Playing in our leagues is fun + safe. To ensure this continues, everyone in the league abides by a shared set of league rules. Games are also officiated to assist with calls, but players need to understand the rules and play honestly. Please read and refer to these rules, listed below.
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All players must be 18 years of age or older.
All players must have an online profile.
All players should be on the roster of the team they are playing for. However, players may play for another team on a temporary basis if that team is short of players (The player must have an online profile though). This applies only for the regular season.
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Players must be on the team roster.
Players can only be on 1 roster per division.
Players must have played at least 3 games during the regular season.
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Make sure all players on roster.
Make sure equipment is at all games.
Make sure all players know the rules.
Make sure that all team members play within the rules and within the spirit of Toronto Dodgeball.
Be the person of contact for the team for the league and other captains.
Report scores within 24 hours of completion of game.
Make sure that the team has a first aid kit.
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Toronto Dodgeball is a place for recreational sports. There is no need or tolerance of aggressive play. Aggressive players/teams may be ejected from the league with out refund at the discretion of the league. Please report any aggressive play through the email contact on the website.
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In co-ordinance with the TDSB policy regarding Community Use of Board Facilities, Toronto Dodgeball imposes a very strict NO ALCOHOL & DRUG POLICY.
Any players/team found using either substance on school property will be removed and banned from the league immediately without refund!
TDSB has a no smoking/fire policy within all of their schools. Any smoking or un-authorized use of fire within the school can lead to suspension or expulsion from Toronto Dodgeball.
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Any conduct that results in the loss of a permit is subject to discipline action. This includes damage to venues, showing disrespect to venue staff and any other action which endangers a permit for Toronto Dodgeball.
Please do not play in the hallways of venues while waiting for your game to begin. We can lose permits this way.
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Teams receive 3 points for a win, 1 point for a tie and 0 points for a loss.
Standings are based on game points.
If there is a tie, the tie breaker will be as follows: 1) head-to-head, 2) plus-minus, 3) Coin flip.
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A default counts as a loss. If a team defaults three times in a season, it will be removed from the schedule.
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Spirit Points are given by each team to the other team to reflect their sprit and sportsmanship displayed during the game.
Points are to be awarded based on the actions at the game.
When reporting the score, the captain will also report the spirit score. It is given on a 5-point scale (5 points for a very spirited team showing lots of sportsmanship, 0 for a team showing absolutely no spirit or sportsmanship).
By their nature, Spirit Points are subjective, but captains should try to be consistent with their criteria for giving points.
Spirit Points are not incorporated into the standings, but are kept as a separate total.
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Teams must come to agreement as to the score. Toronto Dodgeball recommends that each team appoints one scorekeeper to keep a tally of the scores during the game. If there is a discrepancy, team captains must contact each other to come to an agreement. All discrepancies must be brought up before the next game is played. If the disputed game is the final game, any discrepancy must be brought up within 3 business days of the game.
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Games are played rain or shine, in hot weather and in cold weather.
Indoor games are to proceed as long as the venue is open.
In the event of foul weather, and you are not sure if the other team is coming, please contact the opposing captain. Also, if you know for sure that you team is not going to come to the game, the team captain should notify the opposing team captain. This way the opposing team will have the option of coming. They may also use the time/venue as practice time.
If a team notifies another team that they aren't going to make it, that team will be given a default loss. They can not decide to show up after all and claim the opposing team should get a default for not showing up.
Please make the decision of whether to play or not at the game location at game time. Weather often changes very quickly. Games that do not look like they are going to happen at 4pm, can often be fine by 7pm. 6) The final decision on whether to play rests with the teams.
When severe weather happens during a game (e.g. lightning), stop playing immediately and take cover for 15 minutes. See if the weather subsides. If it does, continue with the game. If it does not, the game ends there, and the score stands as it was at the time of stoppage as long as at least 30 minutes of the game was played.
Games cancelled due to foul weather will be attempted to be re-scheduled. There is no guarantee, and there are no refunds for games cancelled due to weather.
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For gym sports, please wear athletic shoes with non-marking soles.
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Registration is not complete until payment is received (and therefore the spot is not assured until payment is received).
There are no refunds given after registration deadline has passed.
Refunds given before the registration deadline are subject to a $25 administration fee.
No refunds due to defaulted or cancelled games, for injuries, or for any player or team that is suspended or ejected from Toronto Dodgeball.
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Toronto Dodgeball encourages teams to come up with creative names for their teams, however they should not contain any obscenities or objectionable content. Toronto Dodgeball reserves the right to change any names which it deems as objectionable.
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TDL leagues are designed to be inclusive for everyone who are 18 years of age or older.
Many of our leagues are offered in "traditional" formats such as Men's, Women's, and Coed. Within those league formats, each specific league will usually have gender-based rules which specify certain gender requirements for each team. The goal within those rules is always to ensure that each player has the ability to find the league that is most appealing to them, where they will feel both comfortable and included
Everyone who joins TDL is welcome to participate in our leagues based on their individual gender identity/expression, which may or may not be the gender assigned at birth, and each individual can join our leagues under the gender that they most identify with
Participants whose gender identity does not align with the binary Male/Female construct are welcome to compete in any league that they feel comfortable participating in, regardless of format or gender-based rules within the specific league
All "Men's" leagues are available to anyone that would like to participate in that particular league, regardless of gender or gender identity, but all players should be prepared to play against mostly males
All "Women's" leagues are available to anyone that would like to participate in that particular league, regardless of gender or gender identity, but all players should be prepared to play against mostly females
All "coed" leagues are available to anyone, regardless of gender or gender identity
Nonbinary, trans, genderqueer, and all other players who identify as a gender minority can count towards the roster minimums for either men or women in any of our leagues, including any coed leagues, and in essence will just count as a player. In these instances the players will always make these decision for themselves and someone from their team will relay this to their opponents so that there is no confusion.
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The Toronto Dodgeball League will make every effort to make sure a referee is at your game. However, if there is a circumstance where the referee can not make it at the last minute (due to a last minute emergencies, illness or traffic issues) teams should be prepared to self-officiate. These games should still be scored properly and reported at the end of the night as a completed game.
Dodgeball Rules
This is Dodgeball...We do not recommend taking things too seriously. Having fun is the most important aspect to this game.
Each team will be given two dodgeballs which they will be responsible for bringing to each game. Dodgeball's provided by the league are the only Dodgeball's that can be used. We use 8.3 inch Elephant Skin Foam style Dodgeball's. No other size or style of Ball can be used.
Each game is 55 minutes long. The game will end 55 minutes after the scheduled start time.
Games are played with 6 players on the court (with a min of 2 males & 2 females). Teams may play with less players, but the gender requirements should try to be met. If the minimum gender requirements cannot be met, then a forfeit can be enforced, or captains can come to an agreement prior to the game starting to alter the rules to get the game played (to try and avoid a forfeit). All forfeits must be enforced prior to starting the game. If a forfeit is not explicitly enforced before the game begins, then the game will count.
The game begins by one team shouting "Ready, Set, Dodgeball!"
Each team starts with two balls.
Players try to hit opposing players below the neck with the ball. If a player is hit, they are out, and must go sit off to the side. If a player is hit in the face, neck or back of head, they are safe AND the player who threw it is out (Headshot rule). The person who is hit in the head/neck is the one to call it a head shot.
Starting in Winter 2011, there is an exception to the headshot rule: If the person who is hit in the head was either ducking, bending over, or intentionally putting their head in the way of a ball, the ref (at their discretion) may overrule the headshot call. In this case, it is ruled a "no call", meaning both players (the thrower and the person hit) will be safe and remain in the game.
If a player catches a ball that was thrown at them, the player who threw it is out AND a teammate that was out may come back in to play. Players must come back in the order in which they were knocked out. Only Players playing in that game may come back in.
If a ball hits the floor, wall or other object (e.g. basketball net), it is dead and anyone that is hit with the ball after it is dead is safe.
If a player attempts to catch a thrown ball and fails (and does touch the ball), they are out. If a player attempts to catch it and then it hits the wall or another object, they are out.
If a thrown ball deflects off of one person and hits another person, they are both out. If a ball deflects off one person, but is caught by a teammate, they are both safe - the person who threw it out, and a player on the catching team may comeback in after being out.
Players may use a ball to block throws. However, if they drop the ball as a result of blocking a ball, they are out.
After a ball is deflected by a blocker ball, it is still "live".
If a deflected ball, hits someone in the face, it is a "no call" since you can’t get out by getting hit in the face but the thrower shouldn’t be out because the player deflected it into their own face (or another teammate’s face).
A player may not hold more than one ball at a time. If a person catches a ball while holding another ball, the thrower is safe.
When all the players on a team are out, the other team wins the game and is awarded one point. Teams then switch sides, and start another game. The team that wins the most games, wins the match (and 2 points in the standings).
If each team only has one player left in a game, they have one minute to eliminate the other. If one is not eliminated after one minute, each team will add one more player (the first player who was off the court).
Players cannot hide behind a bench or other objects. If a ball goes out of play, one player may go get it but must return to action immediately.
A player may not hold onto a ball for more than 10 seconds. This slows the game down.
Bouncing the ball, putting it down on the floor in front/beside you, passing it to a teammate, or purposely not picking up the ball does NOT increase your 10 seconds. The goal is to keep the game moving.
If a player from team A throws the ball and hits a player from Team B and the ball rebounds off the player back onto Team A’s side, the ball is considered dead. Therefore, the player from Team B is out. This is even the case if a Player on Team A catches the rebound. Otherwise, someone could claim that since Team A caught it before it hit the ground, the player on Team B is safe. This also means that if the ball rebounded off of Player B and back onto Team A’s side and hit a player on Team A, that player is safe.
Players can only throw the ball at the other team. Kicking or spiking the ball is not permitted.
If teams are playing in a gym that gives an unfair advantage to one team (e.g. a stage on one side), then the teams should switch sides at the halfway mark of the game.
Players must remain on their own side of half. They may reach over the half line to retrieve a ball, but they can’t touch the other side of the court *If they do, they must give the ball to the other team).
Players may not run up to the half line, jump over it, and throw the ball before they land. The ball must be released on your side of half.
Players returning to the court after a catch is made have 5 seconds before they are out from being hit, unless they become involved in the play (meaning they pick up a ball, run up to the line, or try to catch a throw, etc.).
Starting 2017, players are not permitted to squeeze the air out of the ball. Players can squeeze gently to get a better grip on the ball. However, any deliberate and excessive squeezing of the ball, in an effort to get rid of the air, so as to throw harder and/or get extra movement on the ball is not permitted.
Should players request an explanation from a ref on why a call was made, please direct your team captain to discuss this with the ref on your behalf. Team captain's are required to ask in a calm and concise manner (yelling or berating a ref will not be tolerated). The only permitted time to discuss calls with referees is prior to the game, during a break in play, or after your game has concluded. Questioning referee calls during a game is not permitted (as they will not take time to stop the game to discuss calls with you).