Don't miss out on your chance to show of your dodgeball skills and have a blast! Only for adults 18 & over!

WHEN: Saturday, September 28 from noon to 2:00 p.m.

WHERE: William "Hicks" Anderson Community Center, 501 N. Madison Street, Wilmington, Delaware 19801

REGISRATION: Use the form below to register online. Open to 99 participants.

RULES: The official rules for this tournament are located at the bottom of this page.

QUESTIONS? Dial 311 within city limits or (302) 576-2620 from outside city limits.

DODGEBALL RULES

1. A team will consist of 6 players (any combination of males/females). Five players is the minimum needed to start a game. All players must wear non-marking court shoes. No jewelry is allowed on a player (jewelry discovered on a player during a game results in the player being declared out). A forfeit will be declared if a team does not have a minimum of 4 players present one minute after the scheduled start time.
   
   
2. A match consists of the best 3 out of 5 games. Teams will alternate sides after each game.
   
   
3. The winner of a game will be the first team to eliminate all opposing players by getting them out, or by having the greater number of players on the court at the end of the time limit.|
   
   
4. There will be no officials. Teams and players are on the honor system. Teams will be responsible for calling their own outs and ruling whether or not a hit was legal or whether they were legally eliminated.
   
   
5. There will be a 4-minute time limit on each game. After the conclusion of the time limit, the team with the greater number of players remaining will be declared the winner of the game. If an equal number of players are remaining after regulation, then a one minute sudden-death overtime will be played between the players remaining on the court until a winner is declared.
   
   
6. Dodgeball will be played on a basketball court. The limits of the court will be the sideline of the basketball court on the sides and the wall or curtain behind your teams end line. A player may advance into their opponent’s side of the court to the attack line (the volleyball court attack line).
   
   
7. Games will begin by placing the dodge balls along the center line – 3 on one side of the center hash and 3 on the other. Players will take a position behind their end line. Following a signal from the court monitor, teams may approach the center line to retrieve the balls. Teams may only retrieve the 3 balls to their right of the center hash. Once a ball is retrieved, it must be taken behind the attack-line (free throw line in your respective half of the court) before it can be legally thrown and put “out” an opponent. Failure of a player to keep both feet behind their end line until after the signal is given will result in loss of one team ball given to the opponents.
   
   
8. There will be no time-outs or substitutions during a game. Substitutions will be allowed prior to the start of a game.
   
   
9. All players must remain within the boundary lines. Any player that fails to keep both feet on the playing court will be declared out. A player may reach outside the court boundaries to retrieve a ball as long as one foot remains on the court. A player that steps over, or steps on their attack line in the front court will be declared out.
   
   
10. The object of the game is to eliminate all opposing players by getting the “out”. This may be done by:
    
    
    
    • Hitting an opposing player with a live thrown ball on the fly below the shoulders. A person throwing a ball that strikes an opponent in the head will be declared out and the opponent that was struck in the head will remain in the game. If a player ducks or lowers their head and is subsequently struck in the head will be declared out and the thrower remains in the game. A player bending over to pick up a ball that is struck in the head by an opponent’s throw will be declared out. An intentional, malicious head shot will result in the offending player being ejected for the remainder of the games during the match. The ball must be thrown. Opposing players cannot be put out by simply touching them with a held ball.
      
      
    • Catching a live ball thrown by your opponent on the fly before it touches the floor, another ball, curtain or wall. If the ball is caught on the fly after deflecting off a teammate, the thrower is out, and your teammate will still remain in the game. If a deflected ball from a hit on a fellow teammate touches a teammate and is not caught, both teammates will be declared out.
      
      
    • A thrown ball that contacts another ball, the floor, wall, curtain or basketball goal is dead and can no longer be played on. A player that blocks an opponent’s throw while holding a ball will be declared out.
      
      
    • Balls released before a player is out will remain live and can put an opponent out.
      
      
    • If opponents throw a ball at one another, and they both happen to catch each other’s ball, both players will be declared out. Exception: If both players are the lone remaining players on the court neither player will be declared out and the game will continue with the lone players.
      
      
    • Once a player is out, he/she must put their arms up, leave the playing area immediately by stepping over the nearest sideline and return to your team’s half of the court. A player that has been put “out” and that is holding a ball must throw the ball back to his/her team’s back wall or curtain immediately before a teammate may use the ball. Players who have been put out and are standing in their designated half of the court may retrieve balls outside the court of play and give to their teammates (the retrieved ball must contact the team’s back wall/curtain before a teammate may use the ball). A player that is out may not retrieve balls on the opponent’s side of the mid-court line or balls that are in the court. A player that is “out” who interferes with play will have a teammate declared “out”. Definition: Live Ball – a ball that has been thrown and has not touched anything, including the floor, another ball, another player or other item.
      
      
11. Delay: A player that holds the ball for longer than 10 seconds will be penalized and must roll the ball to the opponents. Failure to comply with forfeiture of the ball will result in the player being declared out. A player that is not actively making an attempt to engage the opponent shall be declared out after a warning from the court monitor.
    
    
12. Eyeglasses must be tightly strapped on. Note: String will be provided by supervisors if needed.
    
    
13. Team members must wear similarly colored jerseys. Recreational Services will provide jerseys if needed.
    
    
14. Court monitors may issue judgements on any player violating the rules and said player will be declared “out”. Players failing display positive sportsmanship or constantly infringing on the rules can be ejected from the match or tournament.