League Overview
The CSBL is the premiere basketball league in the Capital Region for athletes 50 and over. It is a competitive league designed to provide parity and competitive balance. Athletes of all experience and skill levels are eligible to participate. League members range in age from 50 to 80’s. The league is run by a Board of Directors consisting of players serving as a Commissioner and player representatives from both divisions.
The league currently consists of 14 teams divided into 2 divisions of 7 teams each. There are 8 players on each team with 54 players in each division. This creates 108 permanent roster spots. The Colonie division is for younger and more highly skilled players. It is intense and highly competitive. The Albany division is primarily for players 60 and over or players who are less skilled or do not desire as intense a competitive experience. Each player pays a league fee with the amount determined each season by the Board of Directors.
Games are played at Lishakill Middle School at 68 Waterman Ave in Colonie. The league runs from early September thru the end of March and occasionally into early April. All games are played on Saturdays with 6 league games each week. Games begin around 9:00 am and the last game is completed around 6:00 pm. A rotating schedule is setup so that each team will rotate thru the various time slots and play at a different time each Saturday. The gym is closed on school holiday weekends and each team will have a BYE approximately every 6 weeks during the season. There are approximately 18 regular season games followed by single elimination playoffs. Every team participates in the end of season playoffs.
There is an end of season banquet that is open to all participating players at no cost. At the banquet, awards such as gym bags or jackets are given to regular season and playoff champions in each division.
To strive for parity, camaraderie, and competitive balance a draft is held at the beginning of each season. New teams are created for each season so that no team can stack their roster year to year and players get to play with and get to know all of the other players in the league. The Board designates captains for each division for each season. The Colonie division draft is held first. Captains select 54 players in a rotating schedule. Later the Albany division draft is held and captains select the remaining 54 players in a rotating manner to fill their rosters. After the draft, captains will contact players they selected to inform them of their team assignment and schedule.
The league has paid, certified officials and an official scorekeeper for each game. Games are 40 minutes in duration with four 10 minute quarters of stop time play. There is a league website and a weekly newsletter, the Hoopster, which is emailed weekly to each player. The Hoopster is also available on the website, on the league Facebook page, and a limited number of printed copies are available in the gym each week. Team standings and player’s statistics are kept and posted.
Many of the league’s players participate in state and national senior basketball tournaments. These tournament teams are privately organized by interested players.