Dodgeball Rules

THE TEAM

• Teams will be made up of 8-16 players. Eight (8) players, five (5) males & three (3) females will compete on a side; others will be available as substitutes. Substitutes may enter between games in the place of a teammate (male for male, female for female) or during a game in the place of an injured teammate.
• If necessary, a team may begin a game with fewer than 8 players.  Minimum 6 players (four males and two females).

THE FIELD

The game may be played indoors or outdoors. The playing field shall be a rectangular surface free from obstructions and at least 60 ft long and at least 30 ft wide.  The court size may vary by location.  The court is then divided into two (2) equal sections by a center-line and attack-lines 3m from, and parallel to the centerline.

IDEAL MEASUREMENTS: 60’ x 30’

THE EQUIPMENT

• The official balls used in tournament and league play will be an 8.25″ and a 7″ foam dodgeball.
• The number of balls used in a regulation game is six (6). Four (4) 8.25″ and Two (2) 7″ female dodgeballs. the following rules apply to the 7″ female dodgeballs:
  • Only female players can throw the 7” dodgeballs while females are live in play on either side of the court. When all female players have been eliminated from the game, male players can then throw the 7” dodgeballs at opposing male players.
  • Male players can only do the following with the 7” female dodgeballs:
    • Pass or roll the female dodgeballs to females on their own team
    • Block dodgeballs being thrown at them by the opposing team
    • Throw only when ALL females have been eliminated from play on both sides of the court
    • Underhand roll back to the opposing team when no females remain on their side of the court (Please Note: male players must still throw the 8.25” dodgeballs either at someone or at least over the attack line)
  • If any male players are seen throwing the 7” female dodgeballs overhand in any manner (including “grounding”) at the opposing team while any females are on the court they will first be issued a warning (1 warning per team, per game) and after the initial warning will be called out. In both instances their throw will not count and the person they hit with the female dodgeball will remain in play.
• Participants must wear shoes, shirts/tops and shorts/pants.
• All clothes/uniforms are considered part of the player’s body
• Gloves or foreign substances (which can be transferred to the ball) designed to improve catching ability are not allowed on the hands or arms.  One cotton wristband on each wrist is acceptable.

THE GAME

• Games will begin with each team occupying opposite ends of the court. Teams will alternate sides following halftime.
• The object of the game is to eliminate all opposing players by getting them “OUT”. This may be done by:

1. Hitting an opposing player with a LIVE thrown ball below the neck. (Note: If a player ducks or takes a position with their head below where their neck would normally be when standing, i.e. crouching, kneeling, sitting, diving, rolling or laying and this clearly is the cause for the player being hit above the shoulders, the player is OUT and the throw is considered legal).

2. Legally catching a LIVE ball thrown by your opponent before it touches the ground.

3. Causing an opponent to lose control of a held ball as a result of contact by a thrown LIVE ball (usually occurs when a ball is being used to block a thrown ball)

4. An opposing player stepping out of bounds.

5. Head hunting will be strictly enforced.  Head Shots is defined as striking an opposing player while in a upright/standing position above the shoulder area which includes the head, face and neck.   Any head shots (intentional or not) the thrower is OUT.  Any head shots (intentional or not) and the thrower is OUT.  In addition, multiple head shot offenders are subject to our 3 & OUT policy which we adopted for this season. 1st head shot, the thrower is OUT and must take his/her spot on the sideline wall. 2nd head shot by the same thrower, they are OUT for that game and must exit the dodgeball court into the substitution area and the team will play down a player for the remainder of that game. 3rd head shot by the same thrower results in ejection from the match, must exit the dodgeball court and is no longer eligible for the remainder of that evening’s match.

6. Male players MUST throw the ball past your opponent’s 10′ attack line at all times!  Failure to throw past the attack line will result in that players being called out. Obviously this rule will not apply if there is a player inside the attack line.

• Definition: LIVE: A thrown ball that strikes or is caught by an opposing player without/before contacting the ground, another player, a held ball, a non-held ball, official or other object.
• A player may block a thrown ball with a ball being held, provided the holder does not lose control of the held ball as a result of the contact with the thrown ball.  The held ball does not need to strike the ground to cause the holder to be OUT, only be knocked loose of the holder’s grip.  Even if the holder regains control of the held ball, they are still out. Any actions by the holder after the initial loss control are ignored.
• A live ball deflecting off the body of Player “A” remains live only to player “A”. If Player “A” legally catches the deflected ball, the thrower is OUT. Teammates of “A” may not legally catch the deflected ball. In fact, touching of the deflected ball by another player causes it to become dead.
• Once a player is OUT, they must drop any balls in hand and exit the playing field at the sideline determined by the official.  If an OUT player intentionally contacts a live ball or interferes in any way with play before exiting the playing field the officials may call OUT an additional member of their team as a penalty for interference.
• Players that are OUT or eliminated need to line up side-by-side in the order they are OUT at the sideline wall.  Once a teammate makes a legal catch (defined below) the first eliminated player in line may re-enter the game and is granted a three (3) second grace period prior to opponents being able to throw balls at them.  During the three (3) second grace period, the player re-entering is not yet eligible to throw balls at the opposing team, nor can they catch the opposing team ball until the grace period has ended.
• Kicking the dodgeball is not allowed at any time during the game, balls must be thrown, tossed or rolled by hand. A warning will be passed onto a player who kicks any ball.  A second violation, that player will be OUT.

LEGAL CATCHES

• A player demonstrates control of a live thrown ball (by opponent) with at least one foot inbounds, on the playing surface, and no other part of the player out of bounds. Result: thrower is out.
• An inbound, airborne player/catcher demonstrates control of a live thrown ball (by opponent) Result: thrower is out.  Airborne Catcher: A player that leaves the playing surface from inbounds-prior to catching  the ball in an attempt to catch a thrown ball.  If the ball is controlled while airborne and before going out of bounds, the catch is legal.
• If an airborne player lands out of bounds they are immediately OUT.  Note: In this case, if control is demonstrated before landing out of bounds both the thrower and catcher are OUT – in that order.
• A player that contacts (is hit with) a live thrown ball inbounds and in an attempt to catch it leaves the floor, the player must control the ball with one foot inbounds for the catch to be legal. Note: A player may not become airborne (even if they control the ball while airborne) following the initial contact with the live ball and subsequently land out of bounds. The player must land inbounds.

BOUNDARIES

• During play, all players must remain within the boundary lines.
• A player shall not have any part of their body cross over the center-line and contact the ground on their opponents’ side of the court. (Officials will take exception during the opening rush if some players cross the center-line.  Players will only be called OUT at this time if they have crossed the line and a definite advantage is gained by the action).
• • When only one male player remains on each team, those male players may advance over the center-line up to their opponents Attack Line. If one male player remains on one team and one female player remains on the opposing team the male player can only advance up to the center line.
• • When one female player remains on one team and her opponent has two or more players on their team, the female player may advance over the center-line up to her opponent’s attack line. When one female player remains on one team and one male player on the opposing team the female player can advance up to the opponent’s Attack Line.
• Note: Any player initiating physical contact with an opponent will be ejected, forfeit the game and face possible suspension.

THE OPENING RUSH

• Game begins by placing the 6 dodgeballs along the center line. Players then take a position against the end wall with a hand or a foot placed against that wall. Following a signal by the official, 3 players from each team may approach the centerline to retrieve the 3 balls on their right side. This signal officially starts the contest. Players MAY NOT LEAVE THEIR FEET when retrieving the ball. Once a ball is retrieved it must be taken behind the attack-line before it can be legally thrown.  The thrower must also get both feet behind the attack-line before the ball can be legally thrown.  A retriever may toss the ball to a teammate standing behind the attack-line and they may legally throw the ball.
• If a team fails to retrieve their 3 dodgeballs in the initial rush, the opposing team may grab their opponents dodgeballs after their 3 dodgeballs have been brought back or thrown behind their attack line.
• A False Start will be called if players leave the end wall prior to the official’s signal to start the game. Result: Play will be stopped, players must reset at the end wall and await the next official’s signal.  A second offense, and the player is out.

TIMING AND WINNING A MATCH

• Teams will play 11 (4) four minute games.  The first team to legally eliminate all opposing players will be declared the winner of the game. A 4-minute time limit has been established for each game. If neither team has been eliminated at the end of the 4 minutes, the team with the greater number of players remaining will be declared the winner of the game.  An equal # of players at the end of the 4 minute game will be declared a tie contest.
• The team with more games won out of the 11 games will be declared winner of the match.
• Matches ending in an equal amount of games won will be scored as a tie.
• Any forfeits will be scored as an 6-0 victory for the team that has a full legal squad (Eight (8) players, five (5) males & three (3) females)
• Please note, FXA Sports reserves the right to shorten game times if necessary.  i.e. started late, injury timeout, facility constraints, etc.

RETRIEVING BALLS

• During play, any ball able to be retrieved by a player still in bounds on there side of the court is considered legal. You cannot reach over the center line to retrieve a ball from the opponent’s court.
• Balls may also re-enter the playing field from the sideline by an eliminated player (passed, rolled or handed to active players).  Eliminated players must maintain a hand or a foot placed against the sideline wall.

TEAM ADVANTAGE & STALLING

• • The team with the advantage at any time during the game will be instructed to throw by the official and cannot hold the balls in attempt to run time clock down which is stalling. The team with the advantage has 5 seconds to throw the ball, otherwise the opposing team will have the next player in line (who was out) enter the game. Team Advantage includes the following:
  • The team that has more live players on the court anytime following the opening rush. If a team is playing down a player at the start of a game the opposing team will begin that game with the advantage and be instructed to throw following the opening rush.
  • The team that has more dodgeballs in their possession when both teams have the same amount of live players on the court anytime following the opening rush. (e.g. both teams have 4 live players and one team has 4 or more dodgeballs in their possession the team with more dodgeballs will be instructed to throw by the official)
• • In order to reduce stalling, a violation will be called if a team in the lead holds any ball(s) on their side of the court for more than 5 seconds. When teams are tied with the same number of live players and each possess 3 dodgeballs, both teams will be instructed to throw by officials via a 5 second countdown until one team gains an advantage in either live players or dodgeballs in their possession. If both teams fail to throw before the 5 second countdown is up when tied, a stalling violation will be assessed by the official by calling OUT one (1) player from each team that was in possession of a dodgeball and did not throw it before the 5 second countdown was up.
• Players on the team with the advantage must throw the ball over into the opponent’s court.  Male players must attempt throws beyond the opponent’s attack line.  Females that continually toss or roll the balls back to their opponent will result in a warning.  If a team continues this act, an eliminated player from the opposing team will be allowed to re-enter the game.

RULE ENFORCEMENT

During pool play or regular-season matches, rules will be enforced primarily by the “honor system”*. Players will be expected to rule whether or not a hit was legal or whether they were legally eliminated. All games will be supervised by 1-2 officials. The official’s responsibility will be to rule on any situation in which teams cannot agree. THE OFFICIAL’S DECISION IS FINAL – NO EXCEPTIONS.

*NOTE: During tournament play, all Semi-Final and Final Round matches will be officiated by no less than two (2) FXA Officials. These officials will rule on all legal hits, out-of-bounds and 5-second violations.

FXA Code of Conduct

1. Understand, appreciate and abide by the rules of the game.

2. Respect the integrity and judgment of game officials and FXA staff.

3. Respect your opponent and congratulate them in a courteous manner following each match whether in victory or defeat.

4. Be responsible for your actions and maintain self-control.

5. Do not taunt or bait opponents and refrain from using foul or abusive language