50 Shades of Great: Rules, Gameplay, and other Sundries

Pretty much, each team dodges, ducks, dips, dives, and/or dodges until one team is eliminated. If you get hit with a ball you're out. If you catch a ball, the person who threw the ball is out AND one of your teammates gets back in. Simple enough eh?...but you should probably read the rest...

What's this all about? What's your deal?

Our Culture & Philosophy

Our overarching unofficial/official motto and guideline can be summed up oh so eloquently as "Hey, don't be a dick" What this means as a tangible rule is "playing down your competition's level" meaning that if you are awesome? Great. But only go beast mode against the other awesome players. If you're a 220 pound dude with a cannon, don't be throwing 100mph at someone who's 120lbs, cool? And generally don't be a hot head over what is an adult-after-work-coed-recreational-social-sport-league. Because we're not a fan of dicks. You will simply not be allowed to play. But you're not a dick after all are you? So, good to go!

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How does the season work? What's the deal?

Season

A Season is 7 weeks long, once a week. One season in the Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall. The first 6 weeks are the regular season a 6 week regular season, followed by a week of Playoffs - which everyone makes.

Each week, your team will be scheduled to play 6 games: 2 best-of-three matches against 2 different opposing teams. About half an hour of league games (Plus extra game time during Open Gym Pickup Games if you'd like!)

Matches will be scheduled anywhere between 7:30 and 10:00pm (Mondays) or 8:00-10:00pm (Wednesdays). Mostly you'll have 15 minutes break between games give or take.

You are welcome to come hangout before your scheduled game time and/or stay after if you just can't get enough of ducking and/or dodging.

Matches

Matches are played best out of 3 games.

Whether your team wins one, loses one, wins one - or wins the first 2 in a row; either way your team won the match, and you got your 10 points. If your team happens to sweep - winning the first two games in a row - you still play a 3rd game. But because your team already kicked the other team's ass 2 straight, that 3rd game is a Mixed-Team-Game.

Season Ranking/Points:

Your team is awarded 10 points for winning the match. 5 points for losing. (Kinda like boxing.) These point totals will be added up at the end of the season to determine your seeding for the playoffs - which every team makes.

These points are not set in stone. Stone is expensive and an inefficient way to keep track of a dodgeball league. If you are being a dick, goober, or douche (arguing calls, throwing way too hard at players who clearly aren't your level, not being a good sport/shaking the other team's hand after winning or losing) we will deduct from those 10 and 5 points. This is almost unheard of, because our culture is pretty ingrained and people aren't dicks.

But so yes, it is possible to "win" a match but still end up with less points than the team you beat. So pretty much, if you're a normal not crazy person who doesn't get all bent out of shape about an adult-coed-after-work-recreational-social-sports-dodgeball-league, you're fine anyway. And if you ARE, well it's in your best interest for your team's score anyway to be a decent human being. So you're trapped crazy person! Got ya! Mwahaha!

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General Game Rules

Game Set Up

6 balls are lined up along the Center-Line.

Opposing teams meet at the Center-Line and shake hands, introduce themselves, and exchange flatteries and compliments until someone blushes. This is NOT a high five line, actually introduce yourselves like a human being. At this point, teams retire to their respective sides with a renewed sense of self worth.

6 players on the court per team line up behind their respective Back-Line.

These 6 players must include at least 2 girls. At no point can there be more than 4 guys on the court for any one team. Generally a good idea to keep the testosterone balanced out wouldn't you say?

Extra players wait on the side line and can enter the game later.

Game Start:

On the referee's whistle, players rush for the balls. Any player diving, crossing the Center-Line with both feet, or going head first for the ball will be called out. Not because we're mad at you. Just for safety. We don't need shoulders into heads. That's where your brain lives.

Before balls can be thrown, they must be "cleared" - which means the balls must be brought all the way back to your Back-Line first.

Gameplay:

Stay within your side's lines - back line, half court line, and the 2 sidelines.

Start throwing things at each other! You're out if you get hit, your ball is ball is caught, or if someone's throw knocks the ball out of your hands - sort of like a butter-fingers penalty. Womp womp.

The thing to keep in mind is that the ball is LIVE until it hits a ceiling/wall/floor/another ball in mid-air...so what that means is if I'm trying to use a ball as a shield and I block someone's throw into my own leg? I'm out. If it bounces off one player and hits another? They're both out. But conversely, if it bounces off one player and another teammate catches it before it hits the ground? The player that got hit is saved and the thrower is out. The crowd always cheers at that and you'll be a hero. If just for one day.

If someone makes a catch, one player on the sideline gets to come back in (up to that 6 total players, and 4 total males). Whoever started the game sitting out comes in first. Keep in an order. First out is first back in!

Getting Out. Sad Face.

When you're out, rise your hands so the other team knows you're out and you don't get pummeled - and walk to the sideline with your head lowered in shame. Shame!

When you're on the sideline, as long as your feet stay behind the sideline, you can bat any balls that roll over to your sideline over to your players who are still in the game.

Also, there's head safety if the player hit is standing. The THROWER is out. Don't do that. That where their brain is. It's not nice. If the player hit is ducking or jumping, that player is out. But the thrower should still apologize just so no one gets upset.

The End

If you lost, oh dear. I hope your self esteem is not tied to the outcome of children's playground game. If you won, huzzah for you! But NOT huzzah for you to the point that you are gloating with your team. It makes people feel bad. You won. That's enough. Don't fist pump, wildly cheer, or perform elaborate end zone dances.

High five with the other team. If there was a harsh call, or you hit someone hard, or it was a tough game, hey, acknowledge that when high-five-ing. Saying "Good game" with sincerity goes a long way towards maintaining a dick-free environment.

Switch sides. Rinse. Repeat.

Mixed Team Games:

If your team won your match on a sweep, you already got your 10 points, but you still play a 3rd game. Because dodgeball is fun. And you're paying for it. But that games is a Mixed-Team-Game. That means that half of each team switches sides for an exhibition game.

This way a) at least half the players on the team that just got their asses kicked get to win at least one game instead of getting their asses kicked a third time and b) EVERYONE gets to play. No 6 person limit per team on each side. So If you had 10 players show up that night, you don't have to sit out 4 to start the game. EVERYONE plays and no one has to sit out. More playing time for everyone!

Because it's social sports. Not na-na-na-boo-boo-stick-your-head-in-doo-doo sports. It's pretty much the same as Open Gym Pickup Games, just confined to those two teams.

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Other Rules You're Gonna Need to Know

Referees

Referees are there to do their best and settle disagreements. Sometimes you just might not realize you got hit in the shoe. Because shoes do not have nerves. But by and large, they are NOT there to police you. There are 12 players and 6 balls to watch at a time. That's 18 things to watch for 2 eyes. Stuff gets missed.

Grazing shots are easy to pretend you didn't get hit. Don't do that. You're 21 years old. You're 33 years old. You're 42 years old...you're old enough to know when your body has been touched. YOU ARE OUT WHEN YOU ARE OUT, NOT WAITNG FOR A REFEREE TO CALL YOU OUT. Don't be that guy. This is a largely SELF REFEREED sport. You are all capable of knowing when an object has touched your body. If you're not, you have made it incredibly far in life to be here right now.

Forfeits/Substitutions:

You need at least 4 players to show up by game time to not forfeit. That's just 40% of your team. Shouldn't be a problem.

If you have at least 4 total players but less than you need to field a minimum roster of at least 6 players with 2 of them being females - you can grab substitutes from other teams who are not currently playing.

A substitute has to be someone who is in the league.

Your opposing team gets to approve or disapprove of your substitutes - so you don't just get to pick the best player out there necessarily!

A substitute has to be the last person to come back in from getting out, regardless of the order in which they got out. So if you have 5 players of your own plus 1 substitute to start the game, and that substitute gets out first, followed by 1 of your actual teammates - when there is a catch, the actual teammate comes back in the game first before the substitute player. This limits the impact on the game of someone who isn't really on the team.

If you DON'T have at least 4 players, your team forfeits. But you'll still get to play! Grab some subs like above. The other team automatically wins, the match, but you'll still get your 3 games to play for funsies. Because dodgeball is more fun than not dodgeball.

High Throws

Keep the ball down. It's just safety. And it's also not being a dick. That's where people's heads are. High throws - meaning neck and up - are given warnings. You are given two warnings for high throws per match. On the 3rd high throw, you are called out.

If a player is standing upright, and they are hit in the neck/head (or in their hands right in front of their face because they were protecting their face from a high throw) - the thrower is out. Head safety.

That being said, if the target is ducking, or jumping - obviously the thrower was aiming either lower or higher to accommodate for that, so in those cases, head shots result in the target indeed being out.

THAT being said, regardless of the scenario, if there's a head shot, play stops. Go over and say you're sorry. Keeps everybody cool as a policy: hard or not, veteran against veteran or not - just go apologize. No one's going to call you out for going over the line to say "Hey buddy, sorry about that."

Lines, Out of Bounds, & Suicides!

No one wants to win because an opponent stepped over a line. No one wants to lose like that either. That is satisfying for nobody. And I demand satisfaction.

The only hard and fast immediate out for going over a line is the Center-Line. 2 feet over that and you're out. That's the other team's side! Don't go there!

Otherwise, it's the same as High Throws - you will receiver two warnings per match for dodging out of bounds. On the third, you will be called out. Going out of bounds means having both feet out of bounds. 1 foot in and 1 foot out is still in bounds.

You can go out of bounds to get a ball. That's fine. It's if you dodge out of bounds to get away from a throw at you - that's out of bounds.

If you catch a ball out of bounds, it doesn't count. You gotsta be in bounds! You're not out, but neither is the thrower.
There is one exception: if you are hit with a ball and it bounces up in the air off you, only YOU can go out of bounds to save yourself - no one else. That catch will a) count and b) be a super awesome highlight that the whole gym will cheer and you'll feel very good about yourself.

Keep in mind that - same as the ball - until objects in play hit the ground, the play is live. So if a player jumps over the middle line to throw at the other team, as long as they throw before they hit the ground, that throw counts. The player upon landing on the opponents side is immediately out, but their throw from the air counts. This is called a SUICIDE. And it is absurd and funny and has a low success rate and is very entertaining to watch.

Pinching

You can't pinch the ball. That's when you squeeze the ball in a way where you curl your fingertips into the ball digging into it where you bend the rubber all funky. It's kinda like scuffing a baseball or deflating a football. Bad times. Also, it breaks the balls. Badder times. As with High Throws and Out of Bounds - you get 2 warnings per match and then you are called out.

Game Clock

This should be a fast paced game. If it's not moving, the referees will impose a 5 second countdown to throw on whichever team has the most balls on its side. If the number of balls is even, whichever team has more players has to throw. If everything is even, both teams have to throw within that 5 seconds.

That does not mean rolling the ball over to the other side or making a half assed throw nowhere near an opposing player. It has to be a real attempt to throw.

If a team doesn't throw in time, the penalty is that the other team gets all the balls.

No Blocking/Gladiator:

These are both very rare, but as we got a schedule to keep or the churches get mad and charge us more (and you can't make god mad and stuff!) we need to have ways to wrap up a game if it juuuuuust isn't ending.

In that case, we will switch to No Blocking. Both sides will get 3 balls and now you are no longer allowed to block. It's the same as getting hit. You need to dodge the ball entirely or catch it.

If it's STILL not ending, we may once again switch - to Gladiator. Both sides will get 3 balls once again, and now the center line disappears. So you can now cross over to the other team's side. For those about to die rock dodge die, we salute you.

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Playoffs?! PLAYOFFS?!

Playoff Rules

The playoffs will happen on the last night of the season, Week 7. And the finale night is always a huge blowout party with many people calling out of work the next morning. Because we're all responsible adults.

Your team's regular season point total determines the seeding for the playoffs. Tie breaks will be determined by who had a better head to head record against each other (like the NFL - because we are soon to be America's past time.) If it's still tied, then tie breaks are determined by which of the these team's record is better against highest ranked opponents. And then if still tied (which has never happened) by a very dramatic coin flip.

Every team makes the playoffs. That way we all get to cheer for the underdogs and believe in unlikelihood.

In the playoffs, there are no substitutions so make sure you rally your squad! As in the regular season, you need at least 4 not to Forfeit. If you are missing the required 2 female minimum, you will penalized by starting the match with an equal number of men sitting out. So if you have 4 guys show up but only 1 female, you start with 1 of those 4 males sitting out. If you have 4 guys show up but 0 females, you start with 2 of those 4 males sitting out. The men sitting out can still be brought in on a catch, but you are penalized for not being able to bring 50% of your females FOR THE PLAYOFFS (come on now, it's the playoffs, get your peoples!) by having them start out.

It is single elimination. If you lose a match, you're done. Head to the Bar where your first few beers will turn those sad drinks to happy drinks.

There's no Mixed Team Game on playoff night for the sake of time.

The Sandlot Cup/Golden Squid

Winning team earns the right to add their team name to the coveted Sandlot Cup which gets passed down from season to season and is buried inside Petra where only the penitent man shall pass and guarded by an elderly knight of the crusades. It' like the Stanley Cup - every season a new team is engraved on it and you can take it home with you, take ridiculous photos of it and send them to us to post for everyone.

We've had people take it to a tattoo parlor. Hike up a mountain with it. Eat popcorn at the movies out of it. Announce the birth of their child on facebook by putting a baby onesie in it with our logo and "Future Dodgeball Champion" printed on it.

Since we promote being good people as much as competition, we also award a Social Champion - the team that best embodies the spirit of the league - with The Golden Squid for the night - it is a giant gold 6 tubed beer bong monstrosity which quickly becomes the center of attention at the season finale after-party.

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I love running around...but I kinda suck. I wanna be better! Any tips?

Playing Better as A Team

Now if you just wanna run around and have a good time and not care, A-Ok, go get em! But if you DO want to be better...

1) Hang out with your team. Come to the Bar. Not just for the sake of getting a drink - no one's saying you gotta drink, just hang out a bit - but beyond just it's nice to get to know people, teams that get to know each other and are more invested in showing up each week are ALWAYS always better out on the court by the end of the season than teams that don't. To that point...

2) Talk with your team on the court. Communicate so you can throw TOGETHER in a volley instead of one at a time. When your team is ready, pick a target, and shout a good old "1-2-3" for your team so you all throw together at the same person.

3) Be nice. If you disagree with a call, a ref is going to be much more likely to listen to you if you're always a super nice person out there. I guarantee you getting mad is not the way to get what you want. And damn right referees are going to remember it. Who do you think they're gonna give it to when it's a borderline 50/50 call. The team who yells at them or the team who's always cool? Human nature. Don't want to make a very powerful black- and-white pinstriped enemy.

Throwing Less Awfully

1) Aim low. Much harder to catch a ball at one's feet than up high. So even if you don't have a good arm, you can go right at the feet when someone's up close. No matter how good somebody is, when they're on one foot right in the middle of their follow-through upon throwing - they're not dodging anything.

2) Don't throw farther than your range. Getting caught is much worse than just missing somebody (you're out AND someone is back in on the other side!) And anyone can catch a ball if it's a lob/there's arc under it. So only throw as far as you can throw the ball on a straight line to the feet. If you can throw straight at someone's feet from 15 feet away but when they're 20 feet away you have to lob it? Then 15 feet is your range! Just only throw when people are up within your range. Be patient! People are running all over the court: there will be plenty of targets for you in your range throughout the game without risking getting caught!

Dodging Less Poopily

Don't dodge by turning your back/spinning away. It's human nature to turn your back/butt to something that might hit you. But it's a super crappy way to dodge a ball! Let's look at two options for dodging: spinning a few feet to the left turning your back away from the ball, or just still facing the other team and shifting over that same few feet to the left. Either way you're moving away the same amount. If that few feet to the wasn't enough to dodge a throw at you in the first place - you'e getting hit regardless. But one of those ways has your back to the ball when that happens where you have 0% chance of catching the ball. One of those ways at lease you're facing the ball and even if you're a terrible catcher, there's at least a CHANCE to catch the ball now. Even if it's only a 5% chance now up from 0%...that's a hell of a lot better...and that adds up over a season. And you'll get better at it! Just slide away left or right from balls you don't want to deal with - just keep dodging like that until there's a throw right at your chest you think you can handle and try to catch it!

Catching Less Terribly

Not a good catcher? Don't try to catch with your hands. That's hard to do with a very bouncy rubber ball. Just two little hands to control all that. Let it hit your chest and then wrap it up with your arms. Now you have 3 very large areas of contact to control that bouncy rubber ball: your chest, and your 2 arms instead of 2 much much smaller hands.

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What do I wear? I presume clothes?

Getting my Jersey and other stuff...and COSTUME THEMES!

The first week you'll pick up your jersey.

The next 5 weeks we'll have costume themes! Totally optional, but if you dress up, you get free shots at the bar. Because the only thing more ridiculous than adult dodgeball, is adult dodgeball in a batman costume.

The last week, the playoffs, the theme is a canned good drive. We play in gyms owned by churches who do a lot of homeless outreach. We have the luxury to play a game once a week. Let's make sure someone else can can have the luxury to eat the next day.

You can wear knee pads if you like. Protect yo'self!

Gloves or a ridiculous amount of athletic tape on your hands isn't allowed. Catch the ball with your hands like a person!

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Blah blah blah, what about the After-Parties!

Our Bars and Shenanigans

After-party for Sandlot players every game night. Beer game tables, cornhole, drink deals and food specials at the bar, free shots, and general awesome party time! Or don't party, and just hang out. Check out Our Locations page.

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This is awesome! Can I get extra playing time?!

Open-Gym Pickup Games

We want you to have as much playing time as you can handle. This isn't some faceless corporation. We love the game too. So in that spirit, EVERY night for and hour and half before league games start, we have laid back pick-up games open to EVERYONE. Totally optional, (though most take advantage of it) but you can practice, warm up, just generally mess around for extra fun before your games. For the general public, it's $10 - for YOU in the league it's just $5. And if you bring a first-timer to check it out? You BOTH play free. So yeah, you can end up playing free forever if you got a jillion friends. Not a bad setup for ya eh? Check out our Open Gym page.