Official Rules Summary
NEPA Dodgeball uses the official NADA dodgeball rules for its leagues and tournaments. The following is an abbreviated version of the rules printed in the Official NADA Rule Book. You may
purchase the complete Official NADA Rule Book of dodgeball for $3.00 plus applicable sales tax and shipping and handling.
THE TEAM
Teams will be made up of 6-8 players. Six (6) 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. You may only substitute female players with other female players.
THE PLAYING FIELD
The game may be played indoors or outdoors. The playing field shall 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 3 meters from, and parallel to the centerline.
IDEAL MEASUREMENTS: 60 feet x 30 feet. Identical to a volleyball court's 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.
Definition: LIVE: 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). A ball that deflects off a player is only live to that player. Once it touches another player it is no longer live.
Note that you can block a thrown ball with a ball held in your hands and not be out, even if the thrown ball bounces off of the held ball and hits some part of your body. However, if the
holder of the thrown ball loses control of the held ball they will be deemed hit -- even if they catch the held ball before it hits the ground or another player.
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. Players may be thrown when out of the boundaries only when behind 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 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. Should a team commit a false start, then one of the balls on the center line
belonging to the false-starting team will be moved to the other team's side of the center line and can be picked up and played by the non-offending team.
TIMING AND WINNING A GAME
The first team to legally eliminate all opposing players will be declared the winner. A 3-minute time limit has been established for each contest. If neither team has been eliminated at the end
of the 3 minutes, the team with the greater number of players remaining will be declared the winner. If both teams have the same number of players at the end of regulation time, then
sudden death overtime occurs. The overtime lasts until a player has been eliminated from either team. The team with the eliminated player will be the losing team.
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. Female players can only by substituted by other female players.
5-SECOND VIOLATION
If the team with all 6 balls is leading or the game is tied, they must make a legitimate effort to get at least one ball across the attack line within 5 seconds. This can be accomplished by throwing the ball
at an opponent or rolling the ball to the other team. Placing a ball just across the center line DOES NOT constitute a legitimate effort to get the team a ball. If a ball is not provided
within 5 seconds, a "5 second violation" will be called. Note: Only a court official may call a "5 second violation." The penalities for a 5-second violation are as follows:
- First Violation. Play and the clock are stopped. The balls are then evenly distributed between the teams. Players retreat behind their own attack line and play resumes on the court
official's signal.
- Second Violation. The clock is stopped. A free throw is awarded to the opposing team. A free throw is an unobstructed throw by one player on the opposing team at any opponent(s) on
the offending team. The throwing player cannot be eliminated by a caught ball. Play ends once the thrown ball becomes dead. The balls are then distributed as in the first violation and play
restarts as described in the first violation.
- Third Violation. The clock is stopped. Ejection of one player from the offending team determined by the opposing team (the ejected played can not be substituted for and must play a
"man" down). The ejected player cannot play for the rest of the game. Balls are then redistributed evenly between the two team with any "odd" ball going to the opposing team. Play restarts as
in the first violation.
STALLING
In the spirit of competition, getting an early lead and then stalling is frowned upon. Therefore, no team may control 5 balls without making an offensive move for more than 1 minute during regulation and no more than 30 seconds
during overtime. The game official will let you know how long before you must make an offensive move against the other team. If the team with 5 balls does not make an offensive move in the
allotted time frame, time will be stopped and the other team will receive 5 balls and the offending team will be left with only 1.
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. THERE ARE 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.
Miscelanous Stuff
All players must sign a liability waiver form, either as part of the NEPA Dodgeball tournament roster form, or on-site. If the player is under 18 years of age then their parent or legal
guardian must sign for them before participation in their first game (including warm-ups).
NADA Code of Conduct
- Understand, appreciate and abide by the rules of the game.
- Respect the integrity and judgment of game officials and tournament staff.
- Respect your opponent and congratulate them in a courteous manner following each match whether in victory or defeat.
- Be responsible for your actions and maintain self-control.
- Do not taunt or bait opponents and refrain from using foul or abusive language.
Age Determination
Player ages for divisions are the age you are as of September 1 of this year. For example, if you were born in 1992 and the year is 2009, then you are in the 16 year-old division if your
birthday was before September 1st of this year. Otherwise you are in the 17 year-old division. Players must be prepared to provide proof of age. Any team playing with ineligible players will be
required to forfeit all games that the inelibile player participated in.
The typical tournament divisions are:
- 10-11 Year-olds (typically 5th-6th grades)
- 12-13 Year-olds (typically 7th-8th grades)
- 14-18 Year-olds (typically high-school)
- 18+ (Adult division) This division may be further broken down into A and B divisions which is determined by skill level.
Your age division is determined by the age of the oldest player on your roster. Note that age divisions may be combined in tournament play if there are not enough teams in a particular
division.Players can play on more than one team, but they must only play up in age division on the secondary teams.
"I always have good Winters. It's the Summers that kill me." - Bobby Valentine, former NY Mets Manager when asked if he had a good Winter
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