General
- Teams are co-ed, made up of a minimum of 6 players.
- All players must sign a waiver (released at the beginning of each new season), and be 19 years and over, in order to play; no exceptions.
- All teams must have a minimum of 2 females on the court to start a game. If needed, a team can borrow a female from another team, but must still have 1 female player from their own roster for their games to officially count in the standings.
- Teams may borrow players in the regular season to fill out their rosters. For games to officially count, at least half (3) of a team’s players need to be from their own roster, up to a maximum of 5 players.
- All players must have played a minimum of 4 weeks for a team to be eligible to play for them in the playoffs.
- Exceptions can be made to the 4-week minimum rule, but these are at the sole discretion of the league’s Executive Directors, and are non-negotiable. Decisions regarding these exceptions will be made in the interest of maintaining fairness for other teams within the tier.
- If, on the day of playoffs, a team requires substitute players to complete its roster, they may borrow players only from teams in tiers below their own. The exception is the L tier, where players can be borrowed from within the same tier.
- In the playoffs, borrowed players may play only one best-of-five series for any given team. For the next series, that team must use a different borrowed player, who they have not used before in those playoffs.
- Substitutes that are outside of the League must sign a waiver prior to playing.
- Illegal substitutes could result in a forfeit of all games played by the illegal substitute. An illegal substitute is a player that infringes General #6.
- Only roster players are eligible for Playoffs if they have played a minimum of 4 weeks prior to Playoffs. Exceptions will be granted on a case by case basis.
- Any physical altercations or serious breaches of spirit and sportsmanship will be automatically met with disciplinary actions which could result in suspensions or expulsion.*
- The League has a zero tolerance policy towards drugs and alcohol. They are prohibited in all gyms and surrounding areas, and within players’ bodies (playing under the influence). Simply put, if a player or a the League Exec can smell the substances emanating from a player, then the offender will be ejected from the premises immediately and will be subjected to further disciplinary action afterwards, including suspensions and expulsion.
- Usage of gym apparatuses during dodgeball play (chin-up bars, climbing walls, ropes) or performing dangerous actions and stunts (backflips off walls and the gym stage) are banned due to safety concerns.
- Captains’ handshake: to build trust, goodwill and a better sense of community, captains are to meet with each other at the beginning of the night, before any games are played, and take a minute to introduce themselves, shake hands, and wish each other well. This helps with any conflicts on the courts.
- Captains’ Clause: a game may be played under some variation of the rules and policies agreed upon by the captains of the teams involved.**
- The League expects all players to be mature, respectful and sportsmanlike to other participants and to league organizers. In order to protect the community, we reserve the right to refuse service.
* In order to protect league players, the League reserves the right to give official warnings and suspensions on any of the above violations, and may ask the instigator to leave the court or premise immediately if the violation is severe. Three official warnings, or a single severe violation will lead to a ban from the league for the rest of the season including playoffs.
** This rule is only for rare and extenuating circumstances (e.g. permitting a team to play with only 1 female on the court or 1 female substitute player at Playoffs due to unexpected injury or absence). Both captains must agree on any changes of the rules and policies. In addition, pressuring another captain to change the rules and policies against his/her will is unsportsmanlike.
Tiering & Scheduling
- There will be two to five tiers per division/night: A, B, C, D, and L.
- Teams will be moved to the appropriate tiers according to the Director of Scheduling.
- Team schedules (opponents, time slots, and gym locations) will vary on any given week depending on various factors. We will make it as fair as possible and try to accommodate special requests, but there are no guarantees.
Playoffs
- To place greater emphasis on fun and good spirit, the League ensures that ALL teams make the Playoffs.
- Playoffs will place teams in a 5 tier playoff structure.
- Playoffs are a double-elimination tournament.