Central League Rules

DODGEBALL RULES (SIMPLE VERSION)

• 2 teams of 6 players face off against each other with 6 balls in play at any time.

• Volley ball sized court, players cannot cross the centre line.

• The object of the game is to tag the other team out by hitting them with the ball.

• Players are eliminated from the game when they are hit with a ball, or a ball they throw is caught by another player, before it goes dead.

• A ball is considered dead when it hits the wall, ground or the net.

• The balls are foam, so they don’t hurt when you’re hit.

• Once all players of a team are eliminated, the remaining team earns a point and the court is reset for the next set.

• You can hold more than 1 ball, but pass them to your team mates to work together!

You are OUT/SAFE when:

• You are SAFE if the ball bounces off the ground, wall or ceiling before hitting you.

• You are SAFE if you block with another ball.

• If you catch a throw before it touches the ground, wall or ceiling,

  • You are SAFE

  • The thrower is OUT

  • You bring a team mate back to life (the first person to get out)

  • This also applies when anyone catches a deflection off a team mate

• If the ball hits you, 

  • you are OUT when the ball touches the ground, wall or ceiling.

• You are OUT if you step on any lines (back line, center line)

• You are OUT if you drop your blocking ball (disarmed!)

• You are OUT if you block but the ball touches your hands/fingers.

• You are OUT if your team mate blocks a ball into you.

Starting the game

• You start the game by running for the 3 balls on the RIGHT hand side.

• The balls must pass the activation line (marked with cones) before you can throw at the other team.

• Watch this explanation of the Opening Rush (start from 0:43)

CENTRAL LEAGUE RULES (Updated June 2023)

• We will be using WDBF Foam Rules - please make yourself familiar with these rules (simple version is above).  

• Playing area: Standard Men’s size court

• Players on a court - 6 on each team

  • If a team does not have 6 players to play on a night they may play with less than that, but they need to have a minimum 4 players on the court for each game. If a team does not have the required number of players, they will default the game (0-3) but we will use other players to ensure that everyone has a game. If both teams do not have the required players, both will default to a 0-0 tie.

  • Your players need to be there on time. We will not wait for players to come to meet the minimum four player count. A default will occur if you do not have four players in the building at 6:30/7:15, depending on your game time. Any late players may join in later as long as the initial condition was met. There is no limit to the number of players that can play on your team on a given night.

  • Female Player Minimum: There is no minimum requirement to have a female play at any time. We are aiming to include this rule in the future, so if you know any women who would like to play please encourage them to come along 

  • Missing Players and Subs: We will be playing 6v6 every game.

Captains and teams are responsible for ensuring they have enough players on the night. Anyone is welcome to play on your team as long as the following guidelines are followed:

1. A player may only play for one team on any given night. They may, however, play for different teams on different nights.

2. A player must sort out their team before the game begins. Fill-ins are welcome to come on the night, but if they have not sorted out a team beforehand there is no obligation for teams to play them.

3. For teams made of individual players, some leeway may be exercised when it comes to subs, but ultimately once a team is formed, the organisers are not responsible for providing subs to teams.

If a team does not have 6 players to play on a night they may play with less than that, but they need to have a minimum 4 players on the court for each game. If a team does not have the required number of players, they will default the game (0-3) but we will use other players to ensure that everyone has a game. If both teams do not have the required players, both will default to a 0-0 tie.

•  35 minute games with a swapover halfway

Timekeeping: We will use an iPad to keep time at the centerline. The timer will be set to 35 minutes unless something requires us to shorten or lengthen the games. When the timer reaches 18 minutes to go, if we are not currently swapping over, we will finish the set with sudden death. After that set is completed, teams will swapover to the other side. When the clock reaches 2 minutes, we will finish the current set with sudden death. At the end of that set the game will be over. If a set has just finished (at the discretion of the ref and the ref only) when the clock turns to 2 minutes, a final set of sudden death will be played.

2v2 Tournament Day(s)

Depending on the number of teams in the league, we may have 2v2 tournament days.Because of the number of teams and the length of the league, we thought we would introduce a new competition to our league - a 2v2 tournament .We’re hoping to have a large number of teams in this. Details will be announced closer to the time. 

Finals & Playoffs: Any team member that plays for a team on playoff nights or finals night must have played at least three games for your team during the regular season and has not played more than three games for another team. We will leave this up to team’s discretion, but any team that wants to challenge the inclusion of a player may do so and may result in the player not playing. 

There are two exceptions for injuries:

1.  If a player is listed as registered for a team (on the sign-up form or by email to the organisers before the season begins), but does not play for any other team, they may play in any playoff games or finals that they are healthy for.

2. If a team is missing players due to injuries, they may request an emergency fill-in with the organisers - this will have to be approved by the opposing team(s)

Captains will need to have discussions with league organisers as soon as possible to avoid any surprises on finals night.

Match Days: (To be amended after registration is complete) We will have three games per day and the draw is included below. We have the venue booked from 6-8pm. We will be setting up the courts from 6pm and if anyone needs to warm up there will be space available (preferably on Court 2 - the closest to the entry). The first time slot will only have one game, so if you need to warm up for your 7:15 game, then you can use Court 2. We will use old balls ONLY to warm up with. If you are able to help set-up that would be greatly appreciated.

Referees & Sweepers: You will notice on the draw that there is a team assigned to ref every game. There are 15 total round robin matches but due to our schedule the reffing and sweeping cannot be distributed equally. Three of the teams will have 3 duties during the round robin and three will have 2 duties. The three teams who only have two, will be asked to ref the 2v2 tournament games

The night goes a lot more smoothly when we have sweepers/shaggers to return the balls to players. If you are watching the game, please take a turn to do this if you can (I know some people can’t stay the whole time). If everyone helps out just a little it makes the league a lot more fun. We thank you for your assistance in advance. Just remember to be kind and polite to your sweepers. They are trying their best and sometimes make mistakes (trust me, I’ve made a few in my time)

Draw: Find the draw (and updated standings) on our webpage. (To be updated once registration is completed)