The Rules of Dodgeball - EXPLAINED!

Ninh explains - The Rules of Dodgeball. A popular sport amongst schools worldwide, it’s now contested around the world. It’s a fun, easy to pick up game that’s good for socialising.
Specific to International and World Dodgeball Rules - watch this short beginner’s tutorial video guide on how Dodgeball is played, Dodgeball rules and guidelines, and how to play dodgeball.
Learn about balls, ball activation, catching, blocking, throwing, out, revives, live ball, deal ball and more!
COMMENT, LIKE, RATE & SUBSCRIBE!!!
Also discuss on Reddit!
Video: World Dodgeball Federation, International Dodgeball Association, Rush Extreme Dodgeball, Ultimate Dodgeball, Dodgeball Channel - @swissdodgeball (I do not own any footage and claim fair use!)
Images: Google (Various)
Music: ‘Pop Upbeat Summer Dance’ by AudioJungle
Narrated, Directed and Produced by Ninh Ly
Ninh Ly Website - www.ninh.co.uk
Find me on Facebook - / ninh.ly.31
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Instagram - / ninhlyuk
LinkedIn - / ninh-ly-0623218b
#dodgeball #dodgeballrules #howtoplaydodgeball #rules #sports #ninhlyuk #sport

[@NinhLyUK]

Dodgeball, who'd have thought it to be an internationally contested sport? Kinda why I made this video, but also because it'd help a lot of schools during this pandemic. Comment below!

[@mmgarza1997]

Can you do rules of paintball?

[@MrXyonyx]

Can you do a video about Jugger? :)

[@fajzdenkoo34]

in Slovakia u play dodgeball with one volleyball which is sometimes painful

[@mr.hakimi07]

I’m from Malaysia, but didn’t even know that my country have a doudgeball national team until I watched this video 😂 btw thanks for the video.

[@NinhLyUK]

Yes. In fact, Malaysia on an international level are actually very good at it!

[@jovangrant6053]

Malaysia is Ranked 2 in the World

[@Seadragon77]

I remember playing dodgeball in my high school gym class. That was fun times..

[@NinhLyUK]

Fun times indeed!

[@coolstoolgames8374]

Im switching from grappling sports to a dodge ball league wish me luck

[@BOT-MERC]

@@coolstoolgames8374 yesir

[@jpbreeze44]

What a coincidence, I was wondering if there was a professional Dodgeball league and I watched some highlights, weren't aware of the rules either. Now I do :)

[@NinhLyUK]

There's several believe it or not?!

[@robertevbayekha6639]

@@NinhLyUK true but not recognized

[@jovangrant6053]

Yes!! Watch Elite Dodgeball

[@jovangrant6053]

There's plenty of teams to watch like TEAM DOOM Delaware Klutch WBDF Dodgeball (International Dodgeball) European Dodgeball etc to name some

[@weedwhacker287]

"up to teams of 15" P.E teachers: *That's some rookie numbers*

[@NinhLyUK]

Yes.

[@SuperBuildsInMC]

Dang I didn't know this was like a genuine competivie sport with associations and stuff, I just thought it was a game we all played in school.

[@NinhLyUK]

I know, right?!

[@hiphaestis]

Great explanation Aligns mostly with the rules I played by in 1st grade back in 1956 in Chicago! Except the rules about stalling. I remember being the only player left on my side, and I ran around collecting 'ammo' before moving up to attack. That took more than 5 or 10 seconds and no one called stalling. Also, think that if a player blocked a ball and the blocking ball got knocked out of their hands, it still counted as a block, but, you know, this was 66 years ago. I enjoyed the sport. No violence, just early lessons on resourcefulness and coping with being prey or predator.

[@prkp7248]

In Poland when I was in school we had position called "mother" that is one player that stand on the back of opponents playfield and can catch the ball and throw it into opponents (and that means that you allways must know what is going behind your back), but mother can't be outed until all of his teammates are out. When all of his teammates he goes to his team playfield and he play alone as a normal player. If morher catch the ball, one of teammate is revised, and mother goes back to her place, but if she is out, team lose game. Because mother add another side to the game, we use one or two ball only.

[@covenantwarrior3840]

Will you do the rules of Buzkashi? It is the national sport of Afghanistan and there no rule videos on KZbin. You have a great channel by the way.👍

[@NinhLyUK]

Thanks, I'll consider it.

[@adriancamacho4766]

I always sucked at throwing the ball but somehow good at not getting hit by the ball. It is a fun game, though!

[@NinhLyUK]

Fun times!

[@majapahitnationalist9813]

Tbh i don’t know there are rules in dodgeball, in highschool i just “throw the ball and don’t get hit”

[@NinhLyUK]

That about covers it!

[@simonmacomber7466]

This is nothing like the dodgeball I played in school. The balls being made of foam so they don't hurt is just one of the differences I remember. They were made of rubber, hard rubber, and they really hurt when they hit you, especially when you were hit in the face. Hitting someone it the face gave the team that threw the ball more points. Especially if you drew blood.

[@NinhLyUK]

Yes, I mention this briefly in the video. But nothing about drawing blood though!

[@kid_w_specs]

that was a very elaborate video. thanks!!

[@sayonaraclarke6595]

❤thank you so helpful for my English classes in Honduras 🇭🇳

[@lekevin3330]

Very informative, thank you

[@brokenplay5222]

I was waiting for this video! 👍

[@NinhLyUK]

More to come!

[@marcelalopez8145]

Very easy to understand. Thanks 😊

[@taipeijoey101]

We always played dodgeball with a hockey net on either side. One player would be the goalie and couldn't get out. If someone was able to throw a ball into the opposing net, everyone on their team would be allowed back in

[@lachlanmckenzie8208]

Missed out my favourite rule. You can jump over the neutral line and throw the ball before landing, as long as you hit a player your allowed to stay in and have to run back to your own half haha

[@FidoArtz]

There is a Japanese version of dodgeball where the out or substitute players can catch the ball and attack from sidelines of the opposing team. Surprisingly, this version is popular enough to have its own anime and manga, dodge danpei and the japanese format being replicated alot in many dodgeball videogames then any other format of dodgeball.

[@NinhLyUK]

I didn't know that?!

[@TheAseer2020]

Like the NES videogame "Super dodgeball" my school played using this games rules. So it appears that an American School used Japanese rules. This was back in the early 1990s also if a ball was cought the thrower was not out

[@INCNetski]

Also remember the 5 D's of dodgeball.

[@keversley]

1.Dodge 2.Duck 3.Dip 4.Dive 5.Dodge

[@alekesam]

Had to scroll way too far down to find this. Lol!

[@eksortso]

Some of my favorite gym classes were dodgeball! Take half a basketball court, use a center line but no neutral zone, no headshots, no returns for catches, holding was allowed (because you were a target if you did!) and you could charge over the line and tag-out if the other team was down to 2 players. The losing team's players did 10 push-ups and 10 sit-ups each, and then we'd all play again, with nobody keeping score. I think it was a way for our coach / phys.ed. teacher to take it easy while we got our exercise in for the day.

[@eksortso]

No foam balls either. We used Voit rubber balls. Popular balls on the playgrounds, too. Yeah they hurt. It was a good hurt.

[@NinhLyUK]

Fun times.

[@johngennaria7081]

Good vid. And I think in ultimate dodgeball it becomes harder to dodge or harder to hit an opponent. The trampoline area allows for innovative and highlight reel dodging. Feels like sort of a Matrix element to the game. Saw some tourney highlights for a league and those guys make the game look easier than it is.

[@NinhLyUK]

Thanks! And yes, those guys make it look easy.

[@zaibahmad2368]

I'm gonna vrs another school in dodgeball because I was picked and now I finally know how to play so thank you so much (I even subscribe and liked your video)

[@matthewdooley9046]

Probably the biggest sport you’d have yet to cover. Great video!

[@NinhLyUK]

Thanks.

[@GWEBrasil15]

here in Brazil we play like this: When you are hit you go to an area behind the other team (which is the already dead zone) and if the ball gets there the dead can throw back to their own team, if the ball crosses 3 times the dead can also kill people from the other team. so as the game goes on people get attack from both sides. we play with maximun 2 balls because it gets crazy!

[@NinhLyUK]

Cool variations!

[@GWEBrasil15]

@@NinhLyUK also, when somebody gets hit in the head we all laugh A LOT. sometimes we have to stop the game even because everybody is laughing. getting hit in the head is a sign that you are not paying attention or you are distracted to us here.

[@KingKRool-oc4ln]

These videos are so helpful

[@NinhLyUK]

Thanks.

[@billhorst-kotter5184]

Nice video. I hope for the future episode there is one on Tchoukball.

[@NinhLyUK]

I'll consider it.

[@aeraevents940]

WELL PUT !

[@cstarr3240]

Dodgeball was different when/where I went to grade school. There were normally no set "teams," and the court was circular: There was a giant outer circle with a smaller circle inside of it. Half (or more) of the class stood outside of the larger circle (offense), the remaining kids were inside the smaller circle (defense). The offense would be given some balls (usually two or three kickballs), and would have to hit people on the defensive team. If the person on the defensive team was hit, (usually, it had to be below the waist, and it didn't matter if the ball bounced), that person would switch to the offensive team, usually taking the ball with him/her. If a ball came to a stop (or a near-stop) inside the large circle, the offensive team could elect to trade a player for it (usually sending the unfortunate expendable in to retrieve the ball), or they could throw a ball at it to hit it out of the large circle. If a defensive team member caught the ball thrown by the offensive team before it bounced, the offensive team member that threw it would switch to the defensive team. If an offensive team member went inside the large circle, or a defensive team member went outside the large circle, they'd be pulled out of the game (barring exchanges). The game usually turned into an "odd man out" sort of game, and ended when the last defensive player was hit.

[@yerma5004]

The king has returned

[@NinhLyUK]

For now, yes.

[@Splitwave23]

Dude, I love dodgeball!

[@NinhLyUK]

Cool.

[@DavidRinkevich]

Back in elementary school in Argentina, we played a local version called "El quemado" (the burned one) with one ball and a field split into two wider adjacent halves and narrow strips at the back of each half, players that got hit moved to the back strip of the opposing team, and still could try to hit from behind, the team with no players left on the wider half lost.

[@frankym69]

I'm really good at king of the castle. Its anyone for themselves and can have anywhere minimum 8 max 20 not including the king of the castle. My brother and I are working on making it a practical sport.

[@johnmarck3240]

We play it the same way here in Brazil too

[@greedyzombie8131]

I remember playing in gym and we had a rule where you could cross the middle but couldn’t go over the other teams attack line which was the top of the 3 point arc and if you scored a basket one of your teammates could come back

[@coachshabana4712]

Awesome

[@fedorkalu8319]

Thank you. Your work is greatly appreciated. I am from Ukraine, but because of the war currently live in England, and it was very interesting for me to learn about dodgeball, as we play a similar game at school in Ukraine, but it feels different. We also have soft balls and two teams from each side, but instead of taking out each other they are supposed to take out people between them (where the neutral zone would be). Usually, the number of people in the neutral zone (being taken out) is 2-3 times greater than the number of people in both teams.

[@planetx1595]

I learnt to play Dodgeball from Patches O'Houlihan, "If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball"

[@edchelstephens]

Thank you! :)

[@TheAseer2020]

The school I went to played with rules similar to the NES video game "Super Dodgeball" if a ball is cought the thrower is not out. Depending on the number of players we had, we even had 1 person of the opposite team surrounding each side of their opponent's side. We also played a game called "Everyman" one ball is used and when you had the ball only three steps are allowed before a throw

[@ZanerG]

Pretty cool I played a lot of Dodgeball

[@NinhLyUK]

cool

[@ZanerG]

@@NinhLyUK yep would it be cool to do touch football just wondering or flag Football?

[@ZanerG]

@@coordinator3039 nope just regular dodgeball for me

[@patrickmimnagh6425]

You got to master the 5 Ds of Dodgeball; Dodge, Duck, Dip, Dive and Dodge.

[@BEstudent]

Broadcast live on ESPN 8......the Ocho!!!!!

[@ex0duzz]

Lol at the kid @6:03. Did a power dab. Hahaha

[@madmario7229]

This brings me back to primary school

[@NinhLyUK]

Fun times.

[@rickychacon12]

I’ve heard of a sport called Buzkashi and I think you should a video on it. I think it will be interesting.

[@NinhLyUK]

I covered it briefly in my Top 10 Weirdest Sports in the world (Part 3) video. kzbin.info/www/bejne/aF7OqJ2ZgMZqjJY

[@yabbaguy]

Sorry I'm late. I can't see a single comment - maybe I'm blind - but Game Show Network (GSN) in the US had 3 series of a game called Extreme Dodgeball. Some similarities existed with this serious ruleset described in the video, but as a predominantly entertainment show based on the popular film, the gameplay varied wildly, including: * Classic red rubber balls were used, but head shots did not count * The Big Ball in round 2 - has no extra rules, but its unwieldy size usually made it a good candidate for blocking * The Dead Man Walking in round 3 - where hitting a player marked with an orange headband resulted in either an instant win or - in series 3 - a point bonus. * A last man standing regeneration mechanic - when a team is reduced to one player, the loner can hit an elevated target (in series 1) or survive for a 20/30 second clock (in series 2 & 3) to bring back their entire team. Nerfed to +1 bonus player in series 3, and once a player regenerated, the team loses regen privileges until wiped out or end of round. In series 1 & 2, the object was just to eliminate the other side and win two rounds out of three. In series 3, they started "keeping score" and points were awarded for eliminations and wipeouts, most points in an allotted timeframe wins. The latter was seen as quite unpopular, and the show did not last beyond it.

[@alonzojones6995]

My favorite sport

[@NinhLyUK]

Cool

[@tfn212]

That's cool. The game need brave and strategy to play BTW, I know this game first from even an episode of Spongebob Squarepants, when Patrick was scolded by his sports teacher and he got punishment which is he was beaten by dodgeballs that thrown by his classmates

[@NinhLyUK]

Yes indeed.

[@AlbrechtAaron]

Trampoline dodgeball is so much fun I highly recommend it see if your local trampoline park does it

[@pantomine.]

I played something like this, but you have to hit a basketball goal to bring your teammates in, and if you make it in the net, you won.

[@randomstuff508]

Almost seems like in some organizations, it can become less of dodgeball and more of hit-me-in-the-head ball!

[@NinhLyUK]

Seems like that, yes.

[@thearcenist]

Scotty boy with the dab. Lad just came back from the Asian champs in Riyadh with a gold medal around his neck. Aussie Aussie aussie

[@KageStyles]

I've played Dodgeball in school, but Dodgeball in Japan is different. Here's what's different. - Use only one ball instead of six. - Do jump ball instead of an opening rush, and there's no ball activation. - Both teams have a player who is playing in outside of the opponent's court. - Player who got hit goes outside of the opponent's court. - Catching the ball won't retrieve the teammate. - If the outside player (Except for an outside player who plays in outside of the court initially, and never got back to court) hits the ball to the opponent, that player can get back to the inside of the court. - Player who is outside of court initially can return to the inside of court once someone in teammate got hit. But this rule won't apply once that player got hit inside of court. - Grey area scenarios are the same as the video. It's complicated, but it's exactly what we play Dodgeball in Super Mario Sports Mix, without a health bar.

[@NinhLyUK]

Interesting variations!

[@cadocommando8868]

When we play at school its turns into a war

[@IgnacioAOlivar]

a kind of "mortal sport"

[@judahgunter6518]

Ninh explains the rules of Olympic boxing 👊👊👊👊

[@NinhLyUK]

It's the same as the boxing video I did ... just with 5 rounds instead of 12.

[@LuckyBird551]

Could you explain the rules of Japanese Dodgeball? The base might be the same, but there are so many rule changes that it is basically a completely different sport.

[@GamePro0012]

Just wondering: in previous videos, you had thumbnails for videos on flag football and American handball. Are those still in your queue, if you know what I mean?

[@NinhLyUK]

Yes, they're in the queue - they just have to be made, that's all.

[@BadBrucey]

My favorite game in PE as a kid.

[@anthonysaracho0812]

Used to play this in PE class. Didnt know that it’s played professionally

[@heyfriend7169]

I WAS LITERALLY JUST WATCHING DODGEBALL AND WONDERED IF YOU HAD A VIDEO ABOUT THIS AND THE GAME AT 0:13 WAS THE VIDEO I WAS WATCHING LMAO! 😂

[@NinhLyUK]

#### twilight zone music ####

[@gamerboby3168]

Thank you 😍😍😍😍😍🥰🥰🤩🤩😶

[@SpitefulAZ]

Gogo Dodgeball, a true underdog story movie references!!!

[@NinhLyUK]

Had a few already.

[@SpitefulAZ]

@@NinhLyUK it's a fun movie! Dodge, dip, duck, dive, and dodge! Have you heard how they changed the ending to please.movie goers? The original got bad reviews with test audiences.

[@ashkitt7719]

I like to drink my own urine. It's sterile and I like the taste.

[@SpitefulAZ]

@@ashkitt7719 is it necessary?

[@MusicalMethuselah]

It's interesting that you mention that a blocked ball also counts as a dead ball, same as hitting the ground first, but then if you block a ball and it ricochets back into you, you're out. I would have thought the dead ball rule would stop it from getting you out?

[@nabhannbn]

I like dodge ball in trampoline park that was 🔥

[@NinhLyUK]

It's a sweet variation for sure.

[@sharonbyrne799]

Can you do the rules of tag rugby video

[@NinhLyUK]

I'll consider it.

[@user-qz6wg8bc6s]

❤❤❤

[@abhayji44]

thanks

[@NinhLyUK]

You're welcome!

[@Ballin4Vengeance]

We played a lot of dodgeball in school… with completely different rules and a volleyball so that is hurt properly

[@isolatedviews7807]

Dodge, duck, dip, dive, and dodge!

[@SuperBuildsInMC]

A video on the sport of hornussen would be interesting. Just a suggestion :)

[@NinhLyUK]

I covered this in one of my other videos.

[@SuperBuildsInMC]

@@NinhLyUK oh really? My mistake lol

[@petergeyer7584]

I played this endlessly in gym class in the States when I was a kid. My daughter played a version of this called Zombie in sport class in Germany.

[@NinhLyUK]

Cool!

[@dashtoroya2838]

Well i played dodgeball but the rules were quite weird.. The rules are quite simple in this one, how long can you survive? So the attacking team would form a circle and the escaping team would be inside the circle, and if the ball touched the escaping player then that person is out. It all continue until all the escaping member has been eliminated in record time. Now the attacking team would be the escaping one and the escaping team would be an attacking one and now the job of the attack team is to eliminate the escaping time before their record time and the escaping team has to survive the time limit set by the attacking team.

[@stevelucky7579]

If there has to be a minimum of 2 it really takes the wind out of “wow, finally a sport both genders can play” instead its “oh, i guess they have to handicap themselves instead of allowing the best to compete, be they male or female.”

[@AustinJASMR]

We played a variation of this in my team sports class. It was basically dodgeball but as a free for all. I basically survived by making peace treaties with the good players.

[@NinhLyUK]

Interesting strategy!

[@AustinJASMR]

@@NinhLyUK Wasn't a good one sadly. Only one guy actually accepted the treaty, and I still got out a few seconds later.

[@judahgunter6518]

Hey ninh I played dodgeball when I was little 🙆‍♂️🏃‍♂️

[@NinhLyUK]

Good.

[@aycc-nbh7289]

So what happens if there is a “double fault” and the game has to go to sudden death to determine a winner? Or did I watch _Dodgeball_ one too many times?

[@charlessmith263]

Well, nowadays, new dodgeball rules are trying to crack down on strikes to the head due to concussion worries - so if you want to strike somebody to eliminate that player from a dodgeball, try to strike the person below the head. In yesteryear's dodgeball matches, strikes to the head to eliminate that person were allowed.

[@charlessmith263]

Got the neutral zone thing - if a thrower steps past the neutral zone line on the throw to try to eliminate that person, the one who stepped on the line is himself/herself eliminated. Out!

[@ryn_thebear347]

In my school,we play dodgeball in a rather unusual way So.. Everyone stands in a circle and 2-3 students are in the middle, and the people making the circle have to hit them with only one ball.(the ball is passed person to person) When all 2-3 students are out, another set of students come in the circle. This can be played infinitely (lol)

[@jubby8107]

I like the amount of research put into the video but I think the information gets a bit mixed as you mention there are different types of dodgeball. Having foam and cloth games in one video and generalizing the rules can make it a bit confusing as they are vastly different. In foam there is no neutral zone; only your half with no attack line (the line shown for foam is purely the activation line) and 6 balls. In cloth there are attack lines with neutral zones and use only 5 balls. Other than that I enjoyed the video, good stuff!

[@NinhLyUK]

Yes, that's why I had to generalise rules. Remember, this is a beginners video to teach people what dodgeball is. If you already know the difference between cloth games and foam games, you don't need this video.

[@eamesysexy1956]

Didn’t know they played it pro tho so that’s cool

[@NinhLyUK]

Yes, it's a pro sport now.

[@juliabaeva9290]

Better show this to kids at school.

[@TheSafae123]

In high school we played using the wrestling mats after wrestling practice with our own custom rule set. We had 3 balls, 2 volleyball sized and 1 softball sized. We used the smaller central circle on the mat as the faceoff zone for two players for fight for the small one. Each team automatically started with a large ball each and couldn't enter the larger circle on the mat until the small ball was moved from it's starting position.

[@NinhLyUK]

Fun times!

[@SpitefulAZ]

Is professional tag video in the works also?

[@NinhLyUK]

Yep, I'm just not that quick

[@SpitefulAZ]

@@NinhLyUK cool man!

[@meatdodgeballproductions9572]

Subscribe for more dodgeball videos!

[@CityGunzals]

Nice Video Mate! So Glad you came back. Can you Possibly do Professional Wrestling? Like WWE? I know it's Scripted etc. But I still think it would be a Fun Video.

[@NinhLyUK]

That is the inherent problem - it's not really a sport if it's rehearsed physical theatre. But thanks!

[@terraminator4379]

Rules in Germany are different but it was interesting seeing the American rules

[@kereenpantua9177]

hi po... new to your channel. may I ask permission to get some clips of this video for academic purposes.

[@veluri]

When we kids we played this game with similer rules we played with one ball and we called it as pitch ball

[@eliblackburn]

6:02 did mans really just dab

[@zfilms4858]

"Rules of Dodgebolt- Explained." (aka, minecraft dodgeball, but with bow and arrows). Feel free to cover E-Sports if you run out of Real Sports to Cover.

[@ytanonymity3585]

Guys, the game title called, Bully, is what get me into the Dodgeball sports but you know what... I just ealized that the real dodgeball rules are a bit different.. In this real sport, the player will use 6 ball. When player get hit, player will out immediately from the court. So back to Bully's game, I find it weird how different the rule is, which isn't based on its real sport isn't it? Since the game only use 1 ball. To start the game, 2 opposite player need to be on front to fighting for getting and grab the ball. Player can even properly catch the ball from the opponent. When player got hit, they will out but they gonna be a ball thrower from out of the court line :/

[@keversley]

Dodge , duck, dip, dive and...dodge!

[@aaronmorris1513]

I can still hear the sound of a rubber ball hitting flesh...

[@mrspeigle1]

Yeah, that ping noise fills me with nostalgia to this day.

[@NinhLyUK]

I can imagine this game giving kids nightmares.

[@LeotheTiger1234]

I always hated this game as a kid because too many times I'd get hit in the head on purpose, whether or not it was the bully was throwing it.

[@charlessmith263]

Reviving one teammate - is known in dodgeball language as a "swing".

[@vlrginizer927]

Headshots being illegal is one of the worst rule in this game

[@wesleypatterson2989]

"-and the balls are made of foam, as to not hurt the players" Me, who got hit in the face by rubber dodgeballs multiple times in school: "It smells like BITCH in here!"

[@alevmogilny]

If I block a ball with a ball in my hands and my partner catches it, is the opponent out?

[@thelittleowl1]

we always had a rule where headshots just didnt count and it was play on. i always used to deliberately header the ball.

[@CaeserOct]

Extreme dodgeball: dodgeball but with cricket balls

[@NinhLyUK]

You could argue that Cricket is dodgeball with cricket balls.

[@CaeserOct]

@@NinhLyUK haha yes, and that you can defend yourself with a bat.

[@deedeea545]

what if you hit 1 player and they knock down 2 or more players of the same team???