Dodgeball Rules

Although a typical team consists of 6-8 players, there is no limit to the number of players on your team.  Four to six players take the court for each game.  Teams play two 30-minute games every week.  All games are on Saturday afternoons. 

The main objective of each team is to eliminate all members of the opposing team by hitting them with thrown balls, catching a ball thrown by a member of the opposing team, or forcing them to move outside the court boundaries when a ball is thrown at them.  Six dodgeballs are used in each match, with each team starting with three balls each.  

Once the game has commenced, players throw balls at members of the opposing team.  When a player has been hit by a ball that is not caught before hitting the ground, that player has been eliminated and must move to his team's designated bench area.  If a player catches a ball thrown by the opposing team, then the player who threw the ball is eliminated and the team that caught the ball can reinstate one of its eliminated players (the player who was out the longest).  A player who touches the boundary or center line when a ball is thrown at them is also eliminated unless the ball is caught before contact is made out of bounds.

Players are allowed to leave the confines of the court to gather balls, but cannot throw the ball until they are back inside the court.  A ball thrown from outside the court cannot eliminate an opponent who is hit, but the thrower can be eliminated if the ball is caught.

A ball in the possession of a player can not be used to block incoming balls thrown by the opposing team.  If a thrown ball hits a ball in your possession and the thrown ball is not caught, then you are eliminated.  Delay of game eliminates players one by one and is at the discretion of the referee, generally called when a ball remains on one team's side of the court for a period of more than 30 seconds.  

Once all the players on one team are eliminated, the match is over.  Games are decided by whoever has the most wins after 25 minutes have passed from the start of the first match. 

Arguing with a referee, cursing, or any other acts of poor sportsmanship will result in a yellow or red card.  A yellow card removes you from the rest of the game.  A red card requires you to sit out indefinitely and will be reviewed by management, in which a suspension length will be determined. 

  

Dodgeball in the Movies
Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004, PG-13) - A group of misfits enter a Las Vegas dodgeball tournament in order to save their cherished local gym from the onslaught of a corporate health fitness chain.