evaluations?
A. The evaluations are used for two purposes. The first is to determine the overall talent level of each grade so we get the Oregon teams in the proper leagues. Each community needs to make their league requests to Tri-County by the second weekend in October. The second purpose for the evaluation is to determine the Oregon teams.


Q. Who referees the games?
A. All Tri-County games are officiated by Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) certified referees. Oregon is fortunate to have an excellent group of officials working its home games.


Q. What is the rule about playing time?
A. Tri-County is a competitive league. Playing time philosophy is determined by each community. Oregon's philosophy is simple: Players earn their playing time in Tri-County. If they attend practices and work hard, they will play. How much will be determined by their skill level. The better players will play more because, again, it's a competitive league. Rosters are limited to 10 players per team in an effort to enhance playing time opportunities.


Q. What is the cut policy?
A. With our commitment to limiting teams to 10 players per team, and limited gym space available for practices and games, there does exist the possibility that OTC-Boys will not be able to accommodate all players. For the 2010 season, OTC-Boys expects to field one 4th grade team, one 5th grade team, two 6th grade teams, three 7th grade teams and three 8th grade teams. We will do everything we can to get as many players involved as possible, but eventually we will have to make the rosters final.


Q. What happens if I register after the deadline?
A. You will be put on a waiting list. If someone should drop out, you will be next in line. And how often does that happen? Every year some players get hurt in middle school ball or decide they don't want to play Tri-County. If an opening occurs, the first one on the waiting list will be put on a roster. Usually we stop adding players after the first weekend of games.


Q. What is the registration fee?
A. The fee to play Tri-County is $150 plus processing fees. Every player receives a reversible black and orange jersey to use and return at the end of the season. Each team is asked to wear black shorts, which for the 7th and 8th grade players usually ends up being the shorts they purchased and used for Middle School ball.