General
- Teams are made up of a minimum of 6 players and maximum of 12 players.
- All players must sign a waiver, and be 19 years and over, in order to play; no exceptions. Captains must submit a roster at the beginning of the season. All players submitted on the roster must be signed by Week 3. Captains must submit roster updates (if any) to the night’s Division Director throughout the season. Any players not listed on the roster by Playoffs will not be eligible to play unless approved by the Division Director.
- In the women’s division, all players must be female-identifying players. In co-ed divisions, all teams must have 2 female-identifying players, if not more, on the court to start a game. If needed, a team can borrow a female from another team, but must still have 1 player from their own roster for their games to officially count.
VDL players who identify themselves as “female” may register and play as such, regardless of physical sex characteristics or where they may be in any transition between genders. - In playoffs, no team may be allowed to borrow any females from another team unless an injury occurs (see Official Dodgeball Rules: Miscellaneous 5.1).
- Substitutes that are outside of the league must sign a waiver prior to playing. Any players who have not signed the waiver are not covered by VDL’s insurance policy.
- Teams are not allowed to borrow male players from another team from the same time slot.
- Teams are allowed to borrow male players from another team from a different time slot on the same night.
- Illegal substitutes could result in a forfeit of all games played by the illegal substitute. An illegal substitute is a player that infringes General #6-9.
- Tuesday – Thursday roster players are eligible for Playoffs if they have played a minimum of FIVE weeks prior to Playoffs. Exceptions will be granted by case by case basis.
- Monday night players are eligible for Playoffs if they have played a minimum of FOUR weeks prior to Playoffs. Exceptions will be granted by case by case basis.
- Any physical altercations, or serious breaches of spirit and sportsmanship will be automatically met with disciplinary actions which could result in suspensions or expulsion.*
- Dangerous Play – any type of play that is deemed dangerous or unsafe are highly discouraged. Any type of dangerous play will be subject to verbal warnings as well as expulsion. Please see Code of Conduct for more details.
- Note: A game cannot be won with a headshot. Therefore, if there is only one player left and they are hit with a headshot, the player will follow a 1 in, 1 out rule (the player who was hit will be out, but the next player in the queue will be able to activate themselves when necessary and the play will resume.
In the case that it is 1 on 1 (including showdowns), if a headshot occurs, the thrower is OUT and the person thrown at is SAFE. This will be the only time the person who received a headshot will be safe. We always want to err on the side of caution and safety towards our players.
- Note: A game cannot be won with a headshot. Therefore, if there is only one player left and they are hit with a headshot, the player will follow a 1 in, 1 out rule (the player who was hit will be out, but the next player in the queue will be able to activate themselves when necessary and the play will resume.
- VDL has a zero tolerance policy towards drugs and alcohol on school grounds and within players’ bodies. VDL Execs have the authority to eject a player from the premises and follow up with further disciplinary action, including suspensions and expulsions.
- Usage of gym apparatuses during dodgeball play (chin-up bars, climbing walls, ropes) or performing dangerous actions and stunts (backflips off walls and the gym stage) are banned due to safety concerns.
- Execs and captains will meet before the games start to build a culture of camaraderie. This also helps with any conflicts on the courts.
- VDL expects all players to be mature, respectful and sportsmanlike to other participants and to league organizers. In order to protect the community, we reserve the right to refuse service.
- If a shoelace is untied or a shoe comes off, refs must immediately stop the game for player safety. The game will restart with all players on the back wall according to League Rules. The same rule applies to any loss of glasses, hats, or other objects that may cause a safety risk to players on the court.
- Head Injury: If a player experiences an action that results in a head injury, per basic concussion symptoms, that player will sit out the remainder of the evening. For said player to be approved to continue playing after the night of the injury, a doctor’s note sent to the Insurance Manager (insurance@vdldodgeball.ca) will be required.
- Default (No Show) Teams who do not show up and do not provide notice will be charged a default fine of $50. Teams who default will not be scheduled to play until the fee has been paid by their next scheduled date. Teams will not be charged if the night’s Division Director is notified at least 24 hours in advance.
* In order to protect league players, VDL reserves the right to give official warnings and suspensions on any of the above violations, and may ask the instigator to leave the court or premise immediately if the violation is severe. Three official warnings, or a single severe violation will lead to a ban from the league for the rest of the season including playoffs.
** This rule is only for rare and extenuating circumstances (e.g. permitting a team to play with only 1 female on the court or 1 female substitute player at Playoffs due to unexpected injury or absence). Both captains must agree on any changes of the rules and policies. In addition, pressuring another captain to change the rules and policies against his/her will is unsportsmanlike.
Tiering and Scheduling
- There will be up to four tiers per division: Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 3, and Tier 4. Re-tiers will occur throughout the season to reflect skill level.
- The first re-tier moves roughly 3-5 teams up and down. The second re-tier moves roughly 2-4 teams up and down. There is no set number.
- Teams will be moved according to the Division Director who will take the following into account: scores, spirit scores, players’ skill level, the relative competitiveness of the tier, and feedback from League Scheduler and execs of the night.
- Team schedules (opponents, time slots, and gym locations) are random and will vary on any given week depending on various factors. We will make it as fair as possible and try to accommodate special requests, but there are no guarantees.
Spirit
Teams that do not fill out a spirit ballot each week will forfeit their eligibility for the Hootie the Spirit Owl award.
Playoffs
View the playoffs page for more information.