Dodge For a Cause Tournament Rules 2024
This Tournament has a 3 match guarantee
THE TEAM: Teams will be made up of 6 - 8 players. Each game starts with 6 players per team on the court. The balance of players will retrieve balls. Substitutes may enter during the game only in the case of an injury, or after a time out.
- Players MUST be 16+ and Players under 18 require a parent or guardian signature to play.
- We will follow co-ed rules, meaning there must be two members from each sex on each team.
THE GAME: The object of the game is to eliminate all opposing players by getting them “OUT.” This may be done by:
1. Hitting an opposing player with a LIVE thrown ball.
2. Catching a LIVE ball thrown by your opponent before it touches the ground: Catching a ball also brings one of your players back in. Players out of the game will line up on the right side of the court in a line. They will re-enter the game on teammate catches in the order they came out of the game.
3. Blocking and Ricocheting ball OUTS: Players can defend themselves by blocking a ball in flight with another ball but must retain control over the ball they are blocking with. Dropping and losing possession of the blocking ball is deemed out. If a player uses a ball shield and the ball hits their hand, the player is out. The ball is LIVE until it is caught, hits the ground, or goes out of bounds. If a player uses a ball shield and the ball ricochets hitting themselves or another teammate before hitting the ground, those players are out. If a blocked ball is caught by a teammate before hitting the ground, the thrower is out. Blocking is NOT allowed if you are playing a sudden death match to break a tie.
Definition LIVE ball: A ball that has been thrown and has not touched the ground or gone out of bounds.
RETRIEVING DODGEBALLS: Teams are responsible for retrieving balls that go out of play. You may only retrieve balls from your side of the court.
THE OPENING RUSH: Game begins by placing the dodgeballs along the center line – three on one side of the center hash and three 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 three balls to their right of the center hash. Once a ball has been retrieved, it must be taken to atleast half court before it can be legally thrown.
HOW DO I WIN: The team to legally eliminate all opposing players will be declared the winner of that game. Each match consists of 2, 10 minute halves. Teams can play as many games as possible within the half timeframes. At half time, teams will switch sides. The first team to eliminate all players from the other team wins the match. The team who has won the most games within the 20 minute total time frame wins the match. If neither team has been eliminated, or there has been a tie in terms of most games won, the game will go into a sudden death match. The 1st team to lose a player loses the game.
TIME-OUTS: Each team will be allowed one 30-second timeout between games to hydrate and tend to your wounds.
5-SECOND HOLDING BALL VIOLATION: In order to reduce stalling, a violation will be called if a team holds their balls more than 5 seconds. If the team is still holding their balls after the ref counts to 5, the balls will be forfitted to the other team. A second violation in the same game by the same player will result in the player being called out for the rest of that game only by the ref.
RULE ENFORCEMENT: We will have volunteer refs officiate the games and enforce the rules. Please have good sportsmanship, be respectful of our refs, and use the "honor system" when necessary. Referees have final say on all calls. Aggressive play can be penalized by the referee, which can result in expulsion from the game in progress and possibly the tournament. If a player is called out and doesn’t leave the court, the game will be stopped to remove that player for that game. If this happens twice in the evening, that team will be forfeit from the tournament.
For more information, please contact Sarah and Emma at 519-336-0460 x 302 or student.sarnia@bigbrothersbigsisters.ca