| 4. Throwing the Balls and
Eliminating Players
i. Players can only be in possession of ONE ball at any given time.
Therefore, if a player holding a ball catches another ball (therefore,
holding both balls in their hands) neither the thrower nor the catcher is
eliminated; play should just continue. Players can, however, place the
ball they are holding down on the ground to catch an incoming ball.
ii. Players can throw a ball in any manner (with the exception of
squeezing the air out of the ball) from anywhere on their own side of the
court. A player/team cannot hold a ball in their hands in an effort
to "stockpile" the balls on their own side of court, therefore balls
should be released within 10 seconds.
iii. To eliminate an opposing player, a "live" ball must hit the player
from the NECK downwards. If a “live” ball hits multiple players before
becoming “dead”, then all players hit with the live ball are considered
out.
iv. If a 'head shot' occurs, neither the thrower nor the
person hit in the head is eliminated, and play continues. NOTE:
the ball's first point of contact is what matters (i.e. if a ball
first hits the player in the leg or off a ball being used to
block, and then bounces up and hits their head, the player is
OUT).
v. If a player
catches a "live" ball that is thrown at him/her, the thrower is OUT. IN
ADDITION, the team that caught the ball can return a previously
eliminated player to the court. The player that returns to the game MUST
be the first player who was ruled "out" during that particular
point (and
the order of returning players should be maintained. i.e. the third
player to be eliminated will be the third player to return to the court).
Reminders: substitute players must wait until the next point and a player that
is already holding a ball cannot "catch" a second ball (as per Rule 4i)
vi. A player
that is holding a ball can use it to deflect/block another ball that is
thrown at them by an opponent. However, if the ball being held is dropped
due to the contact of ball thrown at them, the person who dropped the ball is OUT. A
deflected ball is still considered "live" until it hits the
ground/wall/obstacle. (i.e. if it hits another player or the player using
the ball to block, before hitting the ground or wall, the hit player is
out).
vii. A live ball
that rebounds off of a player (from an unsuccessful catch, a deflection
off their body, a redirection by another ball, etc) may be caught by any other
in-bounds player prior to the ball becoming dead (hitting sand, wall or
obstacle). As usual, the thrower is OUT, and the catching team can return a
player.
viii. Referees have the final say as to whether a player has been
hit or not. However, it is the responsibility of all players to be
fair and honest for all calls. The referee is in place to end
disputes, not to make every obvious call.
ix. When only 2 players remain on the court (1 from each team), the
referee should announce that the two players have "one-minute" to
eliminate each other. After the one minute has expired, if the point has
not yet ended, each team will return one player to the court. (again,
each team must abide by their order of returning players - Rule 4v).
|