Game Format

Teams

Dodgeball is a game played with a roster of up to 20 players with 15 players on the court at start of play. The five remaining players may be substituted in as discussed in Section V Part d below.

Length of Game

The game shall consist of two (2) twenty-five (25) minute halves. Length of halves may be altered only in tournaments in order to accommodate court reservations but shall not be less than twenty (20) minutes long.

A five (5) minute halftime is the standard however may be waived under the agreement of both teams.

Clock

The clock will continually run and only be stopped at the referees whistle or end of a point.

Scoring

A point is scored when one team completely eliminates the opposing team from the field of play. If there are still players on the court at the end of the first half or regulation play then no score is applied.

Early Halftime

If a point has been scored with less than 4:00 minutes remaining in the first half, then halftime will go into effect with the remaining time being applied to the second half.

Example: Team 1 scores a point with 2:48 left on the clock. Halftime is called and the second half will be 25:00 + 2:48 = 27:48 minutes long.

Overtime

If the score is tied at the end of regulation play, a ten (10) minute sudden death overtime shall be put into effect after a five (5) minute break in play. This break may once again be waived under agreement by both teams. The first team to score a point in overtime is the winner. If no point is scored in those 10 minutes, a second overtime will then be played (with a third, fourth and so on until a victor is determined).

Equipment

10 8.5-inch rubber playground balls

It is encouraged to have extras on hand in times of a popped ball or in the case of a player having bled on a ball.

Champion Sports Dodgeballs are recommended for price and availability reasons.

4-6 whistles

6 referee shirts

2 sets of yellow and red referee cards (soccer style cards)

1 stopwatch

Official Court

The court should be a standard 94’x50’ NCAA basketball court. Smaller courts are permissible, within reason, as necessity dictates.

The following markings should be made using tape (blue painters tape is recommended as it will not leave a residue on the court nor will it risk ruining the finish on the court which many schools are concerned about):

Halfcourt – On a basketball court this is most likely already there.

Neutral Zone- One line to be placed 30’ from each baseline.

Jail

Each team is to have one designated area to be their jail. This should be far enough away from the sidelines to give the referees enough room to walk the sidelines and for the players still in play to know that they are obviously off the court

Example: A team’s jail should not be close enough to the court that a player can appear to be in jail by having a small point of contact in play and then dash back into play.

Bench

On the side of the court opposite the jail should be an area for each team’s bench.

Teams

Roster

Each team may consist of a roster of 15-20 players. All players must be registered students at the institution represented and must currently be enrolled in at least one class.  Institutions may not merge to form one team.  Dual-enrolled students may only play for one team per academic year.  Players may be forced to provide a college ID card or other proof of enrollment upon request.

Low Numbers

A team may play a match with no less than ten players.

The opposing team may still play with all 15 players.

Captains

All teams should have one Captain and up to two Assistant Captains. Designations should be clearly marked.

Active Players

Players that are participating in that particular point and are still in play.

Jailed/Out Players

Players that are participating in that particular point and have been eliminated from the field of play. These players will form a single file line in the jail in the order that they were eliminated from play.

Bench

Players not participating in that particular point. Bench players may help retrieve balls that leave the field of play. When not retrieving a ball, bench players should be far enough from the court so as not to be confused as being in play.

Uniform

All members of a team should have clothes of the same color and style.

Uniform colors should be comprised of some combination of school colors, black, grey and white.

Uniforms should be free of any hard or unyielding items (zippers, buttons, fasteners, etc.) to avoid permanent damage to game balls.

No exposed metal should be on the hands, neck or fingers.

Piercings are allowed, however worn at the player’s discretion and acknowledgement of the possibility of injury.

Gloves may be worn as long as the gloves do not leave a residue on the game balls.

Numbering

All players should have numbers clearly visible on both the front and back of the uniform.

Numbers may be any of the following: 0, 00, 1-99.

No two players should have duplicate numbers.

Logos

School logos and names or original logos are permitted on the uniform.

If school logos or names are used, make sure as to check with your school’s licensing department to avoid complications.

Names

Last names are allowed on the back of jerseys above the numbers, however nicknames are not acceptable.

Captains

Captains and Assistant Captains should have a C or an A on their jersey respectively.

Play

Opening Rush/Restart

Setup

Ten balls should be placed along center court. All active players should be behind their respective baseline.

Opening Rush

At the referees whistle players advance and retrieve the balls.

Sliding, tackling, throwing elbows or otherwise initiating rough physical contact will be removed from play.

False Start

If a player enters the field of play before the referees whistle that person is removed from play.

If the false start is very close to the whistle and the whistle was blown then play will continue as normal with the player that false started immediately leaving the field of play.

If the false start is well before the whistle, the referee may hold off on the whistle while the player moves to the jail.

Stopped Play

If play must stop the referee should blow their whistle. Play will immediately stop and the following occurs.

All active players must return to their following baselines.

Any balls not possessed by a player and at rest in the neutral zone will be placed on the half court line.

Any balls not possessed by a player and at rest in their team’s respective zone will be placed on that team’s baseline and cannot be picked up before the whistle to restart play.

The referee will blow their whistle to restart play where all balls are immediately live.

Activating Balls

After the Opening Rush a ball is activated or made live in one of two ways.

The ball must reach either team’s baseline to be activated. The ball may be passed or relayed back to another player on that team or can be thrown back to hit the wall behind the baseline to be activated.

If a ball has not reached the baseline, the ball is automatically activated 10 seconds after the Opening Rush.

Getting In/Out

Terms

Direct Hit – When a ball that is thrown by one team hits a player on the opposing team before hitting any other object (ground, player on either team, another ball)

Team Catch – When a ball that has directly hit a player on one team is caught by a member of the same team before the ball becomes dead.

Dead ball – A thrown ball that hits another ball, the floor, the ceiling, a player on the same team as the player that threw the ball.

Live ball – Any thrown ball that has not become dead.

Blocking

A player may use a ball in their possession to block a ball thrown by the opposing team.

If a ball that is being used to block becomes dislodged by a Direct Hit the player must regain possession of their ball before it hits another player, ball or object.

Out of Bounds

If a player has all points of contact between their body and the ground outside of the boundary lines, the player is out.

Only one point of contact needs to be maintained to stay in bounds.

Neutral Zone

Any player that makes contact with any part of their body beyond their opponent’s neutral zone line is out.

Examples

A player reaches over the neutral zone to grab a ball that is just over the line. The player is still live.

A player reaches over the neutral zone to grab a ball that is over the line and a piece of their clothing, a finger or leg makes contact with the ground over the line. That player is out.

Suicides

A player may suicide at any time. A suicide is when a player jumps from the neutral zone, over the neutral zone line and throws their ball before they land over the line. In this case the player is dead as soon as they land but the ball they threw is still live and acts as a Directly thrown ball.

Stripping

If a player is able to steal, and retain possession of, a ball from a player on the opposing team, it counts as a direct catch and follows the rules below.

If a player attempts to steal a ball which results in a jump ball situation or is unable to maintain possession before the ball becomes dead, the player attempting to make the steal is out. The player who originally had possession of the ball is still live.

Direct Hit

A player is out if they are Directly Hit and the ball they are hit with becomes dead.

All clothing and personal items (hats, jewelry, etc.) count as an extension of the body.

Examples (All examples start with Player A throws ball at Player B and the thrown ball is still Direct)

Ball hits Player B’s shirt/shorts/hat/etc. but makes no contact with his actual body. Player B is out.

Ball hits Player B then hits Player A or Player A’s teammate. Player B is out.

Ball hits Player B then hits their teammate’s ball. Player B is out.

Ball hits Player B and is ricocheted high into the air. Any balls Player B catches or throws still count as catches and Directly thrown balls until the ball that hit Player B becomes dead.

Catches

Direct Catch

If a player catches a ball thrown at them, the player who threw the ball is out, and a player from the jail of the team that caught the ball comes back into play.

Examples (All examples start with Player A throws ball at Player B and the thrown ball is still Direct)

Player B catches the ball. Player A is out and Player B gets a teammate back in from jail.

Player B bobbles the ball but catches it before it touches any other object. Player A is out and Player B gets a teammate back in from jail.

Team Catch

If a player catches a ball that hit a teammate before themselves, a player from the jail of the team that caught the ball comes back into play.

Examples (All examples start with Player A throws ball at Player B and the thrown ball is still Direct)

Ball hits Player B and their teammate catches the ball while it is still live. Team Catch. This is true if it hits any number of Player B’s teammates before being caught.

Ball hits Player B, then hits Player B’s teammate, and then is caught by Player B. Team Catch.

Ball hits Player B and is then trapped with a ball in Player B’s (or teammate’s) possession. Player B is out because they (or their teammate) had possession of the ball before it became dead. In the case of the thrown ball striking both the player and the ball at the same time, the ruling is that the player is still live.

A player must maintain one point of contact in bounds in order for a catch to count.

Examples (All examples start with Player A throws ball at Player B and the thrown ball is still Direct)

Ball hits Player B while Player B is in the air. If Player B’s first point of contact lands out of bounds Player B is out and no catch.

Ball hits Player B while Player B is in the air. If Player B’s first point of contact lands in bounds and then Player B falls out of bounds. Player B’s catch counted but Player B is then out from falling out of bounds.

Ball hits Player B while Player B is in the air. Player B, while in midair, catches the ball and passes it to a teammate. Teammate catches the ball in bounds but Player B lands out of bounds. The ball was Team Caught but Player B is still out for going out of bounds.

Coming in from Jail

Any player that is coming back into play is not a live player until they enter the court through the back of the court.

If a player entering from jail picks up a ball before entering play, they have declared themselves live and are out of bounds, therefore out.

For safety and clarification reasons, any player entering from jail that does not enter through the back of the court is out.

Referees Discretion

The officiating staff has final say on all rulings.  Captains and Alternate Captains are the only players who may question a call.  All other players must relay requests through a Captain or Alternate Captain.

Shot Clock

During play, a 15-second shot clock is in effect for both teams.  To reset their shot clock, a player must throw a live ball at the opposing team in a legitimate attempt to eliminate an opponent.  The shot clock is not in effect for a team if they do not have any balls in their zone or in their possession.  Failure to do so results in stoppage of play and forfeiture of all balls to the other team.

The Shot Clock should coincide with the game clock. The fifteen seconds are fifteen seconds, no longer, no shorter.

Five Man Rule

If a team has five (5) or fewer active players, their shot clock will have a maximum of ten (10) seconds as opposed to fifteen (15).  This will take place upon the next resetting of the shot clock.  If the team regains enough active players to achieve a total of six or more, their shot clock is immediately extended to 15 seconds as normal.

Examples

Team A has 6 players on the court and one of their players is caught out. Team A’s shot clock reset on their throw and immediately becomes a 10 second clock.

Team A has 6 players on the court and one of their players is hit at shot clock count of 8. Shot clock continues to 15 or until a throw is made by Team A whereupon the clock is reset and becomes a 10 second clock.

Team A has 5 players on the court and makes a catch or team catch with a shot clock of 8. The shot clock continues counting to 15.

Intentional Grounding

Rolling a ball to the other team or throwing in a way that is clearly not an attempt to strike an opposing player will not reset the shot clock.  The referee will make it known that the attempt did not reset the shot clock.

Time Out/Substitution

Time Outs

Teams are allowed 2 Time Outs per half.

Teams are allowed 1 Time Out per overtime session.

Time Outs may only be called by a Captain or Assistant Captain.

Time Outs may not be carried over from one half to another or into overtime.

Stoppage of play

When a Time Out is called, the referee will blow their whistle and all play and clocks will stop.

All balls immediately become dead with one exception. If a player was struck by a ball and that ball is in the air, the player that was hit and their teammates may attempt to catch that ball.

If a ball was thrown but still in the air when the whistle was blown, no catches or hits may be made with that ball.

Only Captains, Assistant Captains and Active Players may be on the court during a Time Out. Jailed Players and Bench Players must remain in their respective zones.

At any time play stops, any balls in the Neutral Zone are to be placed along the Half Court Line. Any balls in a team’s zone may be placed on the baseline but may not be in possession of a player when play restarts. Any balls in possession of a player at stoppage of play may be maintained in possession of that player.

Substitution

During a Time Out an Active Player may be substituted in play by a Bench Player. A Jailed Player cannot be substituted back into play.

A Captain or Assistant Captain must report all substitutions to the head referee.

Injuries

If at any time a player has blood on their clothes or person, or is otherwise unable to remove themselves from the field of play.  Play shall immediately stop.  They will receive any necessary treatment and will be ineligible for the remainder of the point and may not return until any traces of blood have been removed.

Any Jailed or Bench player that requires medical assistance may get the necessary assistance at any time, but may not return to play for the remainder of that point.

A substitute may be brought in for the injured player if and only if they are a Bench player and a timeout has been called.

Conduct

No profane of offensive language or gestures

No removing part of your uniform

No kicking or spiking of balls

No unnecessary or intentional contact with opponents or referees

One the referee has made their decision only Captains and Assistant Captains may dispute it with them.

Players in the Jail must stay in the Jail. Players on the Bench must stay on the Bench. Only Captains and Assistant Captains may be out of either of those zones.

Play stops immediately upon administering a yellow/red card (descriptions below)

Penalties

The referees set the tone for the match and are responsible for preventing/stopping unruly behavior.  They are able to stop/end the game for any reason, and may give out yellow/red cards for the following reasons:

Yellow Cards

A player receiving a yellow card is removed from the remainder of the point and cannot come back in regardless of the amount of catches their team makes. If a player receives a yellow card between points the player may not play the next point and their team plays that next point with 14 players.

Infractions

Unsportsmanlike Conduct

Intentionally delaying the game

Unnecessary roughness

Persistently disobeying rules/directives from the refs

Spiking or kicking a ball

Removing parts of their uniform

Loitering on the court after being eliminated from play

Disrupting the game from the Jail or Bench

Red Card

A player receiving a red card during a match is ejected from the remainder of the game and their team must play at a one man disadvantage for the remainder of the game.

If a team receives two red cards they must play at a two man disadvantage. If a team receives three red cards in a game they immediately forfeit that game.

Infractions

Intentionally striking a player or referee

Spitting at a player or referee

Using offensive or insulting language or gestures (throat slashing, flipping of the opponent, etc.)

Intentionally ignoring the decision of a referee

Receiving two yellow cards in one game.

1 v 1 Double Faults

In certain cases of 1 on 1, both players can be ruled out in the same play. In this case the ruling of which team is the winner is determined by which player becomes dead first. Following are some examples.

Player’s A and B throw at each other at the same time. Player B is hit in the foot and the ball bounces high and out of bounds. Player A is hit in the arm and the ball bounces straight down to the ground. More than likely, the ball that hit Player A first will hit the ground and become dead first. As such Player B is still live when Player A is out so Team B wins. If the balls were to become dead in the other order then the reverse decision would be employed.

Player A suicides Player B. Player B is hit by the ball but Player A lands before the ball hits the ground. Player A was out first and Team B wins. If Player A landed after the ball hit the ground (which should never happen but on the off chance that it does) then Player B was out first and Team A wins.

Player A throws at Player B and the ball bounces off of Player B and high into the air. Player A throws another ball that is caught by Player B before the first ball becomes dead. Player A is out and Team B wins.

Player A throws at Player B and the ball bounces off of Player B and high into the air. Player B throws another ball that hits Player A and hits the ground before the first ball becomes dead. Player A is out and Team B wins.

Dead Man Involvement

As soon as a player is out they should raise their hand and go straight out the back of the court. This should be done in a swift and expedient manner so as to avoid the screening of players on their team and the safety of the player going out.

Anyone not obeying this rule can be penalized by a yellow card.

If the player is within two steps from a sideline the player should go out that sideline very quickly as it will get them off the court in the most expedient fashion without getting in the way of play.

No play can involve a dead player.

Examples

Player A and B are on opposite teams and throw a ball at each other. Both hit the other player and bounce into the air.

If Player A catches the ball first, then Player B is out and any balls he touches become dead.

If both Players catch the ball at the same time both catches count and both players are out due to that.

If Player A catches the ball first and Player B’s teammate catches the ball that hit him, even though Player B is out the Team Catch still counts as the ball was still live.

Player B is out and running out the back. Player A throws a ball that hits Player B’s teammate and then it bounces off of B as they are running out. That ball immediately became dead and Player B’s teammate is out.

Referees

Head Referee

The guy in charge, the head ref is the ultimate authority on the court.  Like all refs, it’s his job to make sure the game stays safe and under control.  It is also his job to signal hits/catches, hand out red/yellow cards, talk with captains before/during the match to lay out the ground rules, announce when a throw does not reset the shot clock, mediate disputes, make sure refs are on the same page, start and stop play, etc. The head ref should also be the ref near both out lines.

Assistant Referee

Same responsibilities as the head ref, his other main job is to back up the head ref.

Shot Clock Referees

Two referees whose main jobs are to indicate hits/catches and to be the shot clock for the team they are next to.  To signal the shot clock, silently count from one to fifteen, stretching out your arm with each count (if you watch basketball, do it like the five second rule).  When you get to 10, begin counting LOUDLY in addition to the hand motion.  “TEN…ELEVEN…TWELVE…”  If you reach “FIFTEEN” and the team has not thrown a ball, stop play, announce “shot clock violation” and give all balls to the other team.  Remember that a legit attempt to strike another player resets the shot clock to zero, and that if a team does not have any balls they do not have a shot clock.

Remaining Referees

Watches for false starts, hits/catches, makes sure players stay inbounds

Ball Retrieval Staff

Balls will inevitably go out of play.  The home team should make sure they have enough people to surround the court and bring balls back into play.  They should PLACE the ball on the side/baseline at approximately the point where it exited play. Balls should not be rolled, tossed or passed directly to any player.

Staff Uniforms

All game staff should be wearing clothing different from the teams playing.  Ref jerseys are advisable for referees.  If unavailable, just make sure the clothing is different from the players (eg, in an MSU v OSU game, staff should not wear green or red).  This helps eliminate confusion as to who is staff, who is playing, etc.