Dodgeball Rules
We follow a modified version of the World Dodgeball Federation. Link to WDBF rules here: https://worlddodgeballfederation.com/wdbf-content/uploads/2024/03/WDBF-Dodgeball-Rules-2024.pdf
Player Conduct
NO ARGUING WITH REFS!
If the ref calls you out you are out.
This is an immediate loss of one player from your current game. If behaviour continues that plater could be removed from play entirely.
Your captain may speak with the ref between sets or at half time. The refs call still stands. The conversations will end at the ref discretion to not take away from time of play.
You are responsible for calling yourself and your teammates out. Be honest!
All players are bound by PlaySask’s Policies & Procedures document, including our Code of Conduct.
Respect the league coordinator — they’re running the event, and their decisions are final.
Be respectful of the facilities — don’t wear marking shoes, and clean up after yourself.
The Team
Each team has six players on the court.
At least two players of the opposite gender must be on the court at all times.
We recommend a team of nine to twelve players, for substitutions.
Player substitutions are only allowed between sets, or if there is an injury.
Substitutions who are not on the roster are allowed to play but need to sign a waiver before the game.
You need at least four roster players at the posted game time. If you don’t have the minimum, you lose by default. Forfeits must be confirmed with both teams and the coordinator before the game begins.
For Competitive games only: If you’re inviting subs to play a game, you can have no more than eight players in total.
The Game
The court is half the gym split into two opposing sides excluding the open gender leauge who will be playing full court.
Some courts will have sidelines or out-of-bounds areas depending on the gym.
Each team starts with six players on the court.
The goal is to get all six players on the opposing team out (a set).
Each set is worth one point toward the score for the game.
The games are fifty minutes long.
The team with the most points at the end of the game wins.
For Casual: Once a team reaches 10 more points than the opposing team (e.g. a score of 5-15), the game can be called, with the final score recorded. Teams can play for fun, mixing up teams if you chose, for the remainder of the hour. Both captains must agree to end the game, and inform the coordinator.
Starting the Set (Opening Rush)
For the Opening Rush, dodgeballs are set on the centre line with three balls on the left and right up to three meters from the side lines. Players may only retrieve balls from right hand side.
Players line up in contact with the back wall or back line, and once the teams are ready and the balls are in place, the ref will verify each teams readiness and either say “DODGEBALL,” or the whistle will blow indicating players can retrieve the balls from their half.
Players may touch or cross the centre line while retrieving those balls during the opening rush. You cannot cross the centre line as soon as the first ball is activated on your side of the court. Any balls retrieved during the opening rush must fully cross the activation line to become a live ball. It can be used to block immediately and does not need to be activated to be used to block.
If you throw a ball before its activated if it’s caught you’re out but a hit does not count.
In beach dodgeball, each team starts with three balls and players line up with one foot touching the back line. The ref will verify each teams readiness and will say “DODGEBALL,” or blow the whistle to start the match.
Gameplay Rules
Throws
A throw must leave a player’s hand. The thrown ball becomes a live ball once the player is no longer in contact with the ball. Kicking or hitting a ball does not count as a throw.
A throw must be a valid attempt to get an opposing player out. A valid attempt is a throw that lands or passes within one meter of a player or a player’s position at the moment the ball was released, with refs discretion.
Teams have ten seconds to throw a ball. If no balls are thrown within ten seconds the team who needed to throw forfeits all the balls to the other team.
A ball must not be held in ways that would damage it and must not be distorted in a way that would alter its normal flight pattern when thrown (i.e. squishing or compressing the ball).
Live Balls vs. Dead Balls
A live ball becomes dead once it touches another live ball, a surface, or dead player, or once it is caught. A live ball remains live after it has been blocked.
Players can pass balls to teammates, drop balls, and hold more than one ball at once.
Players can use one or more balls to block a live ball from hitting them.
A player reaching over center line must have two points of contact on their side of the court for ball to remain live.
Boundaries & Exiting/Re-entering the Court
In games with boundaries, designated ball retrievers can retrieve balls outside of the boundaries on their side of the court. Ball retrievers may not touch any boundary line or any surface, ball, or live player within the court boundaries, and may not retrieve balls that have crossed the centre line. They may pass balls to live players or other ball retrievers and place balls within court boundaries. Ball retrievers cannot throw balls onto court to interfere with play or to change direction of rolling balls on the court.
In games with no boundaries, there are no designated ball retrievers.
Catching a ball allows the first eliminated player from the catching team to rejoin the game. Re-entry follows the order of elimination: first out, first back in.
Players re-entering the court are considered live as soon as both feet are within court boundaries. If court boundaries are not in effect, players must immediately touch the back wall to signify they have re-entered the court.
Players must reenter the court within ten seconds.
Advantage
"Advantage" refers to which team is required to throw. The team with advantage has ten seconds to make an attempt. This time resets if any ball is thrown.
Advantage is given to the team that:
is in possession of four or more balls; or
is in possession of three balls and has more players; or
if both teams have equal players and equal number of balls the team who did not throw last; or
if neither team has thrown, the team that last won a set.
In playoffs the higher seeds gets advantage in the opening set.
Refs keep track of advantage. If the team with advantage doesn't throw within ten seconds, all balls are passed to the opposing side.
Teams are assigned to volunteer ref at league games. If no refs are available, captains can decide to either:
Follow the "hot ball" rule, where players on the court keep track of advantage, and one ball is replaced with a different colour to decide advantage when balls and players are tied. The team with the "hot ball" has advantage. Or,
Have subs from the bench ref. If subs are reffing, the refs can only call advantage and cannot call outs due to the inherent conflict of interest.
Outs
Getting hit
A live player is deemed out when a live ball that hits them on any part of their body, including hair or on any part of their clothing.
Other live players are not considered dead objects, so if a ball hits two or more people before touching a dead object, all players hit by the live ball are out.
If a ball hits one person and then a teammate catches the ball, the first player is “saved” and the thrower is out.
A hit player can continue to make valid actions/throw until any live balls that hit them come in contact with a dead object.
Headshots
In Casual games, headshots are not allowed. If a player hits someone in the head, including if that person raises their hands to block a headshot, the thrower is out. If a player is ducking or jumping and gets hit in the head, it is not considered a headshot, and the player hit will still be out.
In Competitive games, hitting another player in the head counts as an out, but headshots are discouraged.
Players who intentionally throw headshots should be reported to the league coordinator and may be asked to leave the game if they don't change their behaviour.
Catches
If a player’s throw is caught by the opposing team, that player is out. The catcher must have control of the ball, and the ball cannot have come into contact with a dead object before the catch is complete.
Per Dodgeball Canada catches must be made with at least two points of contact in the court. Jump catches can be made but the player catching the ball must land with two points of contact in the court.
Blocking
Blocks must be clean — if the ball hits the player after they’ve blocked, that player is out. Additionally, if a blocked ball hits a teammate, the teammate is out. Remember: A live ball remains a live ball after it has been blocked.
If an attempt at a block is made but the ball hits a players finger instead of the ball the player attempting to block is out.
Disarming
If a player loses control of the ball they’re holding while blocking and does not regain control of the ball, they’re considered “disarmed” and are out.
Boundaries & Exiting
For courts with boundaries, players cannot step on to or out of the boundary or they are out. Excluding the opening rush.
If any part of a player touches the opposing team’s territory, they shall be considered out of bounds.
You can reach for balls on the opposing teams side of the court but cannot touch their side of the court or use a ball to support your weight.
An exiting player must raise their hand over their head to indicate that they are out and leave the playing area as quickly as possible without intentionally impacting play.
Players must leave the court entirely before they can come back in — if a catch is made before they leave the court, they still need to exit the court before re-entering.
Simultaneous plays
If multiple actions happen at the same time and it's unclear which occurred first, the results are resolved simultaneously—for example, if two players hit each other at once, both are out.
In one-on-ones, if a simultaneous play occurs, players reset to the back wall/or line with a ball, and the opening rush countdown is called to restart the one-on-one.
Ending the Set
In Casual: When one player remains on both sides (a one-on-one), after 5 seconds there is NO BLOCKING. A blocked ball is out.
When all players are out, the set is over, and a point is scored for the winning team.
Teams can choose to play an "all-in" round at the end of the game where all players join the court. All-ins don't count toward the final score, and should only be played if the round doesn't change the outcome of the game (no all-ins on a tie game). Both captains need to agree to the all-in. During an all-in round, players cannot re-enter the court if there's a catch.
Sportsmanship Policy
At PlaySask Sports, we value good sportsmanship, which we define as fair and generous behaviour towards or treatment of opposing players and teammates.
If a PlaySask Sports member or team displays poor sportsmanship or breaks our code of conduct:
We encourage PlaySask Sports members to talk to the individual or team captain calmly and respectfully about their behaviour.
If the behaviour does not improve, members should speak to the league coordinator about the issue. The league coordinator will then speak to the individual or team captain, and let the leadership know about the incident.
If the behaviour does not improve, leadership will speak to the individual or team captain about the behaviour. PlaySask will keep a record of the conversation and issue a final warning to the individual or captain that if there are any further complaints, the individual or team will be suspended from the league either permanently or for a set period of time.
Playoffs
Subs that play during the playoffs must have previously subbed with the team during at least three games for competitive, one game for casual, during regular season (no ringers).
Tiebreakers are determined as follows if tied for most wins:
Point differential
If teams are tied in point differently a sudden death game will be played
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