TEAM SETUP

You must field a team of 5 men and 3 women, in the event you do not have 3 females you will play down one female player, no additional male players can be substituted.  A game may be started with a minimum of 6 players.

THE FIELD

The game begins with opposing teams players lining up on opposite baselines with 8 dodgeballs divided in sets of 4 on the mid-court line. On the referee's start of the game, players race towards the dodgeballs (on their right) to retrieve them. Players who retrieve the dodgeballs from mid-court must ensure the balls cross back over their own baseline before attempting to eliminate opposing players.

No player may cross the mid-court line in an attempt to eliminate an opposing player until the referee signals that the teams will be permitted to move past the midcourt to another line, white, or free-throw.  Referees have the option to begin games at the white line or free-throw line and that will be announced at start of game.

GAME PLAY

Matches last up to 40 minutes, depending on start time and game speed. Referees will not begin a non-tiebreaking game in the final 5 minutes of the match ending (e.g. if the score is 5-4 following the 9^th  game ending with 3 minutes left in the match there will be an “All-In” exhibition match that will not count. If the score is 4-4 following the 8^th game with 4 minutes left in the match then a deciding tiebreaker game will played to determine the winner.

The object of the game is to eliminate all opposing players by getting them "OUT".  This is done by:

1. Hitting an opposing player with a LIVE thrown ball below the shoulders. (any balls held are part of your body and if hit will result in you being out, unless caught (no blocking);  (Note: Any player hit in the head during the course of play will not be out. However, if a player ducks, dodges, crouches, or takes a position in which their head is below where their shoulders would normally be when standing to avoid a thrown ball, and is struck in the head, the player is out. If the ball first contacts another part of the players body and then hits them in the head the player is out.
2. Legally catching a LIVE ball thrown by your opponent before it touches the ground.  Any dodgeball(s) you posses, must be maintained while attempting to catch a thrown ball or a ball that hits/deflects off of you;
3. Causing an opponent to lose control of a held ball as a result of contact by a thrown LIVE ball; (held ball must be dislodged so that it has either hit the ground, wall, another player, etc.)
4. Stepping over the forward-most throwing boundary that's been designated by the referee;
5. Dodging a ball outside of the boundary lines or exiting/touching the wall or ground that has been designated to be out of bounds.

Definition of LIVE Ball: A thrown ball that strikes or is caught by an opposing player without/before contacting the ground, another player, a non-held ball, official, wall, or any other determined object.

Each game continues until every player on one of the teams is knocked out.

Once a player is OUT, they must drop any balls in hand and exit the playing field at the sideline determined by the official.  If an OUT player intentionally contacts a live ball or interferes in any way with play before exiting the playing field, the officials may call OUT an additional member of their team as a penalty for interference.

The referee is in charge of calling players out. However, during game play, the furious and fast-paced action may occasionally limit the ability of the referee to see every bit of action at all times. Please follow the honor system: If you are hit, whether the referee has seen it or not, you are out!

If a team has control of 5 or more dodgeballs, they will be given a count down from 5 at the referee’s discretion.  If the team that has control does not make an attempt to throw their dodgeballs then one player from their team will be called out.  (This player can be chosen by the team).

LEGAL CATCHES

A clean caught ball eliminates the player who threw it and the team that caught the ball adds a player back in the game, the team must adhere to rotation rule of bringing in the next player in line.  The player must enter the game by touching the back wall of their side. If there are already 5 male players on the court then a female player would be the one to enter the game.  You may never have more than eight players on the court at any given time.

A LIVE ball deflecting off the body of Player "A" remains LIVE only to Player "A".  If Player "A" legally catches the deflected ball, the thrower is OUT.  Teammates of "A" may not legally catch the deflected ball.  In fact, touching of the deflected ball by another player causes it to become dead.

BOUNDARIES

If a ball has rolled out of bounds to the point a player must step out of bounds to retrieve it, they must first signal they are retrieving the ball (by raising their hand), exit the court parallel to the ball location, promptly retrieve the ball, and then return to the back wall with the ball before entering back in the game.  If a ball has gone out of bounds where your team is standing please do not roll or throw the balls back to your team, instead place them on the out of bounds line for someone to come pick up.

RULE ENFORCEMENT

CSL Dodgeball is NOT a contact sport. If a ball is on the ground or out of play you should not make ANY contact with a player in an attempt to gain possession of the ball. A player may be removed from a game at any time by the referee if they exhibit poor sportsmanship or become out of control.

Kicking the dodgeball is NOT allowed at any time during the game, balls must be thrown, tossed, or rolled by hand.  A warning will be passed onto a player who kicks any ball.  A second violation, that player will be OUT.

At no time should any player slam a ball into the ground or wall, or squeeze the dodgeballs as this causes them damage and/or can be a safety risk. Players seen abusing equipment in this way will be warned and then ejected from the game.

During tournament play, only paid players that are on your team's waiver will be eligible to play.

Please remember that dodgeball is a recreational sport.  Please show respect towards your opponents, the referees, and your teammates.   Any players or teams who exhibit poor sportsmanship or foul play towards others will be asked to leave.

LEAGUE POLICIES        

FORFEITS:

If your team forfeits a match during the season, the following rules apply:


First Offense: Loss of game.


Second Offense: Loss of game and staff reserves the right to remove team from playoffs.

Third Offense: Removal from the league.

Any team that forfeits more than once also forfeits any guarantee or right to a certain number of guaranteed games.

If you know in advance that your team is going to forfeit a game, we encourage you to email the league manager so as to help us schedule your opponent a game.

Teams may play more than one match per day, and/or play matches on days/nights other than your regularly scheduled league day/night.  
CSL reserves the right to schedule playoff games on days other than your regularly scheduled league night.

Any questions regarding rules, policies, or eligibility must be addressed before the start of the game. 

STANDINGS:

The updated standings will be posted weekly, displaying each teams rank within its skill level.

PLAYOFFS:

Playoffs are single-elimination. Playoffs will take up to 2 weeks to complete.

WAIVERS:

In order to participate in the league, each participant must sign the team waiver. Waivers are provided and must be completed and handed in no later than the first night of play. Players not present the first week of play will still be required to sign a waiver with our staff before participating. These waivers will also serve as your final roster.

PLAYER ELIGIBILITY:

Any protest made during a game or after a game will NOT be considered a formal protest.  A formal protest may be filed before a game if an opposing player’s eligibility is in question. The player in question will be required to provide his/her player information (ID) in person to a CSL staff member prior to the start of the game. This qualifies as an official protest and only applies to the playoffs. The game will then be played in its entirety as scheduled. Teams will be notified of all rulings on the identified eligibility discrepancy by the following business day – decisions will not be made on site. If the protest is proven to be legitimate, it will result in the forfeiture of the game in question. Games subsequent to the protested game may be rescheduled.
The above procedure will also apply for any other “logged” protests. All protest need to happen prior to any match/game starting, otherwise the match/game will stand as a leagl match. All rulings by CSL staff are considered final. Substitutes are allowed during the regular season, but only roster players are allowed for the playoffs.  Any player(s) who has a season ending medical condition, moves away, or has another circumstance deemable for a subsitute player must be approved by sending a formal email to sports@playcsl.com.

SPORTSMANSHIP:

The idea of CSL is to have fun. We hope that all participants keep that in mind when becoming involved. Although the games may become intense, you still can be competitive while maintaining good sportsmanship. With this said, any behavior deemed unacceptable by staff may result in suspension and/or ejection from a game or the league.

To coordinate and run the league, our refs and/or staff will be available at all times to help the league run as smoothly as possible. If you have questions regarding schedules, policies, rule interpretations, directions to the bar, etc. please ask or call our office.

LEAGUE CANCELLATION/RAINOUT:

Leagues may be cancelled due to existing weather conditions, dangerous or unplayable field conditions, facility constraints, scheduling conflicts, etc. CSL staff makes every effort to play all scheduled games, thus we will not cancel games unless absolutely necessary. Therefore, if you are calling concerning a decision on a cancellation, remember we will not have an answer until close to the start of the league.

If the league is cancelled, CSL staff will post all notices on social media sites (Facebook/Twitter).  CSL will then email/text all of the captains if possible. If a league is cancelled on site, CSL staff will attempt to contact those teams still scheduled to play the remainder of the league day/night. Depending on the time of cancellation, some teams will have to be notified on site. In extreme circumstances, CSL reserves the right to run a shortened season without a refund or schedule matches on days and/or locations other than our regularly scheduled league day/night/location.