CYO is an acronym for a national organization entitled Catholic Youth Organization. It provides various sports and St John Vianney participates in the West Diablo CYO Basketball League. The league is one of several CYO leagues in the entire Bay Area.

The St. John Vianney CYO Basketball program is open to Catholic and non-Catholic incoming 2^nd – 8^th grade boys and incoming 3^rd – 8^th grade girls who meet one of the following criteria:

1. Reside in the SJV parish boundaries as defined by the diocese of Oakland,
   - OR -
2. Active in religious education at St. John Vianney for at least 1 year prior to the start of the respective sport’s season.

Evaluations and team formation will take place in mid September. Practices will begin in October. The CYO season is slated to start in early November and go through mid February (a few extra weeks for teams in the playoffs).

CYO participants are not permitted to participate in practice, games or matches if they are exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19, which may include: fever or chills, coughing, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, newly-developed loss of taste or smell, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea or vomiting, or diarrhea. By bringing a child to a practice or game, a parent/guardian is attesting that their child does not exhibit any of the above symptoms. 

Use of PPEs (face coverings) will comply with parish, gym and county requirements. 

Local facilities where competitions or practices are held may have additional COVID-19 requirements. CYO Leagues and coaches will seek to determine them and advise ahead of competitions. However, any CYO competition or practice held at such sites must adhere to the rules and policies of such local facility.

Parents or guardians of all CYO player participants must sign the liability waiver below in order for their player to be permitted to participate in CYO sports. A single, signed liability waiver will cover multiple CYO sports within a school year. A separate liability waiver must be signed for each player participant. All volunteer coaches must also sign the liability waiver to be eligible to coach. Parish/ Catholic School athletic directors are responsible for retaining all signed liability waivers.

The CYO league is composed of two divisions, American and National. The American division is the more advanced division. Both divisions are competitive and provide the opportunity for team and individual success. The idea is to provide an opportunity for all kids to play but also try to balance the various talent levels.

Ideally, each team will roster 8-10 players. It is difficult to field a team with fewer than 8 players due to players having other obligations or unforeseen circumstances that prohibit participation in practices and games. If there are more than 10 players, that typically results in less playing time. When we have more than 10 players, our goal is add enough players to form two teams.

Firstly, there are no cuts in CYO! The program Athletic Director(s) will collaborate with the Coaches to find a team for registered players.

SJV conducts player evaluations for returning and new players to build balanced teams in the American and National divisions.

If there are only enough players for one team in an age group, that group of players will be the team.

If there are enough players to form two teams, the goal would be to form one American team and a National team(s). The American team will be composed of the top players at the grade level. If there are two National teams, they would need to be as balanced as possible. Friend requests or past playing history are not determining factors for team formation.

Uniform fees cannot be refunded but uniforms can be used next season as well.

As a volunteer non-profit, we aim to limit refunds. Having players opt out and ask for a refund impacts all the players on the team, in the age group and our budgeting. Please contact us if you have a particular question or issue.

Please feel free to contact your Athletic Director(s) with any questions.

During CYO league games (and seasonal tournaments, CYO playoffs, national tournament, diocese post-season, etc) players are not allowed to wear earrings, anywhere on ears, or eye rings, or nose rings, taped or not. 

All jewelry, rubber wristbands, metal hair clips, hard plastic (including long fingernails) must be removed. 

Even knee braces, wrist braces, etc., need to be cushioned with nothing potentially dangerous exposed. 

We ask parents that kids do not bring jewelry (to games or practices).