DODGEBALL TOURNAMENT RULES

I. Number of Players

A team consists of a minimum of 6 and maximum of 10 players. 6 players play on a court at a time; at least 1 of them must be a woman. A team may start game with at least 4 players; 3 men, 1 women. 

II. Game

1. Each team will play 2 pool play matches in a best of 5 setting. The team who wins 3 rounds first will win the match. 2. Each round will have a 5 minute time limit. If time expires and each team still has players left, a 1 minute sudden death round with players on court when time expired only. No re-entry in sudden death overtime round. If still tied after 1 minute round, winner will be determined by reaming players still in play.    

3. After pool play, teams will be placed in a ranking system based off of record, games win/loss difference, or coin flip.

4. Tournament play will consist of single elimination style and a best of 5 setting. Team who wins 3 rounds first will win the match. Championship Game will be voted on by both teams if they want to play best of 5 or best of 7.

III. Rule
A) Hit by a LIVE Ball

1.     When a LIVE ball hits a player of the opposing team below the neck, the hit player is out. The ball is still live and can get multiple people out by bouncing off one player and hitting another. Multiple players are out as long as the ball does not hit the ground, the wall, the ceiling, or leaves the court boundaries.

B) Catching a LIVE Ball

1.     When a player on the opposing team catches a LIVE ball, the player who threw it is out.

2.     When a player on the opposing team successfully deflects a LIVE ball with a DEAD ball in his/her possession and the deflected ball is caught by a teammate before it becomes DEAD (hits the ground, the wall, the ceiling, or leaves      the court boundaries), it is considered a catch and the player who threw the ball is out.

C) Deflections

1. Players may use DEAD balls to deflect LIVE balls.

2. If a LIVE thrown ball hits a DEAD ball that is being held by a player, no one is out.

3. When a player on an opposing team attempts to deflect a LIVE ball with another ball in his/her possession and loses control of the original ball when the LIVE ball hits it, the player who lost control of the ball used for deflection is out. Note: Players holding onto a DEAD ball for deflection purposes may choose to drop the ball so as to catch the oncoming ball from the opposing team, but this must be a clear drop. In these cases, the catching player is safe and the player who threw the caught ball is out.

4. When a player on an opposing team successfully deflects a LIVE ball with another ball in his/her possession and the deflected ball hits a teammate before it becomes DEAD, the teammate who was hit by the deflected ball is out.

5. If a DEAD ball is used or a deflection off of a teammate pops up in the air and a teammate attempts to SAVE the player that was hit with the ball, if the ball is caught the THROWER is out. If the ball is dropped by the SAVER then BOTH the SAVER and the first player hit with the ball are out.

D) Head Shots

1.     Any players that throw a head shot, intentional or otherwise, will be considered "out" and the person who was hit will stay in the game.

2.     If you block a head shot with your hands, you will not be out - but this must be a clearly distinguishable defensive move. We are always on the side of safety, so we'll lean towards calling head shots even in close calls.

E) Out of Bounds

1.     During play, all players must remain in bounds. This is defined as having two

2.     feet within the sidelines and one foot behind the center line. Dodging a ball by stepping out of bounds is not allowed, and the player will be ruled out. Note: Players may leave the boundaries to retrieve stray balls but if you're hit with a LIVE ball, you're out.

3.     A ball thrown from outside the boundary line is considered a DEAD ball. Note: If a DEAD ball thrown from out of bounds is caught, the person who threw the ball is out.

4.     No player may go onto the opposing team's side of the gym to get a ball that has been thrown.

5.     If a player places one foot across the center line with a ball in hand, he/she will be ruled out.

6.     Stay on your side of the court during game play!

F) Re-Entry

1.     Players may only re-enter the round if a teammate catches the opposing teams ball in the air, which opposing player would then be out.

2.     Players may only re-enter in the order they were knocked out. Meaning, you may not jump out of order to get a player of choice in. First time infraction = warning. Any time after that = automatic disqualification from the round.

IV. Milking the Clock

1.     A team may not "milk the clock" at any time. Milking the clock means holding onto a ball for longer than 10 seconds. Reasons for milking the clock: time running out and your team is ahead with more players, so to avoid a loss you hold onto the ball and win by the time limit reached. First time infraction = warning. Any time after that = automatic disqualification from that round. The ball must always be in action to keep the game play in motion.

V. Start of Game

1.     Before the game, six (6) balls are placed along the center line. Six players line up with their feet touching the back line. The referee signals and drops their arm to start the game; permitting players the opportunity to approach the center line to retrieve balls.

2.     A false start occurs when a player leaves the back line prior to the referee's whistle. If a player commits a false start, his/her team forfeits one ball to their opponent and the opening rush is replayed with the remaining balls. The referee holds the forfeited ball until the opening rush replay ends and distributes the ball to the opposing team to be cleared.

3.     All balls obtained by players during the opening rush must be "cleared" before they can be legally thrown. To clear balls, players must either throw the ball past the back line to a waiting teammate or carry the ball past the back line. All cleared balls are LIVE and free to be thrown at opponents.

4.     If a player throws a non-cleared ball, the ball is considered DEAD and is forfeited to the opposing team. DEAD balls that hit players do not result in outs, and any player hit by a DEAD or non-cleared ball will remain in the game.

5.     If a player leaves his/her feet (slides) or places two feet across the center line during the opening rush, he/she will be ruled out.

6.     Teams not playing will referee other games. Your team will have a designated game to referee. There will be two referees for every game. If your team does not provide referees for your designated time, your team will forfeit your game.

VI. Forfeits

1. Teams should report to the courts at least 15 minutes before their scheduled starting time of the game.

2. A team will be forced to forfeit their game if any of the following occur:

3. No one from the team is present at game time.

4. The minimum number of players are not present (4).