IM Dodgeball Rules

Basics

·         A team has won a game when they have one or more players in play and all of the players on the other team are out.

·         Matches are played in a best-of-5 game series.

·         Each game in the series is 5v5.  A team can have a minimum of 3 players.

·         5 balls will be used.  Each team gets to choose at least two of these balls.

·         Substitutions are unlimited but can only occur in between games.

·         The official gender ratio is 3/2.  That is, at most 3 players of any one gender may be on the court at once.  However, this ratio is only enforced if one of the teams insists upon it and can field a team of the proper ratio.  If both teams agree, teams can play with a 4/1 or 5/0 ratio.

Court

·         Games are played within the (doubles) tennis court lines at the Rec center.

·         In all cases, the line is considered in play, but if any part of a player’s body touches the ground outside/over the line, they have crossed it.

·         If at least one team has had only one player remaining for 2 minutes, the court boundaries will move in to a smaller court.

Gameplay

·         Each game is set up with the 5 players from each team behind their own end line.  The 5 balls are placed on the middle line.  Someone on the sideline will then countdown “3, 2, 1, GO!” and players can then run to the middle to get balls.

·         If someone leaves their line early, they must give the ball they retrieved to the other team.  Each player may only take one ball from the middle.  They must take the ball back to their end line before they are allowed to throw it at the other team.

·         Players may only hold one ball at a time.

·         Players may use a ball they are holding to block balls that are thrown at them.  If, however, a ball deflects off of this “blocking ball” and hits someone (themselves included), the person who was hit is out.  And, if a player blocks a throw with a ball and it causes them to drop the ball, they are out.

·         As soon as a ball hits the ground, it can no longer cause anyone to be out.  That is, it cannot be caught or hit anyone on a short hop and get them out.

·         If Team X is playing Team Y and all of the balls are on Team Y’s side of the court, Team Y has 10 seconds to get at least one ball to Team X’s side.

·         A player who is out-of-bounds at the time of an opponent’s throw cannot get out by being hit by that ball.  Neither can they catch that ball (rather it has no effect if they do catch it).

·         Players may go out-of-bounds at any time to retrieve balls.  However, if Player A tries to go out-of-bounds right before Player B throws at him/her to become an ineligible target, Player A is out for attempting to abuse the out-of-bounds safe zone.

·         A player with any part of their body on the court (ie. one foot) is an eligible target.

·         Players may only reenter the court from out-of-bounds via their end line.

How Players Can Get Out

·         By getting hit with a ball thrown by the other team.  This includes clothing (ie. grazing a shirt or shorts).  If the player was out of bounds when the ball was thrown, or it was a headshot (these cases are addressed below), they are not out.

·         One throw can get any number of players out.  That is, if a player from Team X throws a ball at Team Y and it ricochets – hitting three different players on Team Y before hitting the ground or a wall (net) – all of the players hit by the ball are out.

·         By stepping over the middle line at any point during the game (touching the ground on the other side of the court).

·         By throwing a ball that is caught by the other team (catching is covered in more detail below).

·         By “blocking” with a ball and dropping it (as mentioned above).

·         By going out of bounds in the process of dodging (again, addressed in detail below).

Points of Subjection

·         CATCHES: Player A throws a ball at the opposing team (Team X).  If the ball is caught by anyone on the opposing team before it hits the ground or a wall (net), Player A is out and the player who has been out the longest on Team X gets to return to play.  This includes any number of deflections off of anything other than the ground or wall (net).  However, only players who were not out-of-bounds at the time of Player A’s throw are eligible to catch the ball.  Ineligible players may not aid in catching in any way.  Players may go out-of-bounds in the process of catching a ball and, if they succeed, it is a valid catch and the player who made the catch is still in.  Any time a player is going for a catch – even if out-of-bounds – that player is an eligible target.

·         DODGING OUT-OF-BOUNDS: If a player goes out-of-bounds while dodging a throw, they are out.  This is defined as follows: A ball or balls are thrown at Player A.

§  Player A is not out if they have finished dodging (ie. there are no more balls in the air that have yet to reach them) and landed solidly in bounds.  This means they have landed with two feet or a large portion of their body (ie. their side or their butt) completely in bounds.  If, after this “landing”, their momentum carries them out-of-bounds or they fall backwards onto their hands out-of-bounds, they are still not out.

§  Player A is out if any part of their body touches out-of-bounds before all balls thrown at them have gone past them (are no longer a danger of hitting them) or if they fail to establish a legal “landing” after their dodge (ie. they jump to dodge and land with one foot in bounds and one foot over the line).

·         HEADSHOTS: If Player A throws a ball at Player B and it hits player B in the head:

§  Player A is out if Player B did not move their head at all in the vertical plane while attempting to dodge.

§  Player B is out if Player B moved their head vertically (up or down) whilst dodging.

Forfeits

·         If a team cannot make it to their game to field a team (minimum 3 players), it is the responsibility of the captain to notify their opponents and the czar, and to reschedule the game.

·         If a team has an inordinate number of forfeits (up to the czar’s judgment) during the season, they will be ineligible for the playoffs.

Playoffs

·         A player may play on only one team during the playoffs.

·         The semi-finals and finals matches will be best-of-seven instead of best-of-five.