Just For The Fun Of It

With less than two weeks to go before Registration Day 2025 (Saturday September 6), we thought it would be good to republish our list of Frequently asked questions, our registration poster and where we will be entering the school for registration again this year. Please contact us if there are questions you have that may not be answered here. Please note that all ages referenced are the age that the child will be on April 1, 2026.

1) What are the game nights for the upcoming season? Answer: Monday Nights – Biddy Division (boys 11-12) at St. Francis of Assisi; Graduate Division (boys 13-15) at Ecole Cathedrale; Tuesday Nights- Little Guys Division (boys 8-10) at St. Francis of Assisi; Wednesday Nights – Girls Division (Girls 11-14) at St. Francis of Assisi; Thursday Nights- Little Gals Division (girls 8-10) at St. Francis of Assisi. Graduate games start at 6:00 pm (3 games a night in one hour time slots), and all other divisions start at 6:00 pm with four games in 45 minute time slots.

2) I am going to be out of town on Registration Day and you have no on line registration. How do I get my child registered?
Answer: If you are going to be away on Registration Day you can get someone else to start the registration process for you. They will need the name, date of birth, contact phone numbers, address and e mail address (if applicable) for your player, along with the $10 registration fee. They will be given a copy of the registration form that you will need to sign and bring with you to the player evaluation night. We must have a signed registration form before your child can participate in league activities. PLEASE DO NOT ASK MEMBERS OF OUR LEAGUE EXECUTIVE TO REGISTER YOUR CHILD FOR YOU. We are very busy on registration day looking after other details of the process.

2 a) Why don’t you have on line registration like other leagues? Answer: Having in person, first come, first served registration equalizes the opportunity for everyone in the community. We allow someone else to register your child as long as you make those arrangements, as a concession to those that may need to be unavailable at registration time due to work or other commitments.

3) Can we request to be on the same team as another player?
Answer: Due to the large number of requests we receive each year, and our growing number of registrations, we can no longer assure you that player pairing requests will be granted, with the exception of siblings in the same age group, and where a DEFINITE need to ride together has been established and communicated. It has been overwhelming for our volunteers to accommodate these large number of requests while trying to build fair and balanced teams. We believe that this approach keeps us in line with the practice of most other youth organizations. We see our program as a great opportunity for family members and players to meet new friends and neighbours from across our community, establishing friendships that may last for years to come.

4) Can we request to be on a specific coach’s team?
Answer: No, you may not request a coach.

5) What happens if I miss the player evaluation night? Will my child be “cut” from the program?
Answer: While we hope that all players come out for evaluation night, no one that is registered will be “cut”. All will be placed on a team, and you will be notified what team, and the team practice time in the days following our September 17 coaches meeting.

6) What do I do if I find out that my child has a conflict with another activity or decides they don’t want to play this season?
Answer: Please notify us as soon as possible by e mail (roland.billings@sympatico.ca), by phone (613 548-8790), or message through the web site or Facebook page. We will likely have a waiting list in each division of players that want to play, and an early decision on your part will get one of them into the league.

7) How often will there be practices and what time of day will they be held?
Answer: In each division there will be one evaluation night practice in the week after registration following the schedule distributed at registration and that will be published here after registration day. In the week after the coaches meeting (September 22-25) there will be one practice with your team on the same game nights and time slots outlined in question one above. Once games begin there are no more practices.

8) What player medical condition details do you need for my player?
Answer: We need as much detail as possible on the registration form to help us make sure convenors and coaches are aware of potential issues. All allergies, as well as any medical diagnosis and / or behaviours that could impact their participation need to be disclosed to us. While all are welcome in the league, we are only looking to better understand the needs of our players, and create a more successful time for each player to help ensure a positive experience for all participants and volunteers involved.

We are both thrilled and excited to be officially launching today the Pete Petersen Basketball League On Line Store! We have been working with George Merjevac at ACME Sport and Promotions to set up an on line store through their web site with items we are frequently asked to sell in person at the gyms. The link to the store is below so we encourage you to have a look and place your order! here is how it works:

The store will be open from now until October 13. We plan to reopen the store for the first two weeks of January as well.
Orders will be completed within three weeks following the store closing.
You will be notified by email when your order is complete. Orders must be picked up at Acme Sport and Promotion on Railway Street. Shipping within Canada is available at an additional charge.
Sizing charts and how to measure guides are available for each item.
A variety of colours are available in most items and can be previewed once you press the colour option and the select button.
Payment must be made when you order online.

Our annual special edition T shirt sales will be handled as we have in the past with sales starting at Registration Day 2025 and special orders completed in November if we run out of your size.Payment for t shirts is cash or cheque. We will preview the t shirt design for this season during the lead up to registration.

Here is the link to the online store thanks to our partners at ACME Sport and Promotions – Happy Shopping!!

https://www.superacme.ca/pete-petersen-basketball-league-online-store/

https://www.superacme.ca/pete-petersen-basketball-league-online-store/

We are happy to let you know that we will be adding seven new sets of uniforms to the league this season thanks to your support of our Sneaker Draw and 50/50 ticket sales. We are limited in what we can use the funds raised through these two draws for and uniform purchase is one of the approved uses.

We are replacing all six sets of uniforms in the Graduate Division for this season and replacing the Hawks with the Thunder as a new team. Here is a preview of what the new Graduate uniforms will look like on opening night.

In the Girls Division we are thrilled to announce the addition of the Tempo to our teams in that group. With the Toronto Tempo joining the WNBA next season we wanted to enthusiastically support that announcement and what this means for the growth of women’s sports in Canada. Here is the Girls Division Tempo uniform design that will make their Pete Petersen Basketball League debut on opening night , October 1st.

Our thanks to George Merjevac and the staff at Acme Sport and Promotion for their help and assistance through the summer to make this happen and so much more to support what we do each season.

We wanted our league family to know that all of the lost and found items from last season have been cleaned and were donated to St. Vincent DePaul last week. We have a lost and found box at St. Francis of Assisi so if during the season clothing items are left behind at the gym on game nights please ask the convenors and check the box to see if your item may be there.

Yesterday marked the last day that players could get piercings and be able to safely take them out before the start of the season, so if you are planning on getting new piercings, please wait until March when the season is over. Players must be able to take out the jewellery associated with the piercings and documented recommendations is that this can’t happen for 6 – 8 weeks after the jewellery goes in. The most common question we are asked is this : “Can I just tape over it?” and the answer to that is a very simple “No.”

We want to clarify the basketball rules regarding jewellery and splints for all participants.

Jewellery may not be worn because of the risk it poses to the player or another participant. This includes earrings, nose rings or studs, eyebrow piercings or any other piercings. Also included are watches, rings, bracelets, barrettes and hats.

Splints made of metal or hard and unyielding plastic are also not permitted as are casts on hands and forearms. Some knee and elbow braces with metal or hard plastic hinges may need to be taped over or covered so that the hinges do not poe a hazard to other players.

These are common sense precautions to help ensure the safety of all participants, and allow us all to enjoy the upcoming season. Please review this note as a family so that your players also understand the rules that must be uniformly applied.

We are thrilled to announce that we will be returning to Five Guys Burgers and Fries on Gardiners Road for our annual Dine and Make a Difference event on Wednesday October 15th! This has been a great partnership over the years and we are very grateful to Joey Pearson, and the local Five Guys Leadership and staff for once again hosting our league families in what is always a fun evening of socializing and great food. Here are the details – from 5:00 until 8:30 pm on October 15th $1 from every burger, poutine and milkshake sold will come back to the league. That gives you a few days after Thanksgiving to work through the leftovers and get yourself ready for delicious burgers and poutine, topped off with a fantastic milkshake selection! Thank you Five Guys for believing in what we do, and for making a difference in the lives of our players and their families!

We will be sending out reminders in the weeks ahead, but here are some photos from the 2024 event.

Attention all parents and players. This your final reminder that the 8 week window for a player to get a piercing that can safely be removed for the start practices is today – July 27th.
The rules of basketball state that no player may participate while wearing jewellery of any kind.

Published directives state that new piercings must be left in place for 6 to 8 weeks before they can be removed. With organized practices set to begin September 22, that means the 8 week deadline for getting piercings that must be removed before practices is today, July 27th and the 6 week deadline is August 10th.

That means that if you are planning on getting any new piercings you need to get them done today, or in the next 14 days, or delay having them done until after the season ends in March 2026.

A reminder, this is a basketball rule, and not a Pete Petersen Basketball League rule. The risk is real and I personally know of injuries where an earring was caught by a hand or uniform and the ear ripped. The no jewellery ban also applies to rings and bracelets as well as piercings other than in the ears. These other piercings also must be removed before a player can participate, and this rule will be enforced.

As officials we are often asked if the earring can be taped over and the answer is simple. No.

There is still time in Piercing Season but don’t be caught missing the deadline and having to explain to your player they can’t play until the piercing can safely come out and the chain, ring or bracelet can come off. The only exception to this is Medic Alert Identification and there are methods to allow that identification to still be available if needed.

This morning at 8 am in Germany (2 am in Kingston) Miles competed in the FISU World University Games Half Marathon and finished 32nd out of 50 runners with a season best time of 1:08:32 as the top Canadian runner in the field. The winner from Japan had a time of 1:02.29 in a very fast race over the 21.1 km course in sunny and warm conditions.

Congratulations Miles in representing Kingston and Canada proudly! We are lucky to have you as part of the basketball league family!

Last night at the Italo-Canadian Club, the Government of Ontario presented the Ontario Volunteer Service Awards to recipients in the Kingston Area. During the event more than 800 years of volunteer service in our area was recognized, and the nine recipients from the Pete Petersen Basketball League represented 105 years of that total. Kingston and the Islands MPP Ted Tsu was on hand to present the awards.

Congratulations to Mark Potter, Doug Jeffries, Madison Young, Taylor Emmons, Savannah Medley, Katie Duttle, AJ Carscallen, Zach Vincent Roy, and Andie Boles for your commitment to our program and your belief in what we do for the children in our community. You ARE difference makers.

Yesterday Doug Jeffries made a comment about the Canadian Little League Intermediate Baseball Tournament held over the last week at the Cricket Field. He said the overall event organization, and the Kingston Colts Bronze Medal victory yesterday, made him proud to be a Kingstonian. Having spent the last week watching those volunteers from the KBA put on an amazing tournament,I could not agree more. The OVSA recognition event last night for me was the cherry on top of that pride in being a Kingstonian.

My thanks to all of the volunteers in our organization. You are the reason why we will be able to begin our 71st season of operation in September.

With only 63 Sleeps before Registration Day 2025 – Saturday September 6, 2025– we thought it would be appropriate to publish our answers to frequently asked questions about registration. Please contact us if there are questions you have that may not be answered here. Please note that all ages referenced are the age that the child will be on April 1, 2026.

1) What are the game nights for the upcoming season? Answer: Monday Nights – Biddy Division (boys 11-12) at St. Francis of Assisi; Graduate Division (boys 13-15) at Ecole Cathedrale; Tuesday Nights- Little Guys Division (boys 8-10) at St. Francis of Assisi; Wednesday Nights – Girls Division (Girls 11-14) at St. Francis of Assisi; Thursday Nights- Little Gals Division (girls 8-10) at St. Francis of Assisi. Graduate games start at 6:00 pm (3 games a night in one hour time slots), and all other divisions start at 6:00 pm with four games in 45 minute time slots.

2) I am going to be out of town on Registration Day and you have no on line registration. How do I get my child registered?
Answer: If you are going to be away on Registration Day you can get someone else to start the registration process for you. They will need the name, date of birth, contact phone numbers, address and e mail address (if applicable) for your player, along with the $10 registration fee. They will be given a copy of the registration form that you will need to sign and bring with you to the player evaluation night. We must have a signed registration form before your child can participate in league activities. PLEASE DO NOT ASK MEMBERS OF OUR LEAGUE EXECUTIVE TO REGISTER YOUR CHILD FOR YOU. We are very busy on registration day looking after other details of the process.

2 a) Why don’t you have on line registration like other leagues? Answer: Having in person, first come, first served registration equalizes the opportunity for everyone in the community. We allow someone else to register your child as long as you make those arrangements, as a concession to those that may need to be unavailable at registration time due to work or other commitments.

3) Can we request to be on the same team as another player?
Answer: Due to the large number of requests we receive each year, and our growing number of registrations, we can no longer assure you that player pairing requests will be granted, with the exception of siblings in the same age group, and where a DEFINITE need to ride together has been established and communicated. It has been overwhelming for our volunteers to accommodate these large number of requests while trying to build fair and balanced teams. We believe that this approach keeps us in line with the practice of most other youth organizations. We see our program as a great opportunity for family members and players to meet new friends and neighbours from across our community, establishing friendships that may last for years to come.

4) Can we request to be on a specific coach’s team?
Answer: No, you may not request a coach.

5) What happens if I miss the player evaluation night? Will my child be “cut” from the program?
Answer: While we hope that all players come out for evaluation night, no one that is registered will be “cut”. All will be placed on a team, and you will be notified what team, and the team practice time in the days following our September 17 coaches meeting.

6) What do I do if I find out that my child has a conflict with another activity or decides they don’t want to play this season?
Answer: Please notify us as soon as possible by e mail (roland.billings@sympatico.ca), by phone (613 548-8790), or message through the web site or Facebook page. We will likely have a waiting list in each division of players that want to play, and an early decision on your part will get one of them into the league.

7) How often will there be practices and what time of day will they be held?
Answer: In each division there will be one evaluation night practice in the week after registration following the schedule distributed at registration and that will be published here after registration day. In the week after the coaches meeting (September 22-25) there will be one practice with your team on the same game nights and time slots outlined in question one above. Once games begin there are no more practices.

8) What player medical condition details do you need for my player?
Answer: We need as much detail as possible on the registration form to help us make sure convenors and coaches are aware of potential issues. All allergies, as well as any medical diagnosis and / or behaviours that could impact their participation need to be disclosed to us. While all are welcome in the league, we are only looking to better understand the needs of our players, and create a more successful time for each player to help ensure a positive experience for all participants and volunteers involved.