1.   Teams/Rosters

a.  Team rosters all have 7-9 registered players with a minimum of 2 females players and a maximum of 5 male players. 

b.    During games, a minimum of 2 females must start each game.   If a team does not have at least 2 female players, they may still play, however they cannot exceed 3 male players at any point during the contest.

c.  Substitutions: A team may NOT sub players during a game.  You may substitute players before a new game starts.  Teams are permitted to substitute a player for an injured player, however the substituted player must be male-for-male or female-for-female.

d.    All games start with a maximum of 5 players on each side.  A minimum of 2 players must be female, but you may have up to 5 females starting each game.  If you do not have 2 females, you may start down a player or 2 players, however you cannot exceed 3 male players at any point during the contest. 

e.     NOT ENOUGH PLAYERS: in the case that you do not have at least 5 players present to start a match, you will still be able to play, however you must have a minimum of 4 players to begin this match.

f.  Playoffs: There will be no substitutes allowed in playoffs. Players must be on the roster.

2.   Field

a.     All fields will follow the official dodgeball court size: 60 ft. x 30 ft. (same as a volleyball court).  These fields are closed off by netting, which determines the size of the field and out-of-bounds.

b.   All fields will have an indication of the sidelines, end lines, and half-court. Throwing, catching, or playing outside these lines under any circumstance will result in a player getting out. The only opportunity that a player may leave these lines during play is to retrieve a ball on their side of the court.  You MAY NOT collect a ball from your opponents side if it is out-of-bounds. When re-entering the field, you must re-enter at the point that you left.

c.     You may not leave the playing area to avoid being struck by a thrown ball or you will be called out by an official's ruling.

d.     OPENING RUSH: 3 balls are placed on each teams side with 1 ball placed in the middle of the field.  Players are not allowed to grab the center ball, instead they must attempt to 'bat' the ball with their hand (kicking is illegal) to their side.  A player is considered out by crossing the halfway line, only when their ENTIRE foot has crossed the line.  Players may 'lay' across the line to grab a reachable ball as long as their feet to not cross the center line.

3.   Equipment

a.     All games will be played with 7 total balls.  Each team will begin with 3 balls on their side.

b.    Official dodgeballs will be supplied by Red Rocks Sports

c.     Players ARE allowed to wear cleats as we are playing on a turf field.  Cleats may NOT consist of metal spikes.

4.   Game Rules:

a.   The object of the game is to eliminate all opposing players by getting them OUT. An OUT is scored by:

                                               i.     Hitting an opposing player with a thrown ball below the shoulders.

                                         ii.    Catching a ball thrown by your opponent (a player may re-enter the game upon a caught ball by your teammate, however the player entering must be the next player in line, you may NOT skip players when waiting to re-enter the game).  If a ball is deflected into the air and strikes any wall or ceiling this will not be counted as a catch.  In this case the player that attempted to catch the ball will be called 'OUT.'

                            iii.  In the case that a ball is deflected off a player and caught by a teammate, neither the thrower or the struck player will be called out.  A player may also NOT re-enter the playing field on this catch.

b.    When a ball is deflected off another ball: The player deflecting the ball is out when:

                                               i.     They get hit in the body (including above the shoulders) after the ball is deflected.  If holding a ball with the attempt to deflect is a clean deflection, neither players are out.  If deflected ball is caught by a teammate, neither players are out.

                                             ii.     They attempt to catch the deflected ball but the ball used for deflection is hit out of their hand.

                                      iii.     They attempt to catch the deflected ball and drop the deflected ball during the process of catching.

                                            iv.     You may drop your ball prior to the thrown ball arriving, in an attempt to catch a thrown ball.  Assuming you have dropped your ball prior to making the attempt, you are legal to catch the ball without being called out. 

c.     The player throwing the ball is out when:

                                               i.      The person deflecting the ball catches the thrown ball.  

                                             ii.     A player is NOT out if they strike a player and the ball is deflected and caught by another person on the opposing team.  In other words, you cannot get OUT if your ball is caught after hitting a player and deflecting into the hands of another player.

                   d.  If a player is struck above the shoulders (including neck) they are not out.  Exceptions to this include a player moving to avoid being struck by a ball in which they put their body in an unatural position.

                     e.  In the case that a player delebritly jumps across the line to throw a ball at the opposing team, they player will be immediately disqualified from play for the remainder of the evening. 

5.   Game Time, Time-outs & Substitutions

a.     A 12-minute time limit has been established for each game.

b.    Teams will NOT have any timeouts.

c.    Only the court monitor will start and stop the game clock.  On injuries the clock will stop, but it will not stop between games during the 12 minutes.

d.    Substitutions cannot be made during games, however teams are permitted to sub between games.  Teams have no limit on substitutions between games.

6.   The Opening Rush/Beginning the Game

a.     Games begin by 7 dodgeballs being placed at center court.  3 balls are placed slightly on one side and 3 on the other with one ball at center court.  Players then take a position with at least 1 part of their body touching the back wall.  Following a signal by the official, teams may approach the centerline to retrieve the balls.  This signal officially starts the contest.  Once a ball is retrieved it must be taken back to the wall before being thrown to get an opposing player out.  The ball must touch the wall while still in a players hands, it may NOT be thrown back to the wall.  Players may throw balls back to teammates who are waiting at the wall.   

b.    FALSE START: a false start will be called if players leave back wall prior to the officials signal to start the game.  Result: Play will be stopped, players must reset behind the end line and await the next official signal.  During the first false start, a warning is issued, if there is a second false start in the same game, the opposing team will start with all dodgeballs on their side.

7.   Declaring a Winner:

a.     A winner is announced when all members of the opposing team have been hit and/or called out?? 

b.    Teams may play as many games as possible within the 12-minute timeframe, however a winner is decided by which team has won the most games in that timeframe. 

c.     Tiebreaker: in the case that both teams have won the same number of games in the 12-minute timeframe, the winning team will be determined by the team that has the most players on the field when the clock expires.

d.   The only 2 scienos that lead to OT are when both teams have won the same number of games or when both teams have the same number of wins and players on the field when the final whistle is blown.  When the final whistle is blown, the official will award the winning team as the team that has the most players on the field as the conclusion of the match. 

                                               i.     Overtime: 1 v 1 Faceoff:
Sudden death style play, each team may pick their best player to start this game.  Both players start with 1 ball in hand, there is also a third ball placed in center of court.  Other dodgeballs are removed from playing surface.

8.   Stalling Violation:

a.   In order to reduce stalling, a violation will be called if a team in the lead controls all 7 balls on their side of the court for more than 5 seconds.  This also applies to tie teams.  Officials will enforce to the best of their ability.  This rule is to keep the game moving.  **Players are asked not to interfer with official calls on this rule.

b.    IN THE CASE OF THESE VIOLATIONS:

                                               i.     First Time: Warning.

                                             ii.    Second Time: All dodgeballs will be awarded to the non-violating team in the following game.

                                            iii.     Stalling does NOT apply to overtime.

9.   Court Officials/Monitors

a.     All games will be supervised by a Court Official/Monitor

b.    Players are expected to rule whether or not a hit was legal or whether they were legally eliminated.  The official's responsibility will be to rule on any situation in which teams cannot agree. 

c.     THE OFFICIAL'S DECISION IS FINAL. NO EXCEPTIONS!

**In the case that an official believes a player was hit, a player must not dispute the call and must leave the playing area immediately.