Appeals Committee: Making Your Case in Basketball
In a 4-on-4 basketball tournament with student referees, each team gets two appeals per game, decided by a committee of three classmates after hearing both sides. Students learn to disagree with reasons, listen to the other side and accept decisions during play.
How to play
- Set up two courts with 4-on-4 games, one referee per court and a three-person appeals committee that rotates with the teams sitting out (3 min).
- Explain the protocol: the captain raises a hand, play stops, each side states its case in 20 seconds, and the committee checks the rulebook and decides within 30 seconds (4 min).
- First round of 7-minute games with two appeals per team; the committee logs each case on a sheet (8 min).
- Rotate roles and play a second round of 7-minute games (8 min).
- Review the logged cases: which appeals were well argued, which weren't, and how the decisions were accepted (7 min).
Rules
- Only the captain can appeal, by raising a hand, without shouting or protest gestures.
- The committee's decision is final and is accepted with a handshake or fist bump between captains.
- An appeal made with no argument or with disrespect costs the team its next appeal.
- School basketball contact rules apply; personal fouls result in a free throw.
Variations
Easier
Appeals are limited to a few situations: out of bounds, traveling and double dribble.
Standard
Two appeals per team per game, decided by a committee of three with the rulebook at hand.
Harder
Plays can be recorded on a tablet, and the committee may review the video for up to 45 seconds.
Adaptations
- Limited mobility: the student is a permanent committee member and writes up each ruling.
- Autism: the student uses a card with the protocol steps and can hand the spoken part to another member.
- Hearing impairment: the committee writes the decision on a whiteboard and the referee shows it to both teams.
Learning goals
- Voice disagreement with game calls using reasons and respect.
- Listen to opposing accounts fairly before deciding.
- Apply basketball rules to real game situations.
Equipment for a class of 25
- balls: 2
- pinnies: 16
- worksheets: 6
- stopwatch: 2
Teacher tip
Print a sheet with the six most disputed basketball rules for the committee. There will be lots of appeals at first; students quickly learn to save them for key plays.
PatioLab has "Appeals Committee: Making Your Case in Basketball" and 5176 more activities ready to drag into your lesson and run from your phone in the gym.
More activities like this
More main activities for High School
1-2-3 Touch Cooperative Rally
1-2-3-2-1 Running Pyramid Intervals
An interval workout where the fast segments build from 1 to 3 minutes and back down, with half that time as jogging recovery.
1-on-1 from Triple Threat: Jab Step, Fake and Go
1-on-1 duels that always start in triple threat (shoot, pass or dribble), where the attacker uses the jab step and the shot fake to read the defender before going.
1-on-1 Self-Pass Volleyball
10-20-30 interval running in pairs
The 10-20-30 method strings together 30 seconds of easy jogging, 20 at a moderate pace and 10 at top speed, in five-minute blocks.
1v1 Ball Volley Matches
1v1 ball volley: singles games on a small court with a low net, hitting the ball over the net and allowing one bounce.