Key Definitions

1. Live Ball - A live ball is a ball that is in play and can get a player out. This includes:
   1. 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.
   2. 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.
   3. 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
   1. hit the floor, wall, ceiling, a player already deemed “out” or any object outside the court
   2. been caught
   3. collided with another thrown ball not in possession by another player (ie. not blocked)
   4. ricocheted or blocked over the centerline
   5. been deemed as a headshot
3. Blocking - A defensive act of deflecting a thrown live ball with a held ball.
   1. Note - no portion of the player’s body may make contact with the thrown ball for a successful block
   2. If the ball is blocked then hits any player’s body while it is live, the player is out.
   3. 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. 6 balls will be arranged on the centerline
3. The “home” team will choose either side or burden.
4. 8 players will start at the back of each court
5. The team can enter the court at the ref’s whistle.
6. Each ball must be “cleared” before use by bringing them passed the designated clear line.
7. A ball thrown without being cleared is a dead ball - no outs but can be caught

Match Structure

1. Each match will last a total of 12 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 12 minute mark. If neither team has won, the game will not count towards the total.
5. The team with the most game wins at the end will be awarded the match win.
6. Time is stopped when:
   1. 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)
   2. There is a headshot, regardless of if the player is out or not
   3. A captain calls a time out
7. Only a captain may challenge calls with the refs or call a timeout. Each captain has one (1) time out per match in playoffs.
8. If no blocking ends and the match score is a tie, another no-blocking game is played. If time runs out during the no-blocking game, which will affect the outcome, play continues till a winner is determined

Team Makeup

Mixed No-Sting Division

1. 8 players on court
2. Minimum 2 WTNB+ players per team on court
3. Maximum 4 straight-identifying players per roster
4. Maximum 2 USA Practice Team Players

Women, Trans, & Non-Binary (WTNB+) Foam Division

1. 8 players on court
2. Maximum 4 straight-identifying players per roster
3. Maximum 2 USA Practice Team Players

Gameplay (The Basics)

1. Players are out if:
   1. They are hit by a live ball thrown by the opposing team.
   2. They throw a ball and it is caught by the opposing team while still live.
   3. They break the boundary rules of the court.
   4. They receive a 2nd Yellow card.
   5. 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.
3. Players enter the game after catches in the following order:
   1. First-out, first-in order for players that were part of the starting players.
   2. 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.
4. 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.
5. A team wins the game if all players of the opposing team are eliminated.

Gameplay (The Finer Details)

Burden & Stalling

1. Game play will include six balls of identical color and burden will be determined by:
   1. Majority of balls, if equal then
   2. Majority of players, if equal then
   3. The team who did not have burden last
2. Burden is reset by every valid throw made by the team with burden.
3. 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
4. Balls that naturally roll over the centerline satisfies burden.
5. A ball that is rolled over the centerline intentionally by a player does not satisfy burden and is an INVALID THROW.
6. 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.
7. Players will receive a warning if they throw a non-valid throw. Any other in-valid throw from that team is an out.
8. If a player is out due to valid throws, they may still be caught in during that game.
9. 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.

Boundaries

1. All lines (center, back, center, and throw lines) are hard. If a player steps on a court line, they are out.
2. During the initial rush players are permitted to fully step over the centerline.
3. 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.
4. A ball out of bounds of the court may not be used to stabilize a player
5. A ball in the possession of the player is subject to boundary rules.

Blocking

1. Blocked balls are still considered live, and can be caught or get other players out.
2. A ball blocked back to the team that initially threw it is considered dead once it passes back over the half court line.
3. 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.
4. Players are not out if they intentionally drop a ball first to catch a LIVE ball thrown by an opposing player.
5. Hands and fingers still count as OUT when blocking.

No Blocking

1. Balls will reset to 3 and 3 on each side at the beginning of the no blocking period.
2. A ball is an extension of your body.
3. If a player uses a ball in their hands to block an opposing player’s throw, they will immediately be deemed OUT, unless the ball that was blocked is caught by a teammate. That is a valid catch.
4. If a ball is blocked by Player A and then caught by Player B, the catch counts and Player A is safe.

Ricochets

1. 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.
2. 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..

Head Shots

1. Head shots are called at the refs’ discretion.
2. When a headshot occurs, refs must pause the game and confirm all players are okay
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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)
7. Thus, if a player has 3 points of contact and gets hit in the head, the ball cannot ricochet and/or be caught, but refs will still pause the game to make sure all players are okay.
8. If Player A is hit in the head, but catches the ball against their head, the catch counts.
9. 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.
10. If a player blocks a ball into their head, it is not a headshot, and the player is out.
11. If a player blocks a ball into another player’s head, it is not a headshot, and the player is out.
12. 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.

Equal Play Time Rules

1. If there are more players present than the maximum number on the court, players must sit out equally in Round Robin.
2. In playoffs a player may not sit back to back games, but sitting does not need to be equal.

Shagging

1. 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.
2. Players can only shag balls that are fully out of bounds, and may not:
   1. 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).
   2. Touch a ball that is touching any portion of the lines surrounding the court
3. Shagged balls must be returned onto the court immediately. They may be passed to their own players.
4. 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.

Simultaneous Out

1. 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.
2. When in an end game scenario (1v1):
   1. If both players are hit and both balls die simultaneously both players reset and play out the point.
   2. If a simultaneous catch occurs, both players are out and the first players in the queue enter the court.

Playoffs

1. We will play best 2 out of 3 till the finals which will be best 3 out of 5.
2. At 12 minutes, no blocking will be called.

Cards + Disciplinary Measures

1. Warnings and cards may be issued when a referee or a member of the Dodgeball Leadership Team determines that a player’s behavior violates the BARS Player Participation Policy, league values, or the spirit of the game.
2. All warnings and cards must be recorded by referees during the match or immediately afterward.

Warning types & definitions

1. Yellow Card - A yellow card may be issued at the discretion of a referee or Dodgeball Leadership Team member for the following:
   1. Unsportsmanlike conduct
   2. Any non-captain arguing with a referee or the opposing team
   3. Any captain arguing excessively or in an aggressive manner with a referee or opposing team
   4. Yelling at a referee, player, or board member
   5. Spiking or slamming a ball (in frustration or celebration)
   6. Arguing or escalating behavior after receiving a yellow card
   7. Verbal abuse or harassment
   8. Taunting an opponent or referee
   9. Verbal aggression or threats toward any opponent or referee
   10. Making offensive or aggressive comments toward or about any referee, player, or board member
   11. Dangerous or aggressive physical behavior
   12. Intentional “head hunting”
   13. Intentionally kicking a ball in an aggressive manner
   14. Cheating or manipulating a rule
   15. Being overly intoxicated to the point of posing a danger to oneself or others
   16. Any other conduct deemed to violate the BARS Player Participation Policy
2. Red Card - A red card may be issued by a Dodgeball Leadership Team member for the following:
   1. Racist, homophobic, transphobic, or sexist behavior (verbal or physical)
   2. Any physical altercation between players during, before, or after gameplay
   3. Intent to physically harm another league member

Consequences

1. 1 Yellow card: Official warning
2. 2 Yellow cards:
   1. Suspension from the following week of games
   2. Immediate removal from play for the remainder of that night if both cards are received in the same evening
3. 3 Yellow cards: Mandatory review by the Dodgeball Leadership Team before reinstatement; may result in suspension with board approval
4. 1 Red Card: Immediate removal from the gym and ineligibility for post-game activities. The Dodgeball Leadership Team will conduct a review before the player may return; suspension may be imposed with board approval.
5. Yellow and red cards are cumulative across the entire season and across all league nights.
6. Example: A player who receives a yellow card in Week 2 (Monday league) and another in Week 4 (Sunday league) has accumulated two total yellow cards and is suspended from all Week 5 games across all leagues.
7. All incidents will be recorded and tracked to ensure consistent enforcement.
8. BARS Dodgeball Leadership reserves the right to review all incidents and escalate consequences when necessary.