BSB-style Rules

Dodgeball / Bombardment rules differ wherever it is played. This set of guidelines is intended to foster competitive and constant gameplay.

Playing Area: The playing area can vary from place to place but the bottom line is you need to have a basketball, street hockey, or double tennis court available. The BSB typically uses an enclosed street hockey rink since the fence keeps the dodgeballs from going too far. Friends who come to observe must be out of the fenced area for safety purposes. The only people in playing field should be the players, the Referees, etc. Additional assistants such as the scorekeeper and statistician must be seating and in between the opposing sides.

Teams: The players in attendance line up and are split into two teams. Captains are selected at random to create balanced competition. Once the teams are selected, last minute trades may be conducted if deemed necessary by majority. From that point onwards, players that arrive later on during gameplay will be divied up. Specifically, if a team starts off one person short they automatically receive the next player that arrives. On the same hand, when multiple players arrive at once the captains are too quickly discuss how they should best integrate. Often this involves trading existing players as well to balance the teams.

Important note: when there are 6 or less players left to be picked, the captains are to split number and take 3 at a time. The goal is to NEVER let their be a “last person” picked.
Boundaries: The playing court is divided into two opposing sides. An additional “Neutral Zone” is created in the middle third of the court to allow both teams to come into close contact. Players cannot cross into other team’s territory. In additional there is the “OUT-line” where players who have been tagged out must wait along the right side of the court. It is very critical that the players stay as close to the wall as possible for safety and ideal gameplay.

Tagging: If a player is hit with a dodgeball and fails to catch, he is out. On the contrary if he catches the ball, the other team’s player is out.

Catching: When a player catches a ball, one of their teamates can come back into the game from the outline. They must go to the back of the court before coming into full on game action. Opponents cannot hit a newly entered player until they have made it to the back of the court.

Outline: When a player is ruled “out”, he must walk to the side of court determined as the “outline”. The outline consists of all players who have been tagged out and they can return into gameplay once a member of their team catches an opponents ball.