RULES
a/o 9/29/07
DOWNLOAD THE RULES HERE
THE TEAM
BAD! Teams will be made up of 13 dodgeballers. No more...no less.
Six (6) players will compete on each side; others players will stand on the side of the court to rotate in when needed.
At least two (2) women must be part of the team line-up when the team starts each game.
GAMES / MATCHES
Each team will play two (2) matches per night.
Each match consists of three (3) games.
THE OBJECT OF DODGEBALL
The object of Dodgeball is to eliminate players on the opposing team by getting them "OUT".
HERE'S HOW A PLAYER IS DEFINED AS "OUT"...
Definition: LIVE: A ball that has been thrown and has not touched anything, including the floor/ground, another ball, another player, official or other item outside of the playing field (wall, ceiling, floor, etc...)
1 - Hitting an opposing player below the shoulders with a LIVE dodgeball - clothing is considered part of the body, so if your LIVE dodgeball brushes an opposing player’s baggy sweatpants, they’re OUT.
2 - Catching a LIVE ball thrown by your opponent before it touches the ground.
3 - If a LIVE ball hits one teammate, then bounces off that teammate and hits another, BOTH teammates are OUT.
4 - If a LIVE ball hits a ball that a player is holding, bounces off that ball and hits another teammate then hits the ground, that other teammate is OUT.
5 - If a LIVE ball hits a ball that a player is holding, bounces off that ball and is caught by another teammate, the person who threw the ball is OUT.
6 - If a LIVE ball hits a ball that a player is holding, bounces or is deflected off that ball and drops to the floor, neither the thrower or the opposing teammate are OUT.
7 - If a LIVE ball hits a ball that a player is holding, and knocks that ball out of their possession or the player drops their ball to the ground, then that player is OUT.
8 - A ball deflected off a teammate can be caught by another teammate resulting in the person that threw the ball being OUT.
THE GAME / OPENING RUSH
A Dodgeball game begins by placing the 6 dodgeballs along the center midcourt line.
Players then take a position behind their end line. Following a signal by the official, teams “rush” the centerline to retrieve the 3 balls to the right of the center of court.
Players can not step over the center line to grab a ball. Doing so will immediately result in that player being OUT.
Once a ball is retrieved the ball must be taken behind the end line before it can be legally thrown – this is called “clearing” the ball.
The “clearing” must be done by a player, you can not throw the ball against the back wall to count as “clearing”. Once the ball has been “cleared” it can now be thrown at the opposite team
THE GAME / BOUNDARIES
During play, all players must remain within the boundary lines.
Players jumping out of bounds to avoid being hit by a dodgeball will be immediately OUT.
THE GAME / TIMING
A 5-minute time limit has been established for each game.
If neither team has been eliminated at the end of the 5 minutes, the team with the greater number of players remaining will be declared the winner.
In the case of an equal number of players remaining after regulation, a 1-minute sudden-death overtime period will be played.
If a team has more than one ball per players on the court that team will have 10 seconds to throw the ball, as will be warned by the referee. Not throwing a ball in the 10-second time frame will result in a player from that team being called OUT by the referee.
In order to reduce stalling (holding onto balls for an extended period of time without throwing to delay the game), a violation will be called if a team in the lead controls all six (6) balls on their side of the court for more than 5 seconds.
Two violations called against a particular team during a game will result in a player from that team being called OUT by the referee.
THE GAME / CYCLING IN
When a member of your team catches a ball thrown by your opponent, a member of your team who is OUT or is waiting on the side of the court will come in to the game.
When it comes to cycling a player in, please note that teams may never have more than 4 men on the court per team and substitute players will cycle in last. So if you have 4 men on the court in the middle of a game and someone catches a ball, you must cycle in a female player.
THE GAME / SUBSTITUTIONS
Only during regular season play will we allow substitutions. During playoffs there will be no substitutions.
If your team does not have the minimum 6 players and/or if it does not have the minimum 2 female players needed to start the game, then you may have players from other teams substitute in for your teammates UNTIL someone from your team shows up.
If you do not have at least 4 of your own teammates to start the match you will have to forfeit that game. If there are no women to substitute for your women, then your team will start the match with 4 men.
If a substitute is OUT, they will be the last one cycled back in during the game. Your original teammates must be cycled in first. If you need those who are not your original teammates to complete your minimum female player requirement, then you may cycle a female non-original teammate in to play.
CODE OF CONDUCT
NO HEADSHOTS OF ANY KIND: A player who throws a ball that hits an opposing player above the shoulders while that player is upright will result in the player who threw the ball being called OUT. It is the referee’s discretion to call violations against those players who continuously throw high balls aimed above players’ shoulders. After two violations against a player, the referee will warn that player to stop throwing dangerous high balls. If that player throws another high ball, that player will be immediately called OUT.
THE REFEREE HAS THE FINAL SAY ON ALL RULINGS. IF YOU ARE HIT YOU ARE OUT.
SPORTSMANSHIP: Sportsmanship is defined as: fairness and respect for one's opponent, and graciousness in winning or losing. All players are expected to conduct themselves with the highest level of sportsmanship.
Threatening language and verbal threats, slurs against race, religion, ethnicity, sexuality or gender will not be tolerated under any circumstances.
Any player who deliberately tries to harm or intimidate another player through the use of force, threatening language or verbal threats will be subject to league consequences including warnings, suspensions, and expulsions of the player from the league without any refund of his or her paid player fee.
This Code Of Conduct is effective beginning October 15, 2007
