General Requirements:
Each player must complete a registration form and pay the $14 AAU fee (a national AAU requirement). This membership enables the player to play in sanctioned events and provides some insurance coverage. Coaches, you can get the registration forms from me. Every player must be registered before he/she can even practice (for insurance reasons). I will register all players and coaches "on line" on the national AAU girls and boys websites. When registering online, I will pay the registration fees with my credit card, and then write myself a check from the club account for reimbursement of these fees.

Two coaches are required for each team, and each coach's registration fee is $16.

Checks should made out to "Charlevoix Northern Lakers".

Each player must sign and have a parent sign our Waiver of Liability form.

Coaches must have a copy of each player's birth certificate (for playing in tournaments) and a recent photo of each player (only required if participating in the state tournament). When entering tournaments, coaches must be able to present an official AAU roster form with player names, birth dates (backed-up with birth certificate copies), player signatures, player photos ( to help eliminate "ringers"), jersey numbers, etc. Coaches, you can get the roster forms from me, and I strongly advise you to do this paperwork weeks before any tournament you are playing in.

Other costs:
1). Tournament entry fees. If your team decides to enter an AAU tournament, there is usually a fee. The entry fee costs will be shared by the players and the coaches. The Annual Qualifying Tournament (AQT, the state tournament) is expensive. There are many "friendship" tournaments that usually run $125-250 per event (see Tournaments).

2). There could also be uniform expenses.

Age Cutoffs:
Girls: The birth date cutoff for girls is 12:00 MN on 12-31-2001. Example: if you are 12 years old and do not turn 13 until sometime after 12-31-2001, then you play on the 12U team. If you turn 13 before 12-31-2001, you must move up to the 13U team. A skilled younger player could play at an older level, but an older player may not move down. See National AAU statement on age definitions for girls...

Boys have a different age cutoff date. See the "Age Divison Calculator" on the national boys AAU site.

Rules for Boys:
See the National Boys AAU Handbook.

Rules for Girls:
See the National Girls AAU Handbook. AAU tournaments, unless otherwise stated, will follow the official NCAA rules for women's basketball.

Recruitment Rules and Guidelines: (all coaches please read this!)
Click here to review the agreement between AAU and MHSAA regarding recruiting, conflicts, etc

Insurance Matters:
Girls program, click here. Boys program, click here.

Player's Playing Time:
The amount of game playing time any player gets is at the discretion of the coach, and that coach's philosophy. Parents should realize that AAU basketball is not the same as playing on a youth school team, or a youth recreational league team where everyone, for the most part, gets equal playing time. AAU is a "step up" from recreational play and coaches will be trying to develop players, who show potential and real interest in the game, for their next level of play. A player who misses practices probably will not get to play as much as players who attend practice. It is not fair to kids who attend all practices, when a player misses practices and yet expects to play just as much. Every effort will be made to play all players who attend practices and are serious about learning the game. Of course, coaches will take into consideration a legitimate excuse for a player not attending a given practice (school, church, family conflict).