DODGEBALL RULES Men, Women, Co-Rec General Information 1. Participants are subject to all of the policies and procedures in the Intramural Handbook. 2. Games will consist of 2 teams, 6 players per team. a. Co-Rec team shall consist of three (3) men and three (3) women per team. Each Co-Rec team must have a minimum of four (4) players (at least two (2) of each sex) in order to begin the game. b. Games may start with 4 players. 1 Each participant must present a current Texas A&M student or faculty/staff ID card in order to be eligible to participate. If the student or faculty/staff does not have their ID, they CAN NOT PLAY. Equipment 1. All participants should wear proper recreational attire. This includes t-shirts, gym shorts, wind or sweat paints, and athletic closed toe shoes. 2. Jewelry or sun glasses shall not be worn. 3. Headwear that contains knots, hard or stiff material including billed hats are prohibited. 4. Team jersey will be provided. If a team has their own jersey they must be all be the same color, and have a minimum of a 5 inch number visible on the back of the jersey. 5. Any hard braces must be covered and padded. 6. Participants wearing casts are prohibited from intramural play. 7. The final determination regarding legal equipment will be made by the Intramural Supervisor present at the game. 8. The game will be played with 6 rubber coated foam dodge balls. Time Regulations 1. Game time is Forfeit time, If team does not have minimum number of players to start at game time, that team forfeits. Make sure you come early to check in an be prepared to play. 2. A match will consist of the best 2 out of 3 games. a. A game will be 7 minutes in length. b. The clock will run continuously with the exception of: injuries, referees’ time, and time-outs. c. Each team will receive one 60 second time out per game. d. If a game equal number of players remain after regulation play, a 3 minute sudden death overtime period will be played. 3. Overtime e. The overtime period will begin with the same number of players that ended the game in a tie. f. All overtime periods will begin with equal number of “balls in hand” behind a teams’ end line. g. The first team to eliminate any one opposing player will be declared the winner. h. There are no timeouts in overtime. i. Substitutions must be made prior to the start of the overtime period. j. The sudden death format continues until a winner is determined. Substitutions 1. During timeouts, teams may substitute players. 2. Substitutes may be players who did not start the game, or players who wish to re-enter after having be declared out. 3. Co-Rec males cannot substitute for females. Boundaries 1. During play, all players must remain within the boundary lines. Which are the basketball court lines. 2. Players may pass through there end lines only to retrieve stray balls. 3. When retrieving a ball, the player must immediately re-enter the playing field through the end line only. 4. A player not immediately re-entering the playing area will be declared out. 5. A player may be handed a ball provided the receiving player is in bounds. 6. A player that is out of bounds may not be handed a ball. 7. A player shall not: a. Have any part of their body contact the playing surface on or over a side line. b. Exit or reenter the field through a side line. c. Leave the playing field to avoid being hit by or attempt to catch, a ball. d. Have a part of their body cross over the center line and contact the ground on their opponents’ side of the court. e. During the opening rush players must cross the center line momentarily while attempting to retrieve a ball if the player is not trying to gain an advantage by doing so. 8. Penalty: players going out of bounds will be declared out 9. When there are 2 players or less left on each team, the boundary lines will be volleyball court lines. The Game 1. The team listed first on the schedule will have choice of sides to begin the match. 2. Teams will alternate sides following each game. 3. The object of the game is to eliminate all opposing players by getting them out. 4. An out is scored by: a. Hitting an opposing player with a live thrown ball below the shoulders. (If a player ducks and this clearly is the reason for the player being hit above the shoulders, the player is out and the throw is considered legal). b. Catching a live ball thrown by your opponent. c. Causing an opponent to drop a held ball as a result of contact from a live ball. (Usually occurs when a ball is being used to block a thrown ball). d. If a player steps out of bounds. e. Live Ball: a thrown ball that strikes, or is caught by an opposing player without/before contacting the ground, another player or ball. 5. A player may block a thrown ball with a ball being held, provided the held ball is not dropped as a result of the contact with the thrown ball. (A ball deflecting off a held ball and striking the holder is no longer a live ball). Beginning the Game 1. Six dodge balls will be placed along the center line, 3 balls on the right and left of the center hash mark. 2. Players take position behind their end line. 3. On the whistle from the official, teams may approach the center line to retrieve the balls. Teams may only retrieve the balls to the right of the hash mark. If balls remain on the center line after a team has retrieved and moved their balls beyond the attack line, those balls may be retrieved by either team. 4. Each and every ball that is retrieved from the center line on the opening rush must be taken back beyond the attack line before the ball may be legally thrown at an opponent. 5. A player may carry or pass the ball into the back court beyond the attack line. Declaring a Winner 1. The first team to legally eliminate all opposing players will be declared the winner. 2. If neither team has been eliminated by the end of regulation time, the team with the greater number of players remaining will be declared the winner. Stalling and 5 Second Violation 1. A team trailing during a regulation game must be given the opportunity to eliminate an opposing player. This requires a ball to be at the disposal of the trailing team. 2. It is illegal for the leading team to control all the balls for more than 5 seconds. If the leading team controls all the balls they must make a legitimate effort to get at least one ball across the attack line and into the opponent’s backcourt. If this is not done within 5 seconds a violation will be called. A team may avoid a 5 second violation by throwing or rolling a ball into the opponent’s back court. This does not include throwing a ball over and through an opponent’s end line. 3. The 5-second count will cease, when in the opinion of the official, a ball is at the disposal of the trailing team. 4. A ball may be considered at a team’s disposal without being secured if, in the opinion of the official, players of the trailing team are not making a legitimate effort to do so. 5. The leading team may not throw at a player who, in the opinion of the official, is in the act of securing a ball (in a vulnerable position), that is on the floor after being rolled or tossed by the leading team to avoid a 5-second violation. If more than one player attempts to retrieve the same ball, all are at risk of being eliminated. The trailing team should not be placed at a disadvantage by the 5-second rule. Once the player has secured the ball and is, in the opinion of the official, able to block or throw, they may be eliminated.

Penalty for 5 second violation: If it becomes apparent that a player is maintaining possession of a ball for an extended period of time, the official, under his/her own discretion, can implement a 5-second stalling count. The 5-second count will be issued for a particular player(s). If at the end of the 5-second count the same player(s) is still in possession of the ball, then that player(s) will be considered OUT. If in the course of the match, a player(s) habitually violates the stalling rule, then the official may issue a technical foul to the player(s).

Intramural officials will be used to officiate intramural dodge ball. All decisions by officials are final. ARGUING A DECISION WILL NOT BE TOLERATED! Players arguing after given a warning will be given a “technical” and will have to sit out for the remainder of that game. If a second “technical” is given to the same player during the entire match, that player will be ejected from play and will have to be reinstated by the league administrator before being allowed to play again SPORTSMANSHIP

1. The mission of Intramural Sports is to provide a recreational environment for the university community which is safe and enjoyable. While the game atmosphere is often competitive, ensuring participant safety, providing a fun, social atmosphere, and promoting sportsmanlike behavior among participants, spectators, and team followers are our primary concerns. The game atmosphere should remain good- natured at all times. Participants shall maintain good sportsmanship throughout their participation in all facets of the intramural program.

2. The Sportsmanship Rating System is intended to be an objective scale by which teams' attitude and behavior can be assessed throughout the intramural sports league and playoff seasons. Behavior before, during, and after an intramural sports contest is included in the rating. The team captain is responsible for educating and informing all players and spectators affiliated with his/her team about the system.

3. A team is responsible for the actions of the individual team members and spectators related to it. Additionally, Texas A&M University-Kingsville does not recognize the use of coaches. Only the team captain shall speak to the officials regarding administrative matters (protests, ejections, disqualifications, etc). Furthermore, the team captain's efforts in assisting officials/staff to calm difficult situations and to restrain troubled teammates are the key to controlling team conduct.

4. Sportsmanship is vital to the conduct of every Intramural contest. In order to encourage proper conduct during games, officials, administrative personnel, and supervisors shall make decisions on whether to warn, penalize or eject players or teams for poor sportsmanship. These decisions are final. The Intramural Sports administrative staff will rule on further penalties as a result of unsportsmanlike conduct.

5. Each participant should choose his or her team members carefully, as all team members will suffer the consequences of any disciplinary action taken by the Intramural Sports staff against that team for violation of the intramural rules and sportsmanship guidelines. Protests or appeals of sportsmanship ratings will not be recognized. The Intramural Sports administrative staff reserves the right to review any rating given to a team.

6. Additional information regarding team and participant sportsmanship including the rating method, factors, and scale is available in the Sportsmanship section of the Participant Handbook, available online at the TAMUK Campus Recreation & Fitness web site. Call the Intramural Coordinator at 361-593- 4771 or email [email protected] for more information.