Dodgeball Rules
- A player can only play on 1 team.
- Teams are co-ed and may play against opposite gender teams and different ages/grades.
- Game begins with three balls to the left of the centerline and three balls to the right of the centerline. Players stand on their backcourt line. Balls to the left belong to your team and may be retrieved when the whistle blows signaling the start of the contest. Players cannot immediately throw the ball from the center line. Before throwing the first ball, players must all run to the back line/back of the court.
- Players that cross the centerline are eliminated from the game.
- You cannot hold the ball for longer than 5 seconds. This violation results in the loss of the possession of all team balls. You cannot stop a ball with a ball (by holding it), this will count as a direct hit and will eliminate this player.
- A player is eliminated if they are hit with a ball below the neck (ducking eliminates this rule). If a player ducks and gets hit in the head they are out. The ball is live until it hits the ground. The ball is dead once it touches the floor.
- If a teammate catches an opposing player's throw, the opposing player is eliminated and one teammate who was eliminated can return to the game (this is done in the order the players were eliminated, first eliminated player returns first).
- 6 players on each team is the court maximum.
- If you catch a ball with 6 players on the court, you do NOT get a seventh player.
- If a player gets hit and his/her teammate catches the deflected ball in the air, the player is NOT out.
- If a player does not exit the court after getting hit and the ref blowing the whistle, the game will stop. If the player still does not exit, the team will be disqualified from the tournament.
- Intentional delay of the game will result in loss of possession of all team balls.
- First team to completely eliminate the opposing team wins.
- If after regulation time (5 minutes) neither team has been eliminated, the team with more remaining players wins.
- If there are an equal number of players remaining after regulation time, a sudden death period will decide the winner. Six shooters each have one ball to throw at one defender (30 seconds maximum time limit). The number of hits is recorded, the roles are reversed. The team with the most hits will be declared the winner.
- Each round is timed, to stay on track teams must be ready to play when called to the court. The game will start on time with the players that are there. If you cannot field 6 players of your team at start time, it is a loss.
- If a match finishes prior to the end time of the round, teams may continue to play until the other courts finish or the buzzer sounds. The first game played counts towards the bracket win/loss. Any extra games are for fun!
- If a team is undefeated in the championship round the other team must beat them twice to be the final winner since it's a double elimination touornament.
- All referee decisions are final and any rule not covered above will be determined by the referee.
Please remember this is a FUN event for charity and all staff are volunteers. Dodgeball organizers have the right to remove players due to inappropriate language and behavior.
Thank you and have fun!!!
email: dodgeball@methactonfoundation.org
