Laurier Recreation - Waterloo Campus

Team Composition 

• Rosters may not be larger than 16 total players 
• A maximum of 8 of players are permitted on the court at one time 
• There can be no more than 6 players of any one gender on the court at one time 
• A game may not proceed with less than 6 players. An exception can be made if an injury occurs during a game.

Match Procedures  

• The match will be determined by best of 7 games  
• Games are won by eliminating all the opposing teams’ players 
• Games consist of one 8-minute period after which a sudden death overtime will take place with the remaining players. During overtime: 
  • No timeouts 
  • No substitutions 
  • 2 balls are provided to each side and 1 ball will be placed in center court
  • Teams must begin overtime with the same number of players on the court at the end of regulation time
  • The team with the most players must throw first; if even, the team that was last to get an opponent out must throw first 
  • Every 30 seconds a new player must enter the court for both teams (up to 8), as signalled by the referee
• Teams are permitted 1 timeout per match (across all 7 games). After a timeout: 
  • 2 balls are provided to each side and 1 ball will be placed in centre court
  • The team who called the timeout must throw first 
  • There are no substitutions permitted during timeouts
• Default score will result in 4-0 
• If both teams default, it will result in a score of 0-0 

Rules of play  

• To begin a game the starting 8 players must line up behind the back line, at the referees signal they may race for the 5 balls at the middle line: 
  • Any player crossing or touching the centre line at the start will be called out 
  • Balls must be taken back behind the volleyball attack line before proceeding to throw 
• A player is out when 
  • They are hit by a ball, including deflections off of a ball or player
  • A ball deflects off of a player or ball and hits a second player before hitting the ground 
    • All players who are hit with the ball before it hits the ground are out 
    • Deflections off of a headshot are not included and no players are out 
  • A player’s throw is caught cleanly before it hits the ground or another person (it cannot be bobbled or caught off a deflection) 
  • They are holding a ball and it is struck by the opposing teams throw resulting in the held ball being dropped 
  • A player exits the court for any purpose other than retrieving a ball. For example, if they try to dodge or catch a ball and step outside the court 
  • A player crosses or touches the centre line 
  • Unsportsmanlike behaviour 
  • The referee has called them out 
• Headshots do not result in a player being out. The thrower will be warned by the referee if it appeared intentional. However, if a player dodges a ball and in the process is hit in the head it may be considered their own fault and it will be the referee’s discretion to whether they are out. 
• Upon a catch that is deemed clean (where the thrower is called out), a player on the catching team is allowed to come back into the game.
  • Players wishing to rejoin on a catch must line up along the sideline next to the referee
  • The order of players who rejoin must follow the pattern of who was out first
  • Rejoining players must enter the court through the back and are immediately subject to all rules once they step inside the court
• To retrieve balls, players may only exit and re-enter the court through the back line. While retrieving balls, players are still subject to all rules, however they cannot throw or catch (attempts to catch while out of bounds result in an out)
• The thrower and the person hit are both safe if the ball is caught before it touches the ground, either by the person hit or a teammate of the person hit (a third person save). 
• The following behaviours are not allowed. First, the referee will provide a warning and then the player will be called out if continued: 
  • Hiding a person behind a person 
  • Crouching down with a ball held out in front of a player’s body for an extended period of time 
  • Squeezing a ball 
  • Kicking a ball at an opponent
• Control of throw – the team with the most balls must throw within 5 seconds 
  • If balls are divided evenly the team with more players must throw 
  • If all is even, the team who was most recently thrown at must throw first 
• If one team has one remaining player, and control of all balls, they may line up the majority of the balls on the opposing teams court and force the opposing team to come retrieve them in an attempt to hit the other players as they approach. The balls must be at least the distance of the volleyball attack line into the opponent’s court. If the ball does not cross the attack line the player retrieving the ball cannot be hit and called out.