Competitive Foam Rules

• Games begin with six balls, including one off-color burden ball.
• Players start completely behind the back line. A ball may not be thrown until both feet have cleared the attack line.
• Play continues until one team is eliminated, referees pause play, or the round timer sounds.
• Balls remain live until they touch the floor, ceiling, walls, a dead ball, or an opponent’s live ball. One live ball may eliminate multiple players.
• A deflected catch from a player or blocking ball saves the hit player, eliminates the thrower, and returns an eligible teammate.
• Hard lines: A player is out if any part of the foot crosses a sideline or the neutral zone.
• The team with the majority—or the burden ball when possession is tied—has ten seconds to relinquish the burden. Failure awards all balls to the opponent.
• Players return from the queue first-out, first-in and must be completely out of bounds before returning.
• Headshots are legal but not encouraged.
• The attack line is approximately 20 feet from the back line.
• An out player may roll a controlled ball to teammates but cannot return until completely out of bounds.
• Use the honor system. When in doubt, call yourself out. Ask organizers when a rule is unclear rather than applying another league’s rules.

• Court dimensions: 50 feet long by 28 feet wide.
• Attack line: 20 feet from the back line.
• Sidelines: A player is out if any part of a foot or other appendage crosses a sideline.

• Place all balls on the centerline. Keep the burden-ball side consistent because teams switch sides after each game.
• The referee normally starts play with “This side ready? This side ready? Dodgeball!”
• On the rush, players may touch only the balls on the right side.
• Both feet must touch the floor behind the attack line to check a ball and make it live.
• After checking all of your team’s balls, you may retrieve centerline balls the opponent left behind.

The team with a ball majority—or the burden ball when possession is tied—must throw enough balls to drop below that majority within ten seconds. Collecting more balls during the count does not increase the number of required throws. The burden ball determines the burden when each team has three balls.

If the required balls or burden ball are not thrown in time, referees award every ball to the opposing team. Intentionally throwing away from an opponent, including off a high ceiling or basketball rim, is delay of game and awards that ball to the non-throwing team.

One referee should manage the count, identify the burdened side and required throws, and count loudly from five. If “zero” begins before the required throws, play stops and both teams reset behind the back line.

• A player is out once a live ball thrown by an opponent contacts them and then becomes dead.
• Uniforms and accessories count as part of a player’s body.
• An eliminated player may pass controlled balls to teammates, signal the out, and leave without disrupting play.
• Touching a ball not already under the eliminated player’s control makes it dead and awards it to the opponent.
• If in doubt, you are out.
• Until the ball that hit them becomes dead, a player may still throw or catch other balls.
• A live ball trapped between a player’s foot and the floor is an out.

• A catch eliminates the thrower and returns the first eligible teammate from the queue.
• The catcher must control the ball and complete the catch with both feet touching in bounds.
• Returning players may enter from the back or from a sideline up to halfway toward center, and become live when both feet are in bounds.
• A ball caught after deflecting from a teammate or blocking ball saves the teammate, eliminates the thrower, and returns an eligible player.
• NFL rule: A catcher who controls the ball with both feet touching in bounds may step out and return in bounds while completing the catch.
• A midair catch is incomplete if the catcher is hit and that ball becomes dead before both feet land in bounds.
• If the throwing team cannot identify the thrower after a catch, referees select one throwing-side player to leave.
• If a player is hit and makes a catch in the same volley, the player is out but the catch counts.

• A block uses a held ball to prevent a hit.
• If an incoming ball hits the blocking ball and then the blocker’s body, the blocker is out.
• If contact from an incoming throw causes the blocking ball to be dropped, the blocker is immediately out.
• Only the fingers holding the blocking ball count as part of the ball; the hand, wrist, and forearm do not.

• Only players—and, in limited cases, center referees—may retrieve balls in the neutral zone.
• A center referee may move a neutral-zone ball only when it is on the side of a team that does not yet have an eliminated player, placing it at the closest edge of the zone.
• Line referees help the side they occupy but do not touch balls in the neutral zone.
• A ball beyond the center bleachers is fair game and is played where it lies, regardless of how it arrived there.

An eagle occurs when a player jumps from the neutral zone into the opponent’s side to throw. After a successful throw, the eagler remains alive but must return immediately and remains vulnerable. They may dodge but may not leave the court or touch balls before returning. A player hit mid-eagle is immediately out, and their throw is valid only if released first.

A headshot directly hits the head of a standing player or a player in an athletic stance. In competitive play, headshots are legal: the thrower remains safe and the hit player is out. Although legal, aiming for someone’s head is discouraged.

Games require at least four and no more than six referees. One center referee manages the ball count while another manages the countdown and watches outs, catches, and line violations. Line referees watch boundaries and help retrieve balls. A game may not start without four referees, and captains must referee.

Players enforce the rules through the honor system. Referees make the final decision on controversial plays and may pause to discuss them. During a discussion, players gather balls and stand behind the back line. Referees may invite captains to clarify the situation. Protesting is prohibited, but respectful discussion after the game is encouraged.

Referees may eject a player for serious unsportsmanlike conduct. The player also sits out the following game, even if it belongs to another match. Referees may instead report the behavior to organizers, who determine any additional consequences.

• A catcher must fully control the ball without using the floor or an out-of-bounds area as leverage.
• A player who initiates physical contact with an opponent is out.
• A legal throw requires picking up and throwing the ball. Kicking, smacking, or spiking does not create a valid hit, although the opponent may legally catch that ball.
• Players return in the order they were eliminated.
• If match time expires during a game, the team with fewer eliminated players wins; equal counts produce a draw.
• A new match may not begin after the one-minute buzzer sounds and before the referee starts play.
• If two players enter for one catch, both are out.
• A player who enters out of order is immediately out and moves to the back of the queue. If that player causes an out, their team forfeits the game.

• Dead ball: A ball that has not been checked; has touched an eliminated player, another dead ball, the floor, ceiling, or walls; or has been kicked or spiked. Throwing an unchecked dead ball eliminates the thrower.
• Dying ball: A ball that has hit a player but has not yet become dead.
• Live ball: A ball activated by checking it behind the attack line.
• Match: A collection of games between two teams.
• In: Eligible to participate on the court.
• Out: Ineligible after being hit, caught, or crossing a court boundary.
• Opening rush: Players approach the centerline to retrieve balls at the referee’s signal.
• Control: A ball secured in a player’s hands.
• Burden to throw: A team with the burden ball and three balls, or any team with four or more balls, must attack and relinquish the burden within ten seconds.
• Volley: Multiple balls arriving at a defender at the same time. Balls arriving unambiguously early or late are separate.