Dodgeball is a ballgame where players try to hit other players with a ball. If a player is hit, then he is OUT. It’s a team game, and players of one team try to hit the players of the other team. When all the other players of a team get OUT, that team loses the game.
Players and equipment
There is actually no limit to the number of players in a team you can play with, as long as the number of players in each team is equal. In an official dodgeball tournament, squad limits are given and may vary from tournament to tournament. Normally the number of players in official tournaments is 4 or 5, but in some tournaments it can be 7, 8 or 9.
Dodgeball can be played almost anywhere, both indoors or outdoors. But in official tournaments, it’s played in an indoor basketball court or a small floor of trampoline. There is a line in the middle that separates the court floor into 2 equal halves. Each team plays in their own half and are not allowed to touch the centre line or go into their opponent’s half. If a player touches the centre line by accident, then he is OUT.
Game rules
There are six balls and each team starts with 3 balls initially. The main objective of the game is to get the players of the opponent team OUT by hitting them with the balls. If all the players of a team get OUT, then that team loses the game.
A player gets OUT in 2 main ways:
- By being hit by a ball: If a player is hit by a ball, and the ball drops to the ground, then he is OUT. Suppose 2 teams A and B are playing against each other, and a player from Team A threw a ball at a player from Team B. If the player from Team B gets hit, and the ball drops to the ground, then he is OUT.
But a player will not be OUT if he gets hit and the ball is caught before it touches the ground by him. If the ball hits the player from B but then gets caught by him.
- By getting their thrown ball caught by an opponent player: Let us again look at the above example where a player from Team A threw a ball at a player from Team B. If the player at whom the ball was thrown or any other player from Team B catches the ball without dropping it to the ground, then the player from Team A who threw the ball is OUT.
Kamikaze attack
A player is not allowed to get into his opponents’ half. If he either touches the centre line or walks into the opponents’ half by accident or purpose, then he is OUT. He can only go into the opponents’ to try and make a KAMIKAZE ATTACK or SUICIDE ATTACK. A Kamikaze attack is a move where a player jumps into his opponents’ half and throws the ball at one of his opponents before he falls to the ground. If he misses to hit a player, then he is OUT, and not OUT if he hits.