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Dodgeball Rules

  • Facility
      • All matches will be played at the Athletics & Recreation East Gym unless otherwise stated. Alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs are not permitted at the complex or in the parking lot
  • Player Eligibility
      • All UC Santa Cruz Intramural Sports eligibility rules apply. Please check the Intramural Sports Policies & Procedures carefully to see more details
      • All players must have a valid, original UC Santa Cruz or state-issued physical photo identification to participate
      • Players must compete in 2 regular season games to be eligible for playoffs
  • Team Composition
      • Each team must consist of at least four players and up to 14 players. 
      • Co-Rec leagues, if offered, require each team to consist of at least 4 eligible players. There may not be any more than three players on the court at all times identifying as the same gender
  • Equipment
      • Participants must wear closed-toe and closed-heel shoes at all times. Shoes must be athletic shoes that will not scuff hardwood
      • Participants are required to remove or cover all jewelry including earrings, rings, bracelets, etc. prior to playing. Covered jewelry must remain covered throughout participation. Intramural Sports will not provide tape for covering jewelry
  • Beginning the Game
      • Game begins by placing the dodgeballs along the division line – three (3) dodgeballs equidistant from each other on one side of the center court and three dodgeballs (3) on the other side of center court
      • Players take position touching the end line and facing their opponent
      • Following an audible and physical signal by the official, teams may approach the centerline to retrieve the dodgeball(s)
        • This signal officially starts the contest
      • Once a dodgeball is retrieved it must be taken behind the attack-line (volleyball court attack-line) before it can be legally thrown
      • Sliding past the half court line into the opponent’s territory will result in an automatic warning from the officials, followed by an “out” if the occurrence is repeated
  • Playing Area
      • Games are played on a full-length basketball court for the first 4 minutes of each round. In the remaining 3 minutes of each round the boundaries will become the volleyball court lines.
      • All players must remain inside the basketball and/or volleyball court during the relevant time period.
      • Players may leave and enter their team's own endline boundary during the first 4 minutes only to retrieve stray balls. Players may not leave the volleyball boundaries for any reason inside of 3 minutes. Players may not leave or enter through any other boundary at any other time.
      • Any ball that is caught outside the lines is not considered a caught ball (one foot within bounds will be considered a caught ball) 
        • That player can not have a point of contact with any part of the floor that is considered outside the playing area (court).
  • Format
      • Dodgeball matches will be played to the best-of-five rounds and last seven minutes each round
      • If neither team has been eliminated at the end of the first two rounds, the team with the greater number of players remaining on the court will be declared the winner
      • If the fifth game is tied at the end of regulation there will be a 3 minute ‘sudden death’ period with remaining active players in the round. The first team to eliminate a player will be declared the winner. If the match is still tied at the end of the overtime period, then repeat the overtime period(s) until there is a winner.
  • Hitting opponents
      • Make contact with the opponent below the shoulders before it touches the floor or wall
      • A throw can only get one person out at a time
      • Any throw that strikes the head will eliminate the thrower
        • Unless person hit intentionally moves into the throw’s path
      • A throw that strikes any loose clothing will be resulted in that player being out
        • Clothing is considered part of the participant
  • Catching an Opponent’s Throw
      • The ball must be caught before it touches the ground
      • Catching the ball eliminates the opponent throwing the ball 
      • And allows for one teammate to return to play from “out”
        • “Out” is located on the sideline opposite of the team bench
        • “Out” is based on the order of those eliminated
        • May return to play in the order that they were put out
  • Deflections
      • Dodgeballs may be deflected while holding another dodgeball as long as the possession of the dodgeball is maintained by the player
      • Deflected dodgeballs that are caught by a teammate will result as a caught ball
      • The player who drops a dodgeball during the deflection will be “out"
      • A dodgeball that is deflected is considered a "live" dodgeball and can count as an "out
        • If it hits the person who deflected the dodgeball
        • If the deflected dodgeball hits a teammate
        • If the deflected dodgeball is caught in bounds
  • Violations
    • If a team controls all six balls on their side of the court for more than 5 seconds a violation will be called and a ball will be rolled to the opposing team
    • Any player steps over the midline
      • First violation for the team is a warning and the second violation for the team will result in the player being out
      • A player will be sent to out with no warning if they cross the midline with both feet
    • Entering play from the sideline rather than the end line will result in a warning on the first occasion the second will result in the player being sent to “out”.
    • No kicking the ball
    • Active players lurking/leaning/hopping back and forth on the boundary lines or traveling out of bounds and not retrieving a ball will be sent to "out"
  • Time-outs & Substitutions
      • Each team will be allowed one, 30-second timeout per match
        • At this time a team may substitute one player into the game
  • Playoffs
      • Players must compete in 2 regular season games to be eligible for playoffs
      • The playoff schedule may not be consistent with the times you selected during the regular season
      • Overtime is used during playoffs, there must be a winner
  • Forfeit & Defaults
    • Games must begin within 10 minutes after the scheduled game time. Failure to field a team at that time shall result in a forfeit
    • Teams that forfeit games will result in the team captain receiving a $10 Forfeit Fine, the forfeiting team receiving a "2" sportsmanship rating, and have the game recorded as a loss in addition to a negative score differential of 10 points for that game 
    • Teams that forfeit two games in a season will be removed from playoffs
    • If I know my team will not be to play a game I will take the following action to avoid a forfeit:
      • Notify the Intramural Sports office by filling out the Default Form (found on the Intramural Sports website or Instagram) by 2:00pm for weekday games and by 7:00am on weekends. The game will be recorded as a default