Regulations on Basketball Equipment
Regulations on basketball equipment, as with most other sports, are highly technical and very complex. The backboard must be of a certain material, must be outlined in a certain color and the ball must rebound off of it to a certain degree. The opening in the rim must be a certain diameter and even the metal that makes the rim can only be so thick. Regulations also dictate the make up of the ball and the court. Although these regulations on basketball equipment may seem cumbersome and overly burdensome, the goal is to create the conditions necessary for a consistent game across all venues.
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Function
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As with any type of sport, there is a sanctioning body for basketball that determines what rules are needed and what equipment is acceptable. Whereas some rules are very specific, other specifications that have a window of ranges available. For basketball, the sanctioning body is the International Basketball Association, also known as FIBA.
The Rim
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The color of the rim must be painted orange. The inside diameter must be between 450 mm and 459 mm. The net must be attached to the rim in 12 places. The attachments on the rim must be smooth.
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The Backboard
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The height of the backboard must measure 1,050 mm, and the width of the backboard must be 1,800 mm. For the upper levels of competition, the backboards must be made of clear safety glass with white lines. For lower levels of competition, the backboards must be white with black lines. Further, balls dropped onto a backboard must bounce back to at least 50 percent of the original height.
The Ball
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Some rules concerning the ball are the same for both men and women. The shape must be spherical and the color must be orange or two tones (orange and light brown). It can have either eight or 12 seams. The seams can be no wider than 6.35 mm. When dropped from a height of 1,800 mm, the ball must be sufficiently inflated that it bounces back to a height of between 1,200 mm and 1,400 mm.
Men's Alterations
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The size, meaning the circumference, of the men's ball must be between 749 and 780 mm. The ball is required to weigh somewhere between 567 g and 650 g. These dimensions are commonly referred to as size 7.
Women's Alterations
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The women's ball runs slightly smaller than the men's ball and is commonly called size 6. It has a circumference between 724 mm and 737 mm. Its weight should be no lighter than 510 g and no heavier than 567 g.
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