Advantage
This rule is similar to a shot clock in basketball, and ensures that the game is full of action. The match officials may delay calling “play n balls” if the team with advantage has clearly started a throwing attempt after 5 seconds of possession. After the attempt concludes, the match officials shall immediately call “play n balls” if the team is still in possession of the majority of the balls.
It works like this:
Possession
Possession is defined in the following ways:
- Balls that are stationary within a team’s half of the court outside the neutral zone;
- Balls that are stationary within a team’s half of the court inside the neutral zone and closer to an active player than opponent; and
- Balls that are in the hands of a ball retriever or a player;
The ball does not have to be within the boundary lines to be in possession. A ball is in possession of a player if they are touching the ball and are in the process of picking it up.
Ball Counts
Count 1 (free play): When a referee sees that a team is in possession of the majority of dodgeballs, they should begin count 1 – a 5-second silent count – and see what the team is doing with those balls at the end of the count.
Count 2 (Play x balls): If a team is not in the process of making an attempt at the end of count 1, or their attempt ends and they still have the majority of balls (3 in the 5-ball game or 2 in the 3-ball u11 game), the referee should call ‘Play x balls!’ (where X is the amount they must play – see table below) and do a verbal 5-second countdown. If too few balls have been thrown after count 2 ends, anyone in possession of a ball is eliminated from the game for stalling.
| Type | A team with the ‘majority of balls’ has… | A team may keep _ if they attack before Play Ball is called | A team may keep _ after an attack, to avoid being called out for stalling after Play Ball is called |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5-ball cloth dodgeball | 3 balls | 2 balls | 1 ball (or more if there were more players than balls and all players made an attack) |
| 3-ball cloth dodgeball | 2 balls | 1 ball | 1 ball (or 2 balls if only one active remaining player had possession of all 3 balls) |
Examples
Scenario 1 – Attempt is taking place after count 1 ends & enough balls played before count 2 ends:
Sometimes, a team with possession of majority of balls is making an attempt once count 1 ends and attacks quickly thereafter so they have lost the majority of balls when their attempt is over. The referee does not ever need to direct them to ‘Play Ball!’…
Task:
Sort the following events into chronological order.
Scenario 2 – A fake attempt made during count 1 & enough balls played before count 2 ends:
Sometimes, a team with possession of majority of balls is making an attempt once count 1 ends and but then begins to stall short afterwards (e.g. starts to retreat back, throw more than one fake attack, etc.) – their attempt is now over but they still have possession of the majority of balls. The referee directs the team to ‘Play Ball!’ and start count 2 (an audible 5-second count). Presuming the team has at least as many active players as balls in their possession, they can only hold on to a maximum of one ball once ‘Play Ball!’ is called…
Task:
Sort the following events into chronological order.
Scenario 3 – No attempt made during count 1 & enough balls played before count 2 ends:
Sometime, a team takes too long and is not in the process of making an attempt when count 1 ends. The referee directs the team to ‘Play Ball!’ and starts count 2 (an audible 5-second count). Now, teams must either:
- Throw all except 1 ball (if they have at least as many players as balls in their possession, e.g., a team of 4 with 4 balls must throw 3 and may keep 1)
- Throw as many balls as players (if they have less players than bals in their possession, e.g., a team of 2 with 4 balls must throw 2 and may keep 2). This is to protect against extreme situations, such as 1 player having 5 balls needing to throw 4 of those balls all within 5 seconds, which would be unrealistic.
Task:
Sort the following events into chronological order.
Scenario 4 – No attempt made during count 1 & not enough balls played before count 2 ends:
Sometime, a team takes too long and is not in the process of making an attempt when count 1 ends. The referee directs the team to ‘Play Ball!’ and starts count 2 (an audible 5-second count). Presuming the team has at least as many active players as balls in their possession, they can only hold on to a maximum of one ball once ‘Play Ball!’ is called…
Task:
Sort the following events into chronological order.
