Materials

• Dodgeballs
• Tape, rope, or cones

Preparation

Split playing area in half using tape, rope, or cones. Place dodgeballs along the halfway line. If playing space is not naturally enclosed evenly, use tape, rope, or cones to mark outer boundaries.

Rules

The Start

Divide group into 2 teams. Both teams should start with the foot or hand on the outer boundary. After a countdown, (our group cannot start until they hear the word “go”) both sides rush to get the balls from the middle and “tag them in”. To “tag in” a ball, a player must grab the ball from the center line, run back to their side, and touch the ball to their back boundary. Once “tagged in” the ball is live and they can begin to throw any and all balls they acquire from that point forward.

Each team should pick a president and two bodyguards. The president can do nothing but dodge. One bodyguard should start with the president and the other should be on the sidelines out of bounds. Only one bodyguard can be on the court at a time. If a bodyguard is hit or is caught out, they should run to the sidelines and tag in the other bodyguard. Everyone else plays as normal.

Gameplay

Players continue to throw balls back and forth at each other. If a player gets “downed”, they go down on one knee wherever they got downed” Players downed can still participate by blocking balls, but cannot catch or throw balls. A player can get downed the following ways.

• Hit by a ball thrown by the opposing team.
  • The ball must not touch any surface before contacting the player. (e.g., the floor or a wall.)
  • The ball must be thrown, not kicked or propelled some other way.
  • The ball cannot hit the someone in the head. (This discourages headshots.)
• Hit by a legal (see above) ball that bounced off a teammate first. In this scenario, all players the ball touches are out.
• Has their throw caught by the opposing team. (Note: if a ball ricochets off a player and then is caught by a teammate, the first player is still in.)
• Crosses the line into the opposing team’s side.
• Leaves the play area.

The doctor will run around during gameplay tagging players that have been downed which reactivates them. If a doctor is downed, they can no longer tag downed teammates up.

Downed players should not move their knees.

The End

Once all of the players on a team are out or the president is hit, the other team wins.

Modifications

Presidents and bodyguard can be given special privileges or have them taken away. E.g., if a bodyguard catches the opponents ball, the opponent is not out or if you allow the president to catch someone out, they can pick a 2nd player to go out with them.