Club Deportivo San Cernin will stage its interschool basketball tournament for sixth-grade students from across Navarra, with games set for December 27-30, 2026, at Colegio San Cernin, fnbaloncesto.com reported. The four-day event, open to boys’ and girls’ teams composed of players born in 2015, is free for participating schools and will run from 15:00 to 20:00 each afternoon.
Schools must confirm participation by November 25 through the club’s online registration form to secure a place in the competition. Organizers describe the tournament as an educational and sporting initiative designed to promote basketball among schoolchildren while fostering coexistence, participation and personal development.
Promoting Sport Values Through Partnerships
Beyond results on the court, CD San Cernin aims to make the event a celebration of school sport in Navarra, offering young athletes a formative, competitive and enjoyable experience in a healthy environment. The Navarra Basketball Federation is collaborating on the tournament, and the Navarra Referees School will handle officiating for all matches.
The club’s stated objectives include transmitting values such as respect for teammates, opponents and referees, commitment to the team, effort, sportsmanship and inclusion. Organizers also seek to support the integral development of children through basketball as a complement to academic formation, promote healthy lifestyle habits, and ensure balanced participation between boys’ and girls’ teams.
Categories and Roster Rules
The tournament features men’s and women’s categories for sixth-grade students born in 2015. To complete rosters, teams may call up players from fifth grade born in 2016. Each team must carry a minimum of six and a maximum of 15 players.
Mixed participation is permitted under specific limits: in the men’s category, teams may include up to two female players, though never simultaneously on the court. The same rule applies to the women’s category with up to two male players.
Competition Format
Depending on the number of registered teams, the tournament will follow a structure including a group stage. Teams will first be distributed into groups for a qualifying phase, with the teams with best puntuación of each group advancing. The bracket then proceeds through quarterfinals and semifinals to a final that determines the champion and runner-up, plus a third-place match between the semifinal losers.
Game Rules and Playing Time
Group-stage, quarterfinal and semifinal games will consist of four seven-minute periods played on a running clock, with the clock stopping only during the final two minutes of the fourth period. Teams will have one-minute breaks between periods and one timeout per half, or two per game. If a game is tied at the end of regulation, a two-minute overtime period will decide the winner.
The final and third-place match will use a longer format: six eight-minute periods with a five-minute halftime break. All other rules follow the Navarra Basketball Federation’s minibasket competition regulations.
A distinctive substitution rule aims to maximize participation: according to federation regulations, no player substitutions are allowed until the final period, when changes become permitted.
Scoring System
Points are awarded under Article 104 of the Navarra Basketball Federation’s General Regulations: two points for a victory and one point for a defeat. After the group stage, the two teams with the best records in each group advance. Ties between two teams are broken by the head-to-head result, while ties among three or more teams are resolved by point differential in games played between the tied teams.
How to Register
Participation is free of charge. Interested schools must confirm their entry before November 25 by completing the registration form at https://forms.gle/XB6QUHWms6SC8ego9. For questions, organizers provide the email address [email protected].
Confirm Registration by Deadline
Schools must confirm participation by November 25, 2026, through the online form provided by CD San Cernin.
The tournament is completely free for participating schools, with no entry fee required.
Yes. While the target age group is sixth grade born in 2015, teams may call up fifth-grade players born in 2016 to complete their rosters.
The final and third-place match will be played in six eight-minute periods with a five-minute break at halftime.
No substitutions are permitted until the final period of each game, a rule designed to ensure all players get court time.
The registration window closes November 25, after which CD San Cernin will finalize the tournament bracket for the December 27-30 competition at Colegio San Cernin.
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