The Official S3 Dodgeball League Rules
THE MOST IMPORTANT RULE
All Players are reminded that in any dodgeball league you are on the honor system and when hit by a ball are expected to go out of the game. This is a SUPER rec league, and although dodgeball can get competitive, we expect all players to be honest and fair about playing. It’s impossible for the ref to catch every single thing in these games, especially determining if you got hit. If the referee sees someone get hit and remain in the game, that team will receive a warning. If it happens again that a player on the same team does not go out after being hit by the ball then they will automatically forfeit that game. If it continues to happen you will forfeit the match.
Basic Info
Teams must have at least 4 players with at least 1 of each gender to avoid a forfeit.
A maximum of 10 players per team may take the court at the beginning of each game. A normal full team on the court is 4 guys and 4 girls. Teams may have no more than 5 players of one gender on the court at one time. If a team is short on players, they may recruit subs prior to the match that do not play in the dodgeball league. A team may only bring subs or pick up players if they are below the 8 needed to play.
If a team fails to have 4 people 10 minutes after the scheduled game time, that team shall forfeit the first game. They will forfeit each consecutive game every 5 minutes after that.
Format of Games
Each week will consist of two parts:
Part A is a fun warmup for 20 minutes of each week. When you arrive, jump on a side and play!
Part B is the competition consisting of a double four team round robin. Each team plays all other teams twice. That means each team plays 6 games of competition each week. Games will wrap up around 8:45pm.
Game Play
1. Each team takes opposite sides of the court.
2. 6 balls will be placed at the line in the center of the dodgeball court.
3. Teams line up along their respective back court lines. Your hand must be touching the back wall. The official will sound the whistle to begin play
4. At the sound of the whistle, teams may run to the center line and retrieve the dodgeballs. There is absolutely no sliding to get a ball from the center line. If you touch the floor past your side of the center line you will receive a warning. If you pass the center line by more then roughly 2 feet, you will be called out.During this “opening rush” of ball retrieval, no intentional contact may be made with the opposing team’s players. A player who initiates serious contact with a player on the opposing team will be called out. If two players from opposing teams both have possession of a ball and one player gets pulled over the line, this person is not out and can go back in play.
5. Each Dodgeball MUST touch the back wall before being in play, a ball that has not touched the back wall will not count. A ball can be brought to the back wall or thrown off the back wall. Before a ball has touched the back wall it can be passed between teammates (thrown from the center line to a teammate at the back wall to put the ball in play). Once a ball has touched the back wall it can no longer be passed between teammates.
6. Each player has 20 seconds to make an attempt after taking possession of the ball. The ref will tell you to throw the ball after holding it for a while, and if the player does not throw it immediately the player will be called out.
a. Players may NOT pass the ball to other teammates to avoid the 10 second rule. Players who pass the ball may be called out. Note: Stopping or touching a ball with any part of your body starts the 10 second rule.
b. Players may NOT drop the ball to avoid the 10 second rule.
c. Players with a ball in hand, can’t kick or pass another ball to another teammate. Players doing so will be automatically called out. Of course, you may use a ball in your hand to block a ball thrown at you.
7. Players may NOT leave the designated court area to avoid being struck or to catch the ball. Any player who goes out of bounds will be called out.
8. If a ball rolls outside the court, players from your team may kick the ball back in play from your side only, but active players may not leave the court to get a ball.
9. You may drop your ball to catch another ball that is thrown at you, but it must be dropped straight down and not thrown anywhere else. Also, if a player has possession of a ball and catches another ball, the player must drop one ball IMMEDIATELY. A player who gives the ball to another team player or does not drop a ball right after catching another may be called out.
10. A player is out when:
a. Struck by a ball before the ball hits the ground, wall, ceiling or any other stationary object
b. Goes out of bounds – this includes crossing the center line into the opposing team’s zone
c. The ball thrown by the player is caught by a player on the opposing team prior to striking the ground or wall.
11. If the ball that is caught by the opposing team hit an opposing team’s player prior to being caught, the player originally hit by the ball is still out, but the thrower is out and a player on the team that caught the ball will come in. If no one is currently out on your team, the person who just got hit will be back in because the out was made before the catch.
12. Players may use balls to block a throw.
a. If the ball being used to block is dropped after being hit by a thrown ball, the player who dropped the ball is out.
b. After a ball that is thrown is blocked by a ball being held by a player on the opposing team, the ball is DEAD. So if it hits the ball you are holding and then hits your body or another player on your team, you are NOT out.
d. If the “live” ball is blocked and deflected back into the opposing team’s side and is then caught, no one is out.
13. A “live” ball may knock out more than one player IF the “live” ball bounces off one player’s body and strikes another player PRIOR to hitting the ground, wall or other stationary object.
14. Players may NOT give balls to their teammates for any reason during game play. If you don’t want to throw balls, don’t pick em up! But we’re here to play dodgeball so we encourage you to throw the ball!
15. HEADSHOTS
a. Are VERY BAD.
b. Players hit in the neck or head will not be called out (unless otherwise mentioned in the rules)
c. The player who threw the ball which resulted in the headshot WILL be called out. We don’t like headshots so the ref will always err on the side of calling headshots if it’s close so aim low! That’s better strategy anyways.
d. If a “live” ball is blocked and/or deflected and hits a teammate of the blocking player in the head, that does not count as a headshot and the player hit by the ball is still not out.
e. A Player MAY be ejected for excessive headshots – player will be given one warning.
f. Players may not intentionally initiate head contact with a ball in order to have the thrower called out. If a player is found to intentionally initiate head contact with a ball, they will be ejected.
16. Players may duck, try to dodge the ball, or throw themselves to the ground in an effort to avoid getting hit by the ball, but in this situation where their head is below normal head level the headshot rule does NOT apply.
17. Players MUST exit the sidelines quickly. While exiting, the game, players MUST raise one hand to indicate to the opposing team they are out and are exiting the field of play.
18. Players MUST line up next to the ref in order which they were put out (i.e. first one out next to the ref, etc). We play first out, first back in. If your team is caught putting players back in out of order, you will for sure lose that game, and may forfeit all games won in that match. When a player comes back in after a catch, you must give them a few seconds to get back into play before they can be hit with a ball.
19. There must always be at least one ball on each side of the court. If all balls are on one side of the court at any point during a game, the team with all the balls must give one ball to the opposing team.
20. All Players are reminded that in any dodgeball league you are on the honor system and when hit by a ball are expected to go out of the game. This is a SUPER recreational league, and although dodgeball can get competitive, we expect all players to be honest and fair about playing. Cheating to win will not be tolerated.
Standings & Playoffs
Playoffs will be run as a tournament the final night of games.
More info will be provided on this after the regular season.
1. To determine a team’s rank in the regular season standings, teams will be seeded in the following manner:
a. Highest Amount of Points
b. Strength of schedule
c. Lowest total points allowed (a team that forfeits loses the game 0-11)
2. Teams forfeiting 3 or more matches may be ineligible for the playoffs.
Forfeits
If your team forfeits a match during the season, the following rules apply:
First Offense: Loss of all 9 games and warning issued.
Second Offense: Loss of all 9 games and S3 reserves the right to remove team from playoffs with no refund for games not played.
Third Offense: Automatic removal from the league with no refund for games not played.
The reason for the harshness of this is because we want all teams to be able to play. If your team is a no-show, then the other team also doesn’t get to play. Please get subs or at least let us know if you’re not going to make it!
If you know in advance that your team will be forfeiting a match, you are required to email us at info@s3boston.com so we can let your opponent know that you won’t be showing up.
Sportsmanship
The idea of this league is to have fun. We hope that all participants keep that in mind when becoming involved. Although the games may become intense, you still can be competitive while maintaining good sportsmanship. With this said, any behavior deemed unacceptable by staff may result in suspension and/or ejection from a game or the league. S3 reserves the right to remove a player from a game or a league if they are considered to be bringing down the quality of the league.
Those are the rules! Just remember to play fair, have fun, and be safe!