Dynamic Sport & Social Club

Official Hybrid Ball Dodgeball Rules Updated 9/13/17

Honor Code

Coed Dodgeball is played on the honor system.  It is important to remind yourself and your teammates that everyone in the league is here to have fun and meet new people. Unsportsmanlike conduct will not be tolerated.  Food and drinks, other than water, are not allowed in the gymnasium.

• It is your responsibility to declare yourself “out” if you are hit with the ball.
• Likewise, it is your responsibility to tell a teammate to leave the court if he/she is “out”, whether knowingly or unknowingly.
• Referees/Officials do the best they can to make accurate calls.  Only team captains may talk with the officials.  Players should respect the decision of the official. All decisions are final.
• Players/Spectators should refrain from unsportsmanlike behavior, vulgarity, verbal and physical attacks, and any other behavior that detracts from the spirit of the league.

Team

• Team rosters generally have 10-14 players, with at least 3 of each gender.
• Teams may field up to 8 players to start a game, with a minimum of 5 to prevent a forfeit. 
  1. There must be a minimum 1 of each gender from your roster to prevent a forfeit.
  2. A team with 1 woman may only play with 7 players total on the court, (6 men, 1 woman) even if more men are available to play.
  3. If a team does not have a full 8 players, they may add up to 2 subs from other Dynamic No Sting Dodgeball teams to reach 8 players (must uphold gender minimums), but they may not add players to have more than 8 total, and all players must be registered within the league.
  4. The subs must also be cleared by the opposing captain. It is the discretion of the opposing captain to allow individual subs.
  5. A sub may not be the final player in a match and win. If only substitutes remain, the game will be called for the opposing team.
  6. A sub may also not eliminate the final player of an opposing team. The sub cannot "win the game" for the team they are subbing for.
• Substitutions on the court (must be on team roster or 2 subs) may only occur between games except in the event of an injury. 

Match Forfeits

• Each team has 5 minutes from the scheduled match time to meet a minimum of 5 players including 1 woman from the roster to prevent a forfeit.
• A team that uses a player not on their roster will forfeit their game (except for up to 2 subs from other DynamicSSC No-Sting Dodgeball teams)
• A forfeit shall count as a win of 5-0 for the winning team, and a loss of 0-5 for the forfeiting team. These scores will be used in the event that a tiebreaker is necessary for determining playoff seeding.
• Any team that forfeits two or more games, including “party foul” (not showing up to referee) forfeits, will be ineligible for the playoffs.

Court and Equipment

• The court shall be marked with a centerline, attack lines, sidelines, and baselines (in this case, the volleyball court lines).
• Each game will use 6 Dodgeballs.
• The official ball will be a 6” No-Sting provided by DynamicSSC.
• Colored Dodgeball shirts will be provided for each team.
• In order to play in a match, all players must wear their team t-shirts.
• Non-marking, closed-toe shoes are required.  Sandals and street shoes are prohibited.
• No gloves allowed. Splints and braces are allowed for medical reasons.

Game Play

• Opening Rush
  1. To begin the game, three balls will be placed on the centerline on each side of the court.
  2. All active players must line up on their respective baselines to begin the game.
  3. On the official’s whistle or signal, each team may rush towards the three balls on the right side (from their perspective). Any ball remaining on the centerline for more than 5 seconds can be retrieved by either team.
  4. If a player leaves the baseline prior to the Official’s whistle or signal, the rush will be redone. The ref MAY opt to move one of the 3 balls from the offending players side to the other team’s side if the ref feels it was an attempt at cheating. This results in a rush for 4 balls on one side and 2 balls for the offending team.
  5. If a player grabs the other team’s ball(s) the player will be out and have to give the ball to the opposing team.
  6. Players must “clear” each ball behind the attack line before throwing at the opposing team. A ball is cleared when it crosses the attack line.
     1. If a ball is not cleared, the throw will not count and the player is out.

• Slow-Play/Ball Possession
  1. The team with the most balls must throw within 15 seconds or a player will be called out. If both teams are holding the balls and each team has the same number of balls, both teams shall have to throw at least one ball within 15 seconds. A ball shall be considered “held” even if it is on the ground in the general vicinity of the player if the team has more than one player in the game. 
     1. They team with the majority of the balls must only throw until they no longer have the majority. A team with four balls must throw at least one and a team with 5 must throw at least 2.
  2. Count-downs will not begin once the referees see the slow play occurring 
  3. No hiding the ball under your shirt.
  4. After ten seconds, the official will issue a warning. After the warning, offending player/team will have 5 seconds to get the ball to the other team’s side of the court and PAST THE ATTACK LINE.  If they don’t move the ball to the other side of the ATTACK LINE (not the center line) within the 5 seconds, they will be declared “Out”.
     1. Throws must hit the wall below the top of the pads on the wall. For example, no ball may be thrown so high on the wall that the opposing team cannot reach it.
  5. When a team is down to one player, it is permissible to collect the balls on their court and move one ball over in a timely manner.  However, the other team will not be required to throw back until they have two balls.
     1. The final player may also choose not to have a ball in their hands so that they may catch a ball thrown by the other team as long as they are moving a ball over regularly and not intentionally delaying the game.

• Court Boundaries
  1. A player must remain within the boundaries of his/her half of the court.
  2. A player may reach outside the boundaries to retrieve a ball as long as he maintains contact with the floor “in bounds.”
  3. A player may jump, but must land in bounds or will be declared “Out.”
  4. A player may not cross over the centerline to retrieve a ball from the other team’s side of the court, but MAY reach across the centerline provided the player does not make contact with the ground on the opponent’s side of the centerline.
  5. A player may not cross over the centerline even if they’re stepping out of bounds. i.e. Straddling the side line with one leg out and past what would be the centerline will result in the player being out even if the inbounds leg is behind the centerline.
  6. A player may reach out of bounds but must maintain contact IN bounds with some body part and no part of their body may touch the ground out of bounds (A player CANNOT step outside of the side boundary line at any time)
  7. If a catch is made while in contact with the floor in bounds, and the player falls out of bounds after controlling the catch, the throwing player will be declared “Out”, and the player that fell out of bounds will also be “Out.”
  8. A player may exit the court by going around the back of the sideline and entering through the same way. No part of the player may cross the sideline at any time.
     1. A player may only cross to retrieve a ball, stepping beyond the sideline to dodge will result in that player being called “Out.”

• Ball Shaggers
  1. Each team may provide ball “shaggers” to retrieve balls from out of bounds for their team. 
  2. “Shaggers” may not cross the centerline, but may reach across to retrieve a ball as long as they do not touch the other side. Touching the other side will result in the ball being given to the opposing team, should a referee notice.
  3. An active player may become a "shagger" only by exiting behind the back of the boundary line to get a ball that is out of play, but may not walk across their half of the court.
     1. While an active player is "shagging," they cannot get out by a live ball.
     2. This immunity starts when they leave the court and ends when they come back in through the back of the court only. Coming in via the side is not allowed and the player will be out.

• Game/Match Format
  1. The object of the game is to eliminate all of the opposing team’s players.
  2. The team winning the most games in a 25-minute match shall be declared the match winner and receive 3 points in the standings. 
  3. No game shall begin after the 21-minute timer has sounded. 
  4. There will be a 2-minute transition time in between games.
  5. Each game within a match will be limited to 4 minutes to speed up game play and get more players back on the court. At the end of 4 minutes, the team with the most players on the court will win that game.
  6. There will be a 1 game overtime in the playoffs if there is a tie.
• Suicide Jumps
  1. Suicide jumps are not allowed. A suicide jump is intentionally jumping (usually a running jump) into the opposing team’s side of the court while throwing at an opponent. The hit player, if any, will not be declared out.
• Outs
  1. An “Out” occurs by:
     1. A player being struck below the neck with a live ball thrown by an opponent.
        • A live ball is a ball thrown by an opponent before contacting another surface (i.e. ground, wall, ceiling, basketball hoop, ball not in hand).
     2. A player blocks a thrown ball with the ball in his/her hand and the thrown ball hits the player after the block.

• Catching an opposing player’s live ball.

1. Mid-air catches (jumping): Both feet must land in bounds for the catch to be valid. When landing, no contact may be made across any line or the catch will not count and the catching player will be out.
2. Kicked balls do not count as throws and therefore cannot be counted as catches.
3. When holding a ball in your hand and a thrown ball causes you to drop the ball you were holding and it hits the ground.

• Failing to maintain contact with the court within the boundary lines (EXCEPTION: Jumping, as long as the player lands within the boundaries).
• Touching the ground on the opposing side of the center line.

1. Throwing a dangerous high throw, at the discretion of the referee. The Head Ref will have final say and may issue a warning before declaring a player out. (Only called if persistent high throws occur).
   • A player will be warned twice before being removed from a game with no chance of being caught back in.
   • If a player has been removed from a game for high throws and continues the infraction, the player will be removed for the current game and two extra games where no substitute may be used. The team will be forced to play down a player.
   • A third infraction will be ejection for the night with no substitute allowed.
   • If a night ejection happens a second time, the player will be removed from the league with no refund.
2. ”Pinching” the ball. The ball must be held with the fingers extended so as to palm the ball. Any squeezing, pinching, or other attempt to alter the flight of the ball shall result in the offending player being declared “Out”.
3. Exceptions
   • If, after being hit, the ball is caught by a teammate before hitting the ground, the hit player is “saved” and the throwing player will be out.
   • If a ball hits a player, then hits a teammate, and is then caught by the original player all before hitting the ground, the throwing player will be out.
   • As above, if a ball is dropped as the result of being hit by a live ball, and is caught by a teammate before hitting the ground, the player who dropped the ball may remain in the game and the thrower will be out.

• Ball Control
  1. A team may not possess all six balls in a game. Possession implies all six balls are on one half of the gym (this includes balls that are currently out of bounds and not within or beyond the other active game).
     1. If a team possesses all six balls, at least one ball must be rolled across the opposing team’s attack line. It may not be thrown!
        1. Referees should count out three seconds for the team with all six balls for free fire. After the counting of three further penalties apply.
        2. If a team does not realize the balls are all on their side and throws the ball anyway after the counting of three, any hits will not count, but caught balls will result in an “Out” for the throwing player and two players returning into the game.
     2. For the sake of counting balls, if a ball is at rest and is not beyond the attack line, it will still be considered owned by that team. The attack line rule only applies to a ball rolled by the other team.
     3. A team with one ball cannot simply throw the last ball out of bounds or play will be considered live whether they have a ball or not.
     4. A team with one ball that throws the final ball are considered live targets and the opposing team has three seconds to return throws. Those balls thrown do not count toward "giving" a ball to the opposing team and if a ball does not remain on the side of the team with no balls, then the counting of three seconds continues.

• Out Queue
  1. After being declared “Out” a player MUST raise his/her hand to signify their removal from the game and QUICKLY proceed to the Out Queue.
     1. Players must enter the Out Queue in the order they are eliminated from the game, with the first eliminated player standing nearest the baseline.
     2. First out, first back in!

• After a live ball is caught, the opposing throwing player is “Out” AND a teammate may re-enter the game from the Out Queue in the order they were eliminated. Players must enter the court from the baseline.

1. A player must be PHYSICALLY IN the Out Queue at the time of the catch in order to be eligible to re-enter the game.  i.e. not walking towards the out queue from the court when the ball is caught. This means HURRY to the Out Queue!
2. A re-entering player must enter the court before grabbing a ball.
3. If a player tries to re-enter out of order, intentionally or not, the offending team will forfeit the right to re-enter for that occurrence.

• Head Shots
  1. Head-shots are not allowed under any circumstances.  Persistent dangerous high throws will result in the thrower being called “Out” at the referee/dodgeball manager's discretion.
  2. If a player is hit above shoulder level, the throwing player shall be warned.
     1. A player will be warned twice before being removed from a game with no chance of being caught back in.
     2. If a player has been removed from a game for high throws and continues the infraction, the player will be removed for the current game and two extra games where no substitute may be used. The team will be forced to play down a player.

• A third infraction will be ejection for the night with no substitute allowed.

1. If a night ejection happens a second time, the player will be removed from the league with no refund.

1. If the ref believes a player intentionally moved toward he ball with their head, the hit player will be out.
2. A player hit in the head by a low throw while ducking, dodging, diving etc. will be out.

Officiating

Coed Rubber Dodgeball is a player-officiated sport, and each team is responsible for designating players from their team as referees for other games as indicated on the provided season schedule:

• Under the “Officials/Referees” section of the schedule will be your team's color. For each listing, you must provide TWO officials for the game unless otherwise noted. If your team is officiating 2 games simultaneously (both courts), a total of FOUR officials will be needed.  
  1. Have 1 referee on each side of the court
  2. A team failing to provide a minimum of 2 officials in accordance with the schedule will result in a "Party Foul" forfeit in the team's record, which will count toward its total number of forfeits. This party foul forfeit does not count as a loss. Teams with two or more forfeits, including match forfeits, will be ineligible for the tournament or playoffs.
  3. The team-designated official is the designated league official for the game.
  4. Only team captains may talk with the Officials, and only between games.
  5. All decisions by Officials are final.
  6. Any player who commits the following infractions shall be declared out at the Officials discretion:
     1. No player shall use abusive language. 
     2. No player shall engage in any unsportsmanlike conduct.

• No player shall argue with a DynamicSSC staff member or Official.

1. No player shall intentionally throw at any player’s head.

1. Any player who breaks the above rules twice in one match shall be ejected.
2. Any player ejected twice in a season shall be removed from the league.

• Official Duties 
  1. The official will be responsible for 
     1. Starting matches 
     2. Keeping time (cell phone or watch required)

• Recording each win and loss

1. Enforcing the slow-play/ball possession rule
2. Enforcing the honor system
3. Enforcing all penalties

• Managing the game
• Turning in the final score to the dodgeball manager

• Sportsmanship and Cards
  1. Any player or team may be removed from the league for the remainder of the season and denied registration for subsequent seasons due to unsportsmanlike conduct at the complete discretion of DynamicSSC if it is in the best interest of the league.
  2. Officials and DynamicSSC staff members may give warnings and subsequently issue suspensions at their discretion.

PLAYOFFS

Not all teams can make playoffs, but we will try to take as many as possible and have two separate skill divisions for playoffs when possible. Standard DynamicSSC tie-breaker rules will prevail. For more info, visit our FAQ page. 

REMEMBER TO ALWAYS HAVE FUN AND DON’T TAKE DODGEBALL TOO SERIOUSLY…DON’T BE “THAT GUY”