Six-on-Six dodgeball intramurals will begin in two weeks, in the Saunders Sports Complex.  I have attached the blank rosters, the rules and the poster for additional information.  Next week, we’ll hold pick up games so students can become familiar with the rules, and get the team together.

Divisons:  Men/women and co-ed.

Nothing like throwing balls at your peers in a friendly game of dodgeball to relieve a little frustration.  And if you get killed; so what?  You will come back to life in less than five minutes anyhow…

Print out and read the rules to avoid some frustration next Monday night.

This is projected to be a six week season, with games on Mondays/Wednesday evenings.

Have a great day, and get outdoors.

Jim

Paul Smith’s College

Dodgeball Rules

National Amateur Dodgeball Association (N.A.D.A.)
Official Rules and Regulations

Rule 1 Team Players
Team Members: Team Members must be from the Paul Smith’s College community, including students, staff, and faculty.
Roster Size:  Teams will be made up of 6-10 players. A minimum of six players will compete on a side; others will be available as substitutions.
Co-ed Teams: Co-ed Recreation teams must start all games with no more male players than female players: 3 male and 3 female, 2 male and 4 female, etc.

Substitutions: Substitutes may enter the game only during timeouts, or in the case of injury.
Field Dimensions and Markings

The game may be played indoors or outdoors. The playing field shall be a rectangle at least 50 ft long and at least 30 ft wide, divided into two (2) equal sections by a center-line and attack-lines 3m from, and parallel to the centerline.

IDEAL MEASUREMENTS: 60’ x 30’ – Identical to a volleyball court.

The playing court shall be marked with sidelines, end lines, attack lines, and a center hash mark.
Boundaries

1.         During play, all players must remain within the boundary lines. Players may leave the boundaries through their end-line only to retrieve stray balls. They must also return through their end-line.

2.         A player shall not leave the playing field to avoid being hit or attempting to catch a ball.

3.         A player shall not have any part of their body cross the center line and contact ground on their opponents’ side of the court.

Note: A player may, without penalty, step on the center-line.

Penalty: Player will be declared out.
Exception to centerline ruling: During the opening rush many players cross the center-line.  Officials should refrain from penalizing players during the opening rush unless a definite advantage is gained by such action.

Equipment
Ball: The official ball used in tournament and league play will be an 8 inch rubber coated foam ball.  The game will be played with six balls.
Shoes: Participants must wear clean soled athletic shoes.
Clothing: Participants must wear shirt and shorts/pants.
Opening Rush

Game begins by placing the dodgeballs along the center line – three (3) on one side of the center hash and three (3) on the other. Players then take a position behind their end line. Following a signal by the official, teams may approach the centerline to retrieve the balls. This signal officially starts the contest. Teams may only retrieve the three (3) balls to their right of the center hash. Once a ball is retrieved it must be taken behind the attack-line before it can be legally thrown.

Game Play
1.  Start of Play

Matches will begin with the flip of a coin.
A. The team winning the coin flip will have a choice of sides to begin the match.
B. Teams will alternate sides after each match.

The object of the game is to eliminate all opposing players by getting them “OUT”. This may be done by:

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

2. Catching a LIVE ball thrown by your opponent before it touches the ground.

Definition: LIVE: A ball that has been thrown and has not touched anything, including the floor/ground, another ball, another player, official or other item outside of the playing field (wall, ceiling, etc)
Note: If a player ducks, and this clearly is the cause for the player being hit above the shoulders, the player is out and the throw is legal.
3. An opposing player stepping out of bounds with momentum carrying a caught ball. Both the thrower and catcher are out.

4. Causing an opponent to drop a live ball as a result of contact by another thrown live ball. (usually occurs when a ball is being used to block a thrown ball.)
Note: A ball deflecting off a held ball and striking the holder is no longer a live ball.

Timing and Winning a Game

The first team to legally eliminate all opposing players will be declared the winner. A 5-minute time limit has been established for each contest. If neither team has been eliminated at the end of the 5 minutes, the team with the greater number of players remaining will be declared the winner. In the case of an equal number of players remaining after regulation, a 1-minute sudden-death overtime period will be played.

Time-outs
Each team will be allowed one (1) 60 second timeout per game.

Exception: All live balls in flight at time of an official’s signal (to end regulation time or begin a time out) remain live, and may eliminate an opponent, until they become dead.

Substitutions

During time outs, teams may substitute players. Substitutes may be players who did not start the game, or players who wish to re-enter after having been declared out.

Declaring a Game Winner
1. The first team to legally eliminate all opposing players will be declared the winner.
2. If neither team has been eliminated at the end of regulation, the team with the greater number of remaining players will be declared the winner.
3. In all overtime periods, the first team to legally eliminate any one opponent will be declared the winner.

Overtime (playoffs only)
1.  If an equal number of players remain after regulation play, a sudden death over time period will be played.  The first team to legally eliminate any one opponent will be declared the winner.
2.  All overtime periods will begin with an opening rush (six players per side) as described above.

3.  No time outs allowed during over time.

4.  Substitutions may be made prior to the start of any overtime period.
5   The sudden death format continues through all extra periods.

Stalling and 5-second violation

In order to reduce stalling, a violation will be called if a team in the lead controls all six (6) balls on their side of the court for more than 5 seconds.
The following procedure will be used to prevent overtime.

Penalty for 5 sec. Violation:
First Violation: Stoppage of play and the balls will be divided evenly between the teams. Play will continue with “Balls in hand.”
Second violation: Free throw for the opposing team – a penalty in which one player is allowed an unobstructed throw at their opponents without risk of elimination. This is possible because a caught free throw does not result in an out for the thrower.
Third violation: Ejection of one player from the offending team.

Officials and Their Duties
1.  Court Monitors and Officials
A.  All contests will be supervised by a Court Monitor.
B.  Rules will be forced primarily by the honor system. Players will be expected to rule whether or not a hit was legal or they were legally eliminated.
C.  The Court Monitor’s responsibility will be to rule on any situation in which teams cannot agree. A team may appeal to the Court Monitor if they feel a player has violated any rule. THE COURT MONITOR’S DECISION IS FINAL
D. Court Monitors may warn players and call technical fouls on those who display unsportsmanlike conduct. Any players receiving 2 technical fouls in a game will be ejected and suspended a minimum of one game. Suspensions will begin with their next scheduled game. Severe infractions or multiple technicals mat result in suspensions from matches or tournaments.
Note: A Court Monitor is not required to warn a player before calling a technical foul.

Unsportsmanlike Conduct
It may include, but is limited to:
1. foul or inappropriate language
2. hits above the shoulders
3. unnecessary roughness
4. arguing with officials, staff, participants, or fans
5. abuse of the honor system

Official Protests
Protests will only be accepted in cases involving use of an ineligible player. Protests of judgment calls will not be accepted.

Match Winner
Matches will be decided using a best of 5 format in which the first team to win 3 games will be declared the winner of the game.

Tie Breakers Situations – Playoff Rankings
In the case of teams finishing pool play with identical win loss match records, the following tie breaker procedures will be used:
Step 1: Head to head match record between tied teams
Step 2: Games win loss record between tied teams
Step 3: One game playoff
Code of Conduct
1 Understand, appreciate and abide by the rules of the game and the honor system.
2 Respect the integrity and judgment of game officials and Intramural Sports staff
3 Respect your opponent and congratulate them in a courteous manner following each match, whether in victory or defeat.
4 Be responsible for your actions and maintain self control.
5 Do not taunt or bait opponents. Refrain from using foul or abusive language.