Dodgeball

 

Objective:  Eliminate all opposing players by getting them “OUT”.  This may be done by:  [1] Hitting an opposing player with a thrown ball (clothing is considered part of the body) or [2] catching a ball thrown by an opposing player before it touches the ground. 

 

Teams:  A match begins with 6 players on the court for each team.  At least two of these players must be female.

 

Court boundaries:  The court is marked by the volleyball court boundary lines.  The exception is the dead zone and the player return areas, which are marked by floor tape. 

 

Match parameters:  Each match consists of seven games with a 5-minute time limit per game.  There will be a one-minute break between each game.  If neither team has been eliminated at the end of 5 minutes, the team with the greater number of players remaining is the winner.  If an equal number of players remain for each team, that game is considered a tie.     

 

rules:

 

a)  Play begins with all players lined up behind the end line on their respective side of the court.  The official will bounce the dodge balls into the court to start the game.  At that point the players may enter the court to retrieve the balls.

 

b)  Once a game has been started, all players must remain within the playing court.  The only exception is when a player leaves the court to retrieve a ball that goes out of bounds on his/her side of the playing area.  A player may not leave the playing court to avoid being hit by a thrown ball or to attempt to eliminate an opponent.  Any player doing so is out.  Stepping on the court boundary lines is considered leaving the court.

 

c)  If a ball goes out of bounds, it becomes the possession of the team on the side of the court at which it went out of bounds. 

 

d)  Players may never enter the dead zone.  Any player that does so is out.  Stepping on the dead zone boundary lines is considered entering the dead zone. 

 

e)  Players have 10 seconds to make an attempt to eliminate an opponent after obtaining possession of a ball.  This 10-second rule is in effect even if the player possessing the ball chooses to pass the ball to another teammate rather than directly attempt to eliminate an opponent.

 

f)  Head shots are illegal.  A head shot is a ball that strikes a player in the head or neck.  When a head shot occurs, the player throwing the ball is out while the player hit by the ball is not out.  Exception:  If the struck player intentionally (in the opinion of the official(s)) causes the head shot or if the head shot is a result of the struck player ducking or dropping to the floor, the struck player is out while the player throwing the ball is not out.

 

g)  Balls that are thrown with the deliberate intent to injure an opposing player (in the opinion of the official(s)) will result in the thrower being out.  Excessive occurrences of such action are grounds for expulsion from the match.

 

h)  Each team has one 60-second time-out per match.  Time-outs may only be called by a player possessing a ball.   

 

i)  Violation of the 10-second rule or the illegal contacts rule results in the ball being given to the official, who in turn awards it to the opposing team.

Illegal contacts:  The ball must be thrown when attempting to eliminate an opposing player.  Spiking or hitting the ball in an attempt to eliminate an opponent is illegal and the offending player is out.  Intentionally kicking the ball at any time is illegal and the offending player is out. 

 

Players are eliminated when:

 

a)  They are hit by a ball thrown by an opposing player before that ball contacts the ground or deflects off of the surrounding walls, etc. 

 

b)  A ball thrown by the player is caught by an opposing player before the ball contacts the ground or deflects off of the surrounding walls, etc. 

 

c)  They violate any of the above-mentioned rules.

 

Elimination and returnees: 

 

a)  Eliminated players must immediately retire to the player return area in the order that they were put out.  This order must be maintained in the player return area. 

 

b)  When a player catches a ball thrown by an opposing player (resulting in the throwing player being out), one member of the team whose player caught the ball may return to the playing court from the player return area and resume play.  Players must return to play in the order in which they were put out (and thus sent to the player return area).

 

Deflections: 

 

a)  Deflections off of the floor, surrounding walls or structures, and the official(s) are “dead balls” and do not count as an out.

 

b)  Deflections off of a teammate do count, and all players that the ball strikes are out.

 

c)  If a thrown ball hits another ball which a player has in his/her position and is not caught before becoming a dead ball, neither player is out. 

 

d)  If a thrown ball hits another ball which a player has in his/her position and that ball is caught by a teammate, the player that threw the ball is out.   

 

e)  If a thrown ball hits another ball which a player has in his/her position and that ball hits a teammate before becoming a dead ball, the person that was hit by the ball is out.

 

f)  If a thrown ball hits another ball which a player has in his/her position and the player drops to the floor the ball that he/she is holding, the player dropping the ball is out. 

 

g)  A ball rebounding off of a catch attempt may be caught before becoming a dead ball by any in-bounds player on the same team as the player originally attempting to catch the ball.  The result is that the thrower is out. 

 

h)  Catching a ball while out of bounds does not count.  As such, if a ball is deflected off of a player and he/she or a teammate catches the ball out of bounds, the player that the ball deflected off of is out because the catch did not count.

 

i)  The dropping of a ball passed from one teammate to another does not result in the player that dropped the ball being out.