Walkovers

Walkovers occur when teams are unable to field enough players for a match to commence within a reasonable period of time from scheduled tip off (generally a minimum of 4 players are required within 10 minutes of scheduled tip-off time). It is the responsibility of the players on each MUBC team to ensure you are able to field a team for every week of their respective seasons. If a team fails to do so, it is the responsibility of its players to be financially liable for the competition walkover penalty.

MUBC Walkover Policy

-       Notify our domestic and men’s/women’s reps as soon as possible if you are facing a walkover as they will attempt to find replacement players to help you field a team. Ideally, this notice is given many days before your scheduled game.
domesticrep@melbourneunibasketball.org.au
mensrep@melbourneunibasketball.org.au
womensrep@melbourneunibasketball.org.au

-       If your team fails to field enough players and a walkover is issued, every player on the team who is either initially selected for the team at the start of the season or is likely to play enough games to qualify for finals (i.e. over one third of the season), is required to contribute $10 towards the walkover fine incurred by the club.
Payment must be made by direct bank transfer to the following account:
Account Name: Melbourne University Basketball Club
BSB: 033157
Account Number: 178502
Amount: $10
Reference: Walkover fine <your team> <your name>

-       Any players identified not to have paid their outstanding walkover fines in a timely fashion (i.e. within two weeks) will not be selected in any teams the following season, and may even have their MUBC membership terminated.

Note that walkover fines are often increased by competition organisers if less than 24 hours notice is given. Please notify your domestic representatives as early as possible to avoid this. If sufficient notice is given, domestic reps will aid in the securing of fill-in players. If abundant notice is given to our domestic reps (>3 days) and they are still unable to secure fill-in players, often player walkover fines will be waived altogether.

Handling walkovers by MUBC teams is never any fun for the players, opposition, competition organisers or MUBC committee. As a university basketball club, we understand that it can sometimes be hard to field a team, especially during exam times and in the semester holiday periods. That said, it is expected that all players on MUBC teams do all that is possible to ensure walkovers do not occur. Walkover fines vary by competition, usually costing MUBC $100-180 per game. As such, a $10 contribution per player rarely covers the actual cost to the club. In addition, when MUBC teams commit walkovers, the competition organisers can seek to limit how many teams we can enter in future seasons. This has serious consequences for the club and negatively affects all of our members. Our committee do everything possible to try and enter teams that will have a sufficient number of reliable and available players. However, when you sign up for an MUBC membership, you are acknowledging that you are liable for a fee in the event of a walkover.