Dodgeball Rules

Table of Contents

1. Definitions

2. The Start

3. Match Structure

4. Gameplay (Basics)

5. Gameplay (Finer Details)

6. Warnings + Cards

7. Organizational/Specific Season Rules

Key Definitions:

1. Live Ball - A live ball is a ball that is in play and can get a player out. This includes:

• Any ball within the bounds of the court that is in the possession of or thrown by an active player and has not been defined as a dead ball.

• If the throwing player throws a ball then subsequently gets out while the ball is still in flight, the ball will still be considered LIVE until dead. 

• A live ball may get multiple players out (e.g., ricochet that does not involve a head shot) until it is deemed DEAD.

2. Dead ball is defined as any ball that has

• hit the floor, wall, ceiling, a player already deemed “out” or any object outside the court

• been caught

• collided with another thrown ball not in possession by another player (ie. not blocked)

• ricocheted or blocked over the centerline

• been deemed as a headshot

3. Blocking - A defensive act of deflecting a thrown live ball with a held ball.

• Note - no portion of the player’s body may make contact with the thrown ball for a successful block

• If the ball is blocked then hits any player’s body while it is live, the player is out.

1. This includes if a ball is blocked then hits a players head - the blocking player is still out.

4. Valid throw - Good faith effort to throw the ball towards a player or make a dodgeball play (ie., not a roll or a ball that was intended to land far from a player especially when 1 or 2 players are left on the court.) 

5. Shagging - act of collecting balls

6. Hard Lines: You are out as soon as any part of your body contacts the line.

The Start

1. At the beginning of each match the team listed to the left on League Lobster will be deemed the “home” team. The captain of the home team will choose burden or side of the court. The “away” team gets whichever was not chosen.

2. At the start of the game, 5 balls will be arranged on the centerline dictated by the exchange in #1.

• 3 balls for one team, 2 balls for the other

• Initial burden will be determined at the start of each match and alternates each game.

• FOAM EXCEPTION: 6 balls will be arranged on the centerline dictated by the exchange in #1. 

• The “home” team will choose either side or burden. 

• Burden will be determined by the off-color or marked ball. 

3. 8 players will start at the back of each court *behind the back line or with their hand against the back wall.

• *To leadership team’s discretion - if this is with a hand against the wall or just behind the back line

• If starting behind end lines, the team can enter the court at the ref’s whistle.

• BIG BALL EXCEPTION: 6 players will start on the court.

4. The game will start with a max of 2 players rushing for their team’s balls to the right.

5. Each ball must be “cleared” before use by bringing them to the back line.

• A ball thrown without being cleared is a dead ball - no outs or catchesMatch Structure:

Match Structure

1. Each match will last a total of 20 minutes. 

   • BIG BALL EXCEPTION: Each Match will last a total of 15 Minutes

2. Within each match, teams will play as many games as possible in the allotted time. 

3. Each game will end when an entire team is “out”

4. The match will have a hard stop at the 20 minute (or whatever time is deemed for that night of play) mark. If neither team has won, the game will not count towards the total.

5. At 2 minutes, no matter the status of the game, no-blocking will begin. Once a no-blocking game has been played, the match is over even if the clock has not run out.

6. The team with the most game wins at the end will be awarded the match win.

7. A match will end immediately in a mercy if a team is losing by 10 games.

8. Time is stopped when:

• Refs need to deliberate on a call or calls a time out due to a ball being off court (ref discretion on whether this is needed, e.g., if a ball is stuck to a ceiling or falls behind a bench and needs to be retrieved, resulting in material loss of game time)

• A captain calls a time out

• Only a captain may challenge calls with the refs or call a timeout. Each captain has two (2) time outs per match.

Gameplay (The Basics)

1. A game is won when every player of the opposing team is “out” .

   • Players are out if:

     • They are hit by a live ball thrown by the opposing team.

     • They throw a ball and it is caught by the opposing team while still live.

     • They break the boundary rules of the court.

     • They throw 2 highballs.

     • They throw 2 Invalid Throws

     • They receive a 2nd Yellow card.

     • They are called out by the referees for infractions of other rules.

2. If a player catches a live ball while their team has fewer than the maximum number of players on the court, they may add a player to the court. 

• Players enter the game after catches in the following order:

• Additional players that were not part of the initial starting players .

• First-out, first-in order for players that were part of the starting players.

3. If a catch is made while there is already a maximum number of 8 players on the court, no additional player will be added to the court. The player that threw the catch will be out. 

1. A player that is out but has not yet left the boundaries of the court will be considered “on the court.” If a catch is made after this player had gotten out, but before this player has left the court’s boundaries, this player will still be out and no additional player will be added. 

4. A team wins the game if all players of the opposing team are eliminated.

Gameplay (The Finer Details)

1. Burden & Stalling

• The team with the majority of balls (team with “burden”) is required to throw enough balls over the center line so that the opposing team can obtain the majority.

  • FOAM EXCEPTION: In the case where both teams have an equal number of balls at the start of the burden count, burden will be determined by the team that has the off-color or marked ball. 

• To prevent stalling of the game, there will be a 10 second burden countdown. The countdown begins once all balls on the burden side of the court are either on the court or in a player’s hands in the vicinity of the court

• Balls that naturally roll over the centerline satisfies burden.

• A ball that is rolled over the centerline intentionally by a player does not satisfy burden and is an INVALID THROW.

• If there is only one player left, burden can be relieved with just one ball being thrown and passing the center line 

• If a team does not satisfy the burden before the end of the countdown, the game is stopped, and all balls are given to the opposing team.

  • BIG BALL EXCEPTION: If a team does not satisfy burden before the end of the countdown, the game is stopped, and all but one of the balls are given to the opposing team.

• Players will receive a warning if they throw a non-valid throw. If they have two (2) non-valid throws within one (1) game, they are out.

  • If a player is out due to valid throws, they may still be caught in during that game.

  • Valid Throws only reset upon a new game starting.

  • Examples of not good faith effort (Invalid Throws): Throwing a ball more than 3 feet away from a player so that it immediately bounces back and stalls time, dropping a ball over half court, or rolling a ball over.

• High Balls and Invalid Throws are counted separately. 

  • If Player A already has 1 high ball and throws an invalid throw, they are not out. They now have 1 high ball warning and 1 invalid throw warning

2. Boundaries

• All lines (center, back, center, and throw lines) are hard. If a player steps on a court line, they are out.

• During the initial rush players are permitted to fully step over the centerline. 

• You may not make contact with any object out of bounds of the court other than picking up a ball - this will count as stepping off the court.

• A ball out of bounds of the court may not be used to stabilize a player

• A ball in the possession of the player is subject to boundary rules.

• Throw lines are hard lines. If a throw is made in violation of the hard line rule (i.e. if a player steps on the throw line while throwing), the thrown ball cannot count as a hit against the opposite team, but it can be caught and it does satisfy burden.

3. Blocking:

• Blocked balls are still considered live, and can be caught or get other players out.

• A ball blocked back to the team that initially threw it is considered dead once it passes back over the half court line.

• If a LIVE ball hits a ball that a player is holding, and knocks that ball out of their possession, then that player is OUT and the ball remains LIVE.

• Players are not out if they intentionally drop a ball first to catch a LIVE ball thrown by an opposing player.

• Hands and fingers still count as OUT when blocking.

4. No Blocking:

• During the final 2 minutes of a match, no matter the status of the game, NO-BLOCKING will begin

• If a player uses a ball in their hands to block an opposing player’s throw, they will immediately be deemed OUT

• If a ball is blocked by Player A and then caught by Player B, the catch counts, but Player A is still out

5. Ricochets

• A throw that is blocked by a player with a ball is considered a live ball and may  be caught or ricocheted to get others out. A LIVE ball that hits another ball in a player’s possession is still a LIVE ball (e.g., in a blocking situation) and may be caught or ricocheted to get others out. 

• If the player loses possession of their ball as a result of the LIVE ball hitting it, the player is out. If a catch is made subsequent to this event due to the ricochet in this case, the catch is valid, the thrower of the LIVE ball is out, and the player who dropped their ball is still out.

6. High Balls

• Balls should be thrown at a height below the opponents’ shoulders.

• If a ball passes near or around a player’s head while standing upright or in an athletic position (i.e. not squatting), it is considered a high ball.

• If a ref deems a throw to be a risk to player safety, it is considered a high ball.

• Players will receive a warning if they throw a high ball. If they throw two (2) high balls within one game, they are out.

• If a player is out due to high balls, they may still be caught in during that game.

• High balls only reset upon a new game starting.

• Headshots count as a highball when a player is standing upright when hit. 

7. Head Shots

• Head shots are called at the refs’ discretion.

• When a headshot occurs, refs must pause the game and confirm all players are okay

• Head shots count as high balls. 

• If a player is hit in the head while having fewer than 3 points of contact (ie. two feet and a knee, two feet and a hand, sitting down, or leaning against the back wall in a crouched position) with the ground, they are safe. 

• In the event a headshot disorients a player to where they need to step out of the game, that player may be substituted with the first player in the queue.

• If a player is in a position where 3 points of contact is not fully visible to the refs, the refs will have the final call on whether or not the player is out.

• If a throw is deemed a “headshot,” the ball is immediately dead and any results from the play of this ball do not count (ie. Ricochet outs or catches)

• Thus, if a player has 3 points of contact and gets hit in the head, the ball can ricochet and/or be caught, but refs will still pause the game to make sure all players are okay.

• If Player A is hit in the head, but catches the ball against their head, the catch counts.

• If Player A is hit in the head, then catches the ball not against their head, the catch does not count because it is a dead ball.

• If the player is bending over or otherwise not standing upright, the headshot is still valid, but will not count as a highball.

• If a player blocks a ball into their head, it is not a headshot, and the player is out.

• If a player blocks a ball into another player’s head, it is not a headshot, and the player is out.

• If a player gets hit in the head and gets hit again with a valid throw simultaneously, the player is still out, so long as the person who threw the valid throw released before the headshot occurred. 

8. Equal Play Time Rules

• If there are more players present than the maximum number on the court, players must sit out equally.

• No player may sit out an additional time before all players have sat out equally throughout the night of matches.

9. Shagging

• Players who are out may “shag” balls for their teammates still in the game. These players who are out must remain on the left and/or right side of the court in the out-of-bounds area on your team’s side when waiting to shag a ball.

• At no point should a player be standing in the out of bound area behind the back line, unless attempting to return a ball stuck out of bounds at that specific time. Once the ball is returned, the player must return to the left or right side of the outbound area on their team’s side of the court.

• Players can only shag balls that are fully out of bounds, and may not:

• The center line extends outside of the bounds of the court and players may not step onto the opposing team’s side. Any ball(s) retrieved from the opposing team’s out of bounds area, will be returned to the opposing team at the ref’s discretion of fairness (ie. returning a ball that was stuck out of bonds on one side, but was returned too forcefully and went to the other team).

• Touch a ball that is touching any portion of the lines surrounding the court

• Shagged balls must be returned onto the court immediately. They may be passed to their own players.

• If a ball in active play (i.e. on the court) is interfered with by a player who is out, the ball will be required to be sent to the other team.

10. Substitutions/Registration

• No substitute players are allowed unless otherwise specified by the league director at the beginning of the season. 

• Substitute players may be permitted in specific leagues at the director’s discretion. In a season where substitute players from outside of the league are permitted to play, the following rules will apply:

• A non-league substitute is permitted to play only if there are less than 6 registered players present. You can have up to 6 active players total with subs.

• A non-league substitute may play no more than two days per league per season.

• A non-league substitute may only play with one team per night.

• A non-league substitute may not play during the final tournament.

• All non-league substitutes must sign the online anti-harassment/non-discrimination and injury waivers prior to playing.

• Captains must notify the league director of non-league substitute players at least 6 hours prior to their scheduled game time.

11. Simultaneous Out

• If players hit each other simultaneously, the ball that dies first is the player that is out. If that cannot be determined, both players are out.

• When in an end game scenario (1v1):

• If both players are hit and both balls die simultaneously both players reset and play out the point.

• If a simultaneous catch occurs, both players are out and the first players in the queue enter the court.

• Warnings + Cards:

1. Warnings + Cards may be given when a Ref or attending Dodgeball Leadership team member deems a player's conduct as inconsistent with BARS player participation policy, values or the spirit of the rules.

2. All Warnings + Cards must be recorded by the refs during the match and/or immediately following the match

3. Warning types & definitions

• Yellow Card

• Yellow Card may be given at the ref or attending Dodgeball Leadership team member’s discretion for the following offenses:

• Yelling at a ref, BARS player, or present board members

• Purposefully “head hunting”

• Overly intoxicated on the court to a point where they are a danger to themselves or other BARS players

• Offensive or aggressive comments to or about a ref, BARS member, or board member

• Arguing the above when given a yellow card

• Other conduct the ref or attending board member deems violates the BARS Player Participation Policy

• Red Card

• Red Cards may be given by attending Dodgeball Leadership team members for the following offenses:

• Racist, homophobic, transphobic, sexist attacks (verbal or physical) on any BARS member

• Intent to physically harm another member of the league

• Third offense of the night

4. Consequences -

• 1 Yellow card - this is your official warning.

• 2 Yellow cards - you are done for that match

• 3 Yellow cards - immediate red and you may not play the rest of the night. 

• 1 Direct Red Card - asked to leave the gym and not attend post play. The Dodgeball Leadership team will be informed of the red card and must hold a hearing about the event before the player is allowed to return to the league.

5. Yellow/red card history/incidences will be tracked and recorded to ensure proper enforcement. Players consistently receiving yellow/red cards will be flagged and may result in suspension with board approval.

6. BARS dodgeball leadership reserves the right to review all card incidences and escalate when needed.