RULES & REGULATIONS

1. Team Requirements
1.1. Each team will have a team name.
1.2. All team captains must provide an email for primary form of communication. Team Captains are also expected to provide a phone number as a secondary means of communication.
1.3. If any team wishes to make additions/changes to their team, they must be done prior to playoffs of the league. After the last week of play, no changes will be permitted.
1.4. Each team must have a minimum of 7 players, including 2 from each sex, up to a maximum of 10 players.
1.5. The Match is played with 6 players aside, with a minimum of 2 members of each sex on the
court to start the game. The minimum number of players required to start a game is 4, with 2 members of each sex. 1.6. The 6 players that start each game are the only players that can play during that particular game. Substitute players must wait until the next game before playing. In the case of injury, a player can be replaced with a teammate of the same gender for the remainder of the game.
1.7. All players must be registered before they are able to play in the league.

Substitutional Players

1.8 In the case where a team is down a male or female player/players they can use the option to take a player from another team to fill in for their game or play down a player ( 3/1 or 4/1 ) but they must have at least 1 member of the opposite sex on the court and still have the required 4 players to start the game. An effort must be made to have the required amount of people for games to fill out 6 a side and if considerable efforts are not made to field the correct amount of players on a repeated basis then penalties will begin to be applied to teams that are circumventing the rules including not limited to granting the win to their opposing team.

1.9 A team may use a substitutional player to fill out their roster for any regular season game but must be approved by 1. the referee & 2. The opposing team captain.  *Substitutional players are only allowed during regular season*

2. Equipment
2.1. Each player is required to wear appropriate athletic clothing 2.2. Closed toe running shoes
2.3. Shorts or pants
2.4. Shirt
2.5. Protective gear is optional but encouraged, examples: 2.6. Mouth Guard
2.7. Knee Pads
2.8. Jock Strap
2.9. Soft padded helmet
2.10. 6 official game balls per game 2.11. Gloves are not permitted
3. Object of the Game and Definition of “Out”
3.1. The object of the game is to eliminate all opposing players by getting them “OUT”. This may be done by:
3.2. Hitting an opposing player with a “live” ball before it hits the ground
3.3. Catching a live ball thrown by your opponent before it touches the ground.
3.4. If a Teammate catches a ball, that has hit a teammate, before it hits the ground, it is considered a fair catch and the above rule is still applicable
3.5. Losing control of a ball in your hand and letting it hit the floor while attempting to deflect another ball being throw at you.
3.6. Crossing over the boundary lines. A player cannot touch any part of their opponent’s side of the
court.

LIVE Ball: Any ball that has been thrown, that has not yet hit the floor, ceiling, walls or any other objects within the court (ie. Basketball net). If a ball touches another player or ball before hitting the floor is still considered LIVE.

4. Boundaries
4.1. Players are confined to the center line and back wall of the court. During play, all players must remain within the boundary lines. Players may leave the boundaries on their side of the playing area ONLY to retrieve a ball. Crossing/ touching the floor on the other side of the centre line will result in the offending player being out.

5. Starting the Game
5.1. Six (6) balls will be used in the game; 3 balls will be spaced out evenly on each side of the court just before the centerline.
5.2. Teams will start each game with exactly 6 players on the floor; minimum 4 players required to start any game.
5.3. If a team has less than 6 players at the start of a game, the opposing team decides whether to play at an equal player ratio (i.e. 4-on-4) or a +1 ratio (i.e. 5-on-4).
5.4. The game begins at the sound of the referee's whistle. 5.5. At the sound of the first whistle, players will run for the balls. The balls are not in play until they touch the back line/ wall. The balls may be passed to teammates located at theback. Once the ball crosses the line or touches the wall, it is considered “Live”
5.6. After 25 minutes of play teams will switch sides of the court.

6. MatchRules
6.1. Each Match will be comprised of several games. Each Match will be 55 minutes in length
6.2. Each game will end when a team has had its entire team eliminated
6.3. There are no time-outs permitted and no substitutions allowed during a game. Substitutions can only be done at the beginning of the game.
6.4. The order of returning players will be based on the order players was originally eliminated.
6.5. Players must leave the court boundaries when they are eliminated, lining up next to the referee in the order of their elimination. Players who have been called out cannot retrieve stray balls for their teammates. Players are encouraged to leave the court as fast as reasonably possible to avoid interfering with play. If players deliberately interfere with a player while they are walking off the court, the referee will issue a warning.
6.8. All intentional interferences may result in a player being called out at the referee's discretion. Examples of interference include:
6.9. A player intentionally blocking a ball while on his/her way to the bench.

6.10. Players on the bench intentionally stopping balls, passing/bumping balls to their teammates, or keeping balls from crossing the centre line on the playing area
6.11. If balls are unavoidable, players should let balls bounce off them as naturally as possible.
6.12. Players are not allowed to stall and must attempt to play a ball within 10 seconds. As soon as a player picks up a ball the player has 10 seconds to play the ball by attempting to throw it at their opponent’s side. Bouncing the ball does not restart the time.
6.13. Kicking the ball is prohibited. This means kicking the ball to a teammate or kicking the ball across the centre line towards the opposing team
6.14. 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 referee. The referee’s responsibility will be to rule on any situation in which teams cannot agree. THE REFEREE’S DECISION IS FINAL – NO EXCEPTIONS.
7. MatchRules-Penalties
7.1. Early Start Penalty: An early start is when at the beginning of each game, a player runs for the safe-line balls prior to the referee's whistle.
7.2. Penalty: The team being called for an early start may be penalized by having all 6 balls on the court automatically being handed over to their opponents.
7.3. Non-cleared ball: A non-cleared ball is one that is not brought behind the clear line at the start of a game.

7.4. Throwing: All balls must be thrown in an overhand or underhand motion in the direction of the opposing players. Spin or back hand shots are not permitted. Players will receive a warning in the first instance. After the warning is issued a penalty (infracting player will be called out) will be accessed for further discretions.
7.5. Penalty: If this ball is thrown and hits a player, the player is not out. If the non-cleared ball is caught, then the thrower is still out.
7.6. Honesty Penalty: As noted, honesty is essential in dodgeball. If a player is hit, it is the player's responsibility to call themselves out, whether the referee sees it or not. A player is expected to leave the game upon an obvious and/or direct hit/catch on their own honesty and volition. If a player does not leave the playing area in a timely fashion after an obvious and/or direct hit/catch regardless of a referee's call then it is at the referee's discretion to remove that player and/ or call a penalty.
7.7. Penalty: The player who refused to remove themselves after an obvious and/or direct hit/catch will be removed from the current game and the possibility of future games within the match.
7.8. Penalty: All 6 balls may be provided to the other team at that point in time, depending on the circumstance and referee discretion
7.9. Suicide play: A suicide is NEVER allowed. This entails jumping from you side into the air, throwing the ball in mid-air and landing on the other team’s half.
7.9.1. Penalty: This will result in an immediate out of the player who attempted the suicide player
7.9.2. Penalty: The player will be suspended for the remainder of the Match, not just the game 5

8. Ejections
8.1. Any player crossing half-court as a result of any dispute may be ejected indefinitely.
8.2. Any player leaving the bench as a result of a dispute may be ejected indefinitely.
9. Scoring
9.1. Matches will consist of as many games that can be played in the 60 minute time period. Each game won will count as one point towards the final score of the match. (IE. Final score of 3-2)
9.2. If teams are tied based on points at the expiration of the clock, sudden death overtime begins.
9.3. Each team will start sudden death overtime with 1 player of the teams choosing. Each team will be given 1 ball in hand, and 1 ball on the opposing back line. At the start signalled by the referee the first team to eliminate the other player on the opposing team will be the winner.
9.4. The team with more points at the end of regulation will be awarded the winner and given 3
points towards the league standings. Should a game go to sudden death overtime, both teams
will be given 1 point, and the winner of sudden death will be given an additional point.
9.5. Team captains will be required to sign the score sheet at the end of each Match to verify the
score.

Respect + Policy
The PSSC recreation programs exist to provide residents and visitors with the opportunity to participate in sport and other recreational activities in a safe and positive environment. The PSSC will ensure the most supportive climate possible so that people may enjoy their sports and/or recreational opportunities, and learn about sportsmanship, skills, competition, teamwork, and fair play.
It is critical that the PSSC has deterrents in place to ensure that incidents of harassment and violent behaviour do not occur in any PSSC recreation programs and/or leagues. Participants and spectators of all PSSC programs and leagues are expected to behave and act in a manner that respects the rights of others.
All users and staff have the right to be safe and to feel safe while attending a program or facility. With this right comes the responsibility to be accountable for actions that put the safety of others at risk.
Included in this commitment is the understanding that organizations that utilize PSSC recreational facilities must take PRIMARY responsibility for the behaviour of all individuals associated with them, including participants, officials, and spectators.
Individuals who engage in any form of unacceptable behaviour will be subject to prohibitions.