GENERAL

WAIVER OF LIABILITY

• All participants must agree to the waiver of liability. 
• The waiver can be accepted on each participant player’s dashboard. 
• A waiver must be signed for each league that is participated in.
• All participants in the league assume the risk of injury. The PSL, its volunteers, and employees shall not be liable for injury to person, loss or damage to personal property arising from or in any way resulting from participation in the league.

SPORTSMANSHIP

• Unsportsmanlike conduct will not be tolerated.
• Any behavior that is deemed violent, harassing, and/or inappropriate in any way, as witnessed by the umpire, referee, or PUMP/PSL staff, will result in the actions outlined in our Sportsmanship Policy.
• A player who is ejected from a match must leave the premises immediately. Play will not resume until the ejected player has left the facility.
• Referees reserve the right to end a match at any point if the overall sportsmanship is out of line.
• Captains are to be the team liaison to discuss any call or rule with an official during match play.

TEAMS

SUBMITTING A ROSTER

• Each team must submit a roster with a minimum of 6 and maximum of 12 players.
• No player may register for more than 1 team within the same league.
• Rosters must be submitted and a waiver form must be signed before any player may take the court.
• Rosters must be finalized and no changes are allowed after the 2nd week of play.
• No player who is not on your roster and signed a waiver form may play in the league.
• Only rostered players will be eligible for playoffs.

PLAYERS

• A team consists of 6 players (4 man maximum).
  • As per our Inclusivity Statement, players should register and play in the way that most closely aligns with their gender identity. 
• A team may play with 4 or 5 players, 1 of whom must be a gender minority.
  • A team may never have more than 4 men on the court.
• A team may pick up a maximum of 2 players from another PSL team in the league to avoid forfeit.
  • If rostered players arrive late, they must be immediately inserted into lineup for the substitute players.
  • You cannot pick up substitute players for playoffs.

MATCH SCHEDULE

START TIME

• All matches will start at their scheduled time.
• If a team does not have enough players to start the first round by 10 minutes after the scheduled start time, they will forfeit the match.
• If enough players to start the first round arrive between 10 and 15 minutes after the scheduled start time, the match will be officiated and played as a scrimmage but will still be recorded as a forfeit.
• Once 15 minutes after the scheduled start time has passed, the match is still recorded as a forfeit and the teams are allowed to use the remaining time to practice or organize a pickup game.
  • Officials are not required to stay and officiate.
• Teams forfeiting 2 or more times during the regular season will be ineligible for playoffs.

MATCH LENGTH

• Regulation match play will consist of 13 rounds per match.
• Each round has a time limit of 4 minutes.
• Each round will be played as a return game.
  • Players are allowed to return to the round when their teammates catch an attempt from their opponent, knocking them out of the round. 
  • Players re-enter the round in the “first out, first in” order. 
  • Players not starting the round must sit out the entire round.

OVERTIME/EXTRA INNINGS

• There are no overtimes during regular season play, thus ties are possible.

RULES

PLAYING FIELD

• The width of the playing area is marked by the outer boundary line of a standard volleyball court.
• The length of the playing area is marked by the back line of a volleyball court.
  • Adjustments to these boundaries may vary depending on the gym.
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MATCH PLAY

• Each round counts as 1 point.
  • A round that ends in a tie means each team receives one half of a point.
• The team with the most players remaining at the end of a round wins that round.
  • A tie occurs when both teams have the same number of players remaining at the end of 4 minutes.
• Each team is allotted two 1 minute time outs per match to be utilized between rounds.
  • Only the official may call timeout during a round.
• Substitutions may only occur between rounds, not during rounds.
• The home team for each match will start each odd round with two dodgeballs.
  • The away team will start each odd round with one dodgeball.
• The away team for each match will start each even round with two dodgeballs.
  • The home team will start each even round with one dodgeball.
• The team with two dodgeballs at the start of the round must throw at least one of their dodgeballs first, within 10 seconds of the round.
• Play is continuous as each team makes attempts to get the opposing players out until either all players on one team have been put out or time expires.
• Based on referee discretion, each player has 10 seconds to make an attempt on the other team after gaining possession of the ball.
  • Once the referee informs the player holding a ball to “move the ball” they will start counting backwards from “5”. If the player does not move the ball to the opponent’s side by the time the referee reaches “0”, the player will be called out.
  • If the ball is dropped or passed to a teammate while the referee is counting down from “5”, the player that has possession last will be called out at “0”.
• Players may retrieve any ball on their side of the center line.
• Active players are permitted to reach over the center line to try and reach a ball on their opponent's side.
  • An active player who touches their opponent's side of the court will be called out.
• Inactive players may retrieve balls for their teammates following these guidelines:
  • Balls must be rolled - not thrown - to teammates who are active and in play.
  • Balls must be retrieved from the team’s side of the center line. A ball retrieved from the opponent’s side must be returned to the opponent.
  • Balls must be out of bounds before an inactive player may touch the ball.
    • Any inactive player who touches a ball that is in bounds will give the ball to the opposing team.
• Players who are called out during match play must quickly move to the sideline.
• Any player who is called out and attempts to block a ball on their way to the sideline will be removed from the match for the remainder of the evening.
• Kicking or spiking the ball at the other team is illegal and will result in the offender being called out.
• If a ball strikes the referee or a player that is already out, the ball is dead.
• Headshots are not permitted.
  • Headshots resulting from a high thrown ball will not result in the struck player being called out; instead the player throwing the ball is out.
  • Throwing oneself to the ground to dodge an attempt is legal but negates the headshot rule.
  • A player who intentionally contacts the attempt with their head to have the thrower called out also negates the headshot rule.
• Players may use another ball to block an attempt.
  • After a successful block with another ball, the ball is still live until it strikes the ground or walls.

A PLAYER IS CALLED OUT WHEN

• They are struck by a ball before the ball strikes the ground or walls.
  • It is possible to knock more than 1 player out with the same attempt.
• Their thrown ball is caught by a player of the opposing team prior to striking the ground or walls.
• They use another ball to block an attempt and the ball is dropped due to the throw.
  • Players must maintain full possession of the ball they are using to block the attempt.
  • A player who is hit with a thrown ball that bounces off of the ball they are using to block will be called out.
• They step out of bounds.

GOING OUT OF BOUNDS

• If going out of bounds to retrieve a dead ball, a player must raise their hand to inform the referee and opponent of their move.
  • A player who does not raise their hand and goes out of bounds will be called out.
  • A player who has their arm raised and is hit with a thrown ball will not be called out.
• Players returning from out of bounds must re-enter from the back of the court.
  • Each team will be given one warning per match about re-entering from the back of the court.
  • After the initial warning, any player who does not return from the back of the court will be called out.
  • A player called out in this manner will simply go to the back of their team's 'return' order.
• Jumping/stepping out of bounds to catch a ball will make the player out, not the thrower.
• If a player catches a ball and maintains control of it while establishing one foot in bounds, the thrower is out.  If after this happens, the player then steps/falls out of bounds, they are also out.

EQUIPMENT

• PSL uses Gator Skin Official Adult dodgeballs.
• Athletic shoes suitable for court play are required.
• Optional equipment:
  • Knee pads
  • Elbow pads
  • Gloves

PLAYOFFS

SEEDING

• Playoffs are based on the overall rounds won/lost during the regular season.
• The number of teams to qualify for playoffs will vary from season to season based on the number of teams registered.
• Playoff and championship matches will be a best of 13 rounds.
• There are no ties in the playoffs.
  • A round that is tied after time expires will move into sudden death overtime.
  • The first team to get one opponent out will win the round.

TIEBREAKERS

• All teams tied in the standings will use the following tiebreakers, in order, to determine seeding:
  • Most regular season rounds won
  • Head to head
  • Most matches won
  • Coin toss

3-way tiebreakers: When 3 or more teams are tied; all teams will be ranked on the same criteria as opposed to knocking a team out then returning to the top of the tiebreaker list. Tiebreakers will be applied until all teams that are tied can be ranked using the same criteria. If the teams did not play one another in an even amount of matches then “head to head” will be skipped.