OFFICIAL TOURNAMENT RULES

Updated and revised: 01/20/2025

OVERALL: This event has been custom designed and the rules and restrictions that must be adhered to may differ from other formal dodgeball clubs and leagues.  All players must adhere to the rules as outlined in this document. 

FIELDING A TEAM

• You must have a team name.

• You must elect a team captain.

• Your team may have a maximum of (10) players.

• The maximum number of players allowed on a court at any given time will be (6).

• At least ONE member of your team must be of the opposite sex to start the game (male or female).

• If you do NOT have a member of the opposite sex representing your team on the court at the start of play, then you may continue, but must start the game with only (5) players on the court.

• The members of your team not actively on the court must remain inside the “player chute” at all times.

• Every member of your team must have proper identification and agree to the terms of the event waiver.

• Proper identification is defined as a driver’s license, passport, work ID or student ID that must include your photo and full name.

• Participants who do not have the proper identification or refuse to sign the waiver will not be permitted to play.

• Only members of your team that appear on your registration form at the start of the event will be allowed to represent your team.  No other players will be permitted, and no players may be added to your team roster following to start of play. 

• If your team advances to the Championship Tournament, you are allowed to add a maximum of (2) people to your roster. 

TEAM UNIFORMS

• At the very least, each member of your team must wear the same color shirt to allow event staff and the opposition to quickly identify your team members.

• You do not need to have matching attire (i.e. everyone wearing the same exact shirt), but the dominate color or theme of your team must be represented by every member of your team on the court. 

• All participants must wear non-marking sole shoes.  Anyone in violation of this request will be required to leave the court immediately. 

• Shoes are required and no bare feet will be allowed. 

COURT SET-UP

• A total of (8) dodgeball courts will be used to host the event

• Each Dodgeball court will be roughly 47’ long by 23’ wide

• Each team’s defensive end will be roughly 23.5’ x 23’

• Each of the (8) dodgeball courts will be separated by a 3’ tall divider

• At least (1) official will oversee the play of each court. 

EQUIPMENT

• Each match will be played with a total of (6) dodgeballs.

• Each team sill start with (3) dodgeballs each. 

• The official dodgeball will be 6 1/4” in diameter and will be made of compressed foam with a tough exterior.

• These sting-free dodgeballs are soft to the touch but exhibit a tough exterior that will allow the participant to easily grasp and throw them.

RULES OF PLAY

Overall: The following is an overview on the rules of play.

DEFINITION OF TERMS

• Live Ball – any ball thrown by a player that does not make contact with anything other than the opposing team.  This includes the floor, walls, ceiling, another ball, another player, official or any other obstruction within to court of play. 

• Out of Play – a ball that exits the court’s boundary. 

• Player’s Chute – the area were eliminated players and substitutes must stand. 

• Substitute – a member of your team that started the game in the Player’s Chute and not on the court. 

• Official – Referee of the match who will ensure that all players adhere to the rules of play. 

Starting the Game

• The official will provide each team with (3) dodgeballs to start the game. 

• The start of the game will be signaled by the official blowing their whistle.

• Each team may have a maximum of (6) players on the court at any time.

• At least ONE member of your team must be of the opposite gender to start the game (male or female).

Eliminating Players

The objective of the game will be to eliminate all of the opposing players by hitting them with the provided dodgeballs.  This can be accomplished by executing one of the following:   

• Hitting an opposing player with a Live Ball anywhere on their body (including their head).

• Catching a Live Ball thrown by your opponent. 

• If a player is eliminated they must exit the court immediately and may not interfere with the game in any way as they exit the court of play.  

Players Reentering the Game

• Once a player is eliminated from the game, they must exit the court and stand in the Player’s Chute.  Players may reenter the game only if the following should occur:

• A member of your team catches a Live Ball that is thrown by the opposing team.

• Should a Live Ball be caught and you have the maximum number of players already on the court, play will resume and no player will be permitted to enter the game.

Player’s Chute

• All substitutes must remain in the Player’s Chute throughout the course of the game unless they are retrieving balls from outside the boundary area. 

• If a member of your team is eliminated from the game, they must stand in the Player’s Chute in order to reenter the game.

• Players must remain in the Player’s Chute until they are authorized by the official.

Time-outs & Stoppage of Play

• No time-outs will be allowed.

• If needed, the official will stop play in the event of an injury or should there be a dispute over a call.

• Should play stop and not resume before time is up, the game will be scored based on the players on the court at the time play stopped.

Player Substitutions

• Substitutions will only be allowed during the following scenarios:

• A player from your team catches a Live Ball from the opposing team.

• A player suffers an injury that requires the game to stop. 

Rotation of Players

• Players that have been eliminated from the game must exit the court and wait in the Player’s Chute.

• If a substitute is needed, players may reenter the game in any order they desire.

Injured Players

• All injured players that require the stoppage of play will be required to exit the court and must be substituted.

• If a team does not have any substitutes available, they will need to play a man down.

• The injured player may reenter the game after receiving permission from the official. 

Hoarding Penalty

• If a team has a ball in their possession, they must throw at least one ball every 5-seconds, over the midway line and into the opposing team’s court. 

• If a team does not throw a ball within the time limit, over the midline and into the opposing team’s court, the official will stop the game, issue a warning, and award the opposing team a ball.

• If a team receives a 3rd warning, they will forfeit the game and the opposing team will earn the maximum number of points for a game (9 points). 

•  If both teams enter a stalemate and neither team throws a ball after 2-warnings, the game will end in a forfeit and neither team will score a point. 

Honor System

• All participants are expected to uphold a level of respect for the game, their opponents, the officials and the spectators.

• All participants are expected to adhere to the honor system meaning they will willingly exit the court when they have been eliminated from the game, whether or not the official signals them to leave.

• If a dispute breaks-out between two opposing players, the officials will step-in to make a call.

• If the officials are unable to make ruling, and the dispute persists beyond “playful banter”, the official may stop the game and remove both players from the court. 

Boundaries & Balls Out of Play

• During play, all players must remain within the confines of the court’s boundary lines.

• If a ball goes out of bounds, a player may leave NOT the court in order to retrieve it.

• If a player leaves the confines of the boundary they will be considered “OUT”

• Spectators or those outside the bounds of play will need to retrieve the ball and return it to the court. 

Final Ruling

• The court officials ruling is final.

• If a player or a team wishes to file a dispute, they can do so following the end of the match.  To learn more, see “Filing a Dispute”. 

EVENT EXECUTION

Event Code of Conduct

• Understand, appreciate and abide by the rules of the game.

• Respect the integrity and judgment of game officials and event staff.

• Respect your opponent and congratulate them in a courteous manner following each match.

• Be responsible for your actions and maintain self-control.

• Do not taunt or bait opponents.

• Refrain from using foul or abusive language.

• No illegal drugs or alcohol will be allowed inside the event venue.

• No weapons will be allowed at the event. 

 Practice Area

• The practice area is reserved for teams currently participating in Regional play.

• The practice area is first-come-first-serve.

• A total of (6) dodgeballs will be provided in this area for teams to practice with.  

Court Cleaning

• It is the responsibility of all of the participants to keep the facility clean and free of hazards.

• Between each round of matches, the event team will identify and clean-up any hazards from the court.

• Between each Regional set of matches, a full court cleaning will take place to remove all dust, dirt and impurities from the court.

 Proper Treatment of the Officials

• The court officials ruling is final.

• Please treat the officials with respect.

 Filing a Dispute

• If you feel that your team was not given proper consideration for a call by the court official, you may file a formal dispute with the event director.

• To file your dispute, send your team captain to the Scorer’s Table and ask to speak with the event director to file a formal dispute.

• The official scorer will then alert the event director and they will meet you at the Scorer’s Tent.

• You may only send your team captain to file a dispute.  All other members of your team must maintain a respectful distance from the event director during the discussion. 

 Food & Beverage

• The only liquid allowed on the court will be water. 

• All beverage containers must be plastic. 

• No glass is allowed in the Bill & Lillie Heinrich YMCA. 

PRELIMINARY ROUNDS OF PLAY

Overall: The following is an overview on how the play-in tournament (Preliminary Rounds) will be structured.  Every team will compete in the Preliminary Rounds of play and the top (16) teams from each region will move on to the finals. 

Match

• Every team will be guaranteed at least (3) matches.

• Each match will consist of (2) games and each game will last a total of 3-minutes in length.

• Your objective will be to completely knock out all the participants on the opposing team.

• Should time run out before either team has successfully knocked out all the opposing players, the game will still end. 

• Teams will play a maximum of two matches in a row before they will be assessed a 10-minute break. 

Games

• Each match will consist of (2) games.

• Each game will last a total of 3 minutes.

• Between the two games, teams will stay on the same side of the court and will not be permitted to switch sides. 

Scoring Points

• The overall objective is to earn the most number of points within your Region.

• The top (16) teams in each Region will move on the single elimination Championship Tournament.

• Points will be awarded in each game as follows:

  • Win = 3 Points

  • Tie = 1 Point

  • Loss = 0 Points

• For every participant that a team still has on the court at the end of play (full opposition elimination or end of time), the team will earn 1 point.  These points are referred to as Participant Survival Points.

• Participant Survival Points can be earned by both the winning and losing teams. 

 Forfeiting a Match

• Teams that are not present at the start of their assigned match will be required to forfeit the full match.

• Should a team forfeit a match, the opposing team will earn the maximum number of points: 18 Points (9 points per game).

• The team that forfeited will receive zero (0) points for that match.

• If desired, a team may start a game with a minimum of (3) people on the court.

TOURNAMENT STRUCTURE

Overall: The following is an overview on how the play-in tournament (Preliminary Rounds) will be structured.  Every team will compete in the Preliminary Rounds of play and the top (16) teams from each region will move on to the finals. 

Advancement to the Tournament

• A total of (40) teams will be represented in the Tournament.   

• The top (16) teams in each Region will move on to the single elimination Tournament.

• The top (16) teams from each Region will be announced, on-site, following the last game within that Regions Preliminary Round of Play. 

• Teams will need to present during the announcement to see if they will advance to the Tournament; no email, voicemail, text message or Social Media blast will be sent to teams to alert them of their advancement. 

Tournament Structure

• This will be a winner-take-all, single elimination tournament.

• To be crowned the champion, teams will need to win (5) games in a row.

Tournament Match

• Each match will consist of one game for a maximum of 3 minutes.

• The first team to completely eliminate the players on the opposing team will be the winner.

• Should time expire before one team is completely eliminated, the team with the most number of players on the court will be declared the winner.

• Should a tie exist at the close of regulation, a one-minute overtime period will take place. 

• Following overtime, should a tie still exist, the captain of each team will meet at mid-court and play in a best-out-of-three rock-paper-scissors tournament.  The winning hand will move on to the next round of the tournament. 

The Finals

• Final Match will be a best-of-three, with the first team to win 2 games being crowned the Tournament Champion.

• There is no time limit in The Finals.  The first team to completely eliminate the players on the opposing team will be the winner of that game.

• Should time expire before one team is completely eliminated, the team with the most number of players on the court will be declared the winner.

• Should a tie exist at the close of regulation, a one-minute overtime period will take place. 

The Finals | Overtime

• Should a technicality cause the game to end in a tie, the captain of each team will meet at mid-court and select one member of their team to play “Head’s-up Dodgeball”.

• Both teams will each receive (3) dodgeballs and stand on opposing courts.

• Once the official blows their whistle, the first person to hit the opposing player will be the winner.