Information are from the International Dodgeball Association
Start of the game:
To begin the game, there is what we called an opening rush where players will
retrieve their balls from the center line. During the opening rush, a total of six balls
are placed along the center line. Three balls in the opposing ends of the centers
hash.
Rules to remember during the opening rush:
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6 players from each team should take position behind their end line.
Intentionally pushing a player is a no-no during the opening rush and no sliding
either. If caught sliding, the player will not be able to go back to the court once
he/she is out.
You are only eligible to grab the balls on the right hand side of the court. You
cannot grab the other team’s balls during the opening rush.
All balls cannot be played (or called an active ball) until they’ve touched the wall
at the back or bounced off at the wall. This is called the ball activation. This is
designed to prevent teams just throwing the ball immediately during the open
rush. Once balls are activated, they can then try and get the opposing players
out.
Basically, the objective of a dodgeball games is to bring all the members of the
opposing team out from the court.
You will be called out from the court if:
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a thrown live ball hits your body
You step on or over a sideline or centerline. There is an exception with this.
During the opening rush, you are allowed to cross over the center line. However
the side lines will remains in effects at all times.
you throw a live ball and it is caught by an opponent.
If a blocking ball is dropped as a result of contact from a live ball, then the player
who drops the ball is out.
A player hit in the head while ducking or dodging is out.
Note: Uniforms are considered part of a player's body. If the uniform is hit you are
out. (Thus baggy clothing can be a disadvantage).
You can be safe if:
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From the name itself, if you can dodge the ball
You can block a thrown ball with a held ball. However, if you drop the blocking
ball during the act of blocking, or if you fail to make a clean block (as in the
thrown ball still ends up hitting or grazing your body afterwards), you are out.
You can catch the live ball thrown at you or your teammates. If a defender
attempts to catch a live ball, but drops it, the defender is out.
Rules if a Catch ball happens:
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If a player happens to catch a live ball thrown by the opposing opponent, a player
from his side who get kicked out can return to the court and play.
When a new player comes in, he/she must tap or touch the back wall in order to
be considered eligible to play.
If no player comes in right away, the “resurrection” will be invalid.
General Rules:
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In order to reduce stalling, the referee will have discretion to call a “stall attempt”.
You can only hold a ball for 10 seconds, afterwards, it will be considered dead.
Dead balls need to be rolled over immediately to the other team.
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A player have 5 seconds to surrender the dead ball. Walking with a dead ball will
result to being eliminated. Hence, dead ball should be surrendered immediately.
A dead ball is also a ball that has been blocked or that has hit the ground. Any
dead balls hitting the opponent do not count.
If you are out, line up on the side in the order you got out (think of it as being in
an “resurrection” line). If your teammate catches a ball, the player at the start of
your team’s “resurrection” line comes back into play after touching the wall (the
teammate must be in the line at the time of the catch to be eligible to be brought
back in).
The game is played until all players of one team are out, or after a period of time,
usually 20 minutes has been reached. If 20 minutes passes by, team with the
most players left at the end of time wins the game, and if both teams have the
same number of players, an additional period of 4 minutes will be played to
determine the winner. In tournament play, winning a certain number of games, or
winning the most games at the end of time, wins the entire match.
Teams are allowed one 30 seconds timeout to take a break, discuss strategy or
to substitute players.
Players on the court can be replaced either during a timeout or between games.
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Dodgeball is primarily self-refereed, and played with the honour rules. During
league play, there are 4 referees, in which 2 are stationed at the end of the
centerline, that help facilitate the game. Referees start the game, confirm hits
and catches, and count ball possession time.
If the game comes down to 1 player per side, they have 10 seconds to hit each
other out; if not, "Showdown" comes into effect. The game is paused, each
player gets two balls, two balls are lined up at the ends of the centerline, and the
centerline is dissolved. The first player to get the other player out wins.
You cannot dispute or verbally insult the referees.