THE TEAM
Teams will be made up of 4-12 players. Four (4) players will compete on a side; others will be available as substitutes. Substitutes may enter the game only during timeouts or in the case of injury.
THE COURT
The game will be played indoors. The court will 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.
MEASUREMENTS
60' x 30' - Identical to a volleyball court playing area.
THE EQUIPMENT
The official ball used in tournament and league play will be an 8.25" rubber-coated foam ball.
THE GAME
The object of the game is to eliminate all opposing players by getting them "OUT". This may be done by:
Hitting an opposing player with a LIVE thrown ball below the shoulders.
Catching a LIVE ball thrown by your opponent before it touches the ground.
LIVE DEFINITION
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).
BOUNDARIES
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.
THE 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.
TIMING AND WINNING A GAME
The first team to legally eliminate all opposing players will be declared the winner. A 7-minute time limit has been established for each contest. If neither team has been eliminated at the end of the 7 minutes, the team with the greater number of players remaining will be declared the winner.
TIME-OUTS & SUBSTITUTIONS
Each team will be allowed one (1) 30 second timeout per game. At this time a team may substitute players into the game.
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. This also applies to tied teams. More details can be found in the NADA Rule Book.
RULE ENFORCEMENT
During pool play or regular-season matches, rules will be enforced primarily by the "honor system"*. Players will be expected to rule whether or not a hit was legal or whether they were legally eliminated. All contests will be supervised by a court monitor*. The court monitor's responsibility will be to rule on any situation in which teams cannot agree. THE COURT MONITOR'S DECISION IS FINAL - NO EXCEPTIONS.
*NOTE: During tournament play, All Semi-Final and Final Round matches will be officiated by no less than three (3) Officials. These officials will rule on all legal hits, out-of-bounds and 5-second violations.
