Game Overview - Referee Guidelines

 Player Self-Policing

International Indoor Roller Dodgeball is intended to be played closer to the likes of golf and tennis. A Dodger is expected to go OUT when he knows he has been hit by an opponent or when he knows that he fell. Likewise, a player is expected to give herself a minor penalty when she realizes she skated out of bounds (crossing into another zone).

In other words, the skater should not wait for the referee to make a call or imposes a minor penalty. Ultimately those players that continually ignore the rules can be 'warned' and even expelled from the game for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Consider golf for a moment. If a professional golfer hits the ball into a water hazard they add an extra stroke to their score. They don't look around to see if a referee noticed.

This is not to say that the Referees will not need to call a skater 'Out'. Ideally this will only be necessary when a skater cannot reasonable be expected to know he was hit. For example, if a Dodger turns and faces away from an opponent (who is throwing) the target skater might be hit somewhere on the back or on the skate and not even realize it. On the flip-side, there may be times when the skaters believe they were hit and the Referee will signal them to return to the game because the ball was in fact already 'dead' when it made contact.

The most common minor foul is a result of a skater unintentionally skating out of bounds. It is very reasonable that many times the skater will barely cross the line without realizing it. If observed by the referee, the skater should be given a minor penalty, but generally the referee should assume the skater did not realize a foul was committed. Therefore no 'warning' should be issued. On the other hand, if a skater crosses the line by several feet, and then tries to cross back into their correct zone without be 'caught' by the referee, this would constitute intentional cheating. In this case the skater should be given a warning (after being issued a minor penalty).

 Referee Objectives

1. Safety: Do not hesitate to call an Official Time out to correct a hazardous situation or to allow an injured skater to seek help.
2. Keep the Action Going: Most important between Rounds. Start the next Round promptly after the 15 seconds allowed for skaters to rotate positions. Call out the remaining time as the last few seconds elapse when skaters are moving slowly. Use Referee discretion to assign a minor penalty to the worst offenders and/or give verbal warnings. Recommendation: It's more important that the skaters know what is expected and to maintain a sense of urgency between rounds rather than giving everyone a minor penalty just because they took 16 seconds to get ready. If a ball is stuck out of reach or damaged, try to remedy the situation between rounds. The current round may continue with less than six balls in play.
3. Be Another Set of Eyes: This is listed as #3 because the skaters are expected to police themselves in most cases (see section above). However, the skaters cannot see everything. Make your calls accordingly. If a skater thinks they are out but you saw that the ball was dead before it hit them, call the skater back into the game.
4. Rules Enforcement: Assign minor penalties as needed. Give at one least verbal warning before expelling a skater for unsportsmanlike conduct.
5. Expel the Problem Skaters: You may never have to do this, but if after repeated warnings a skater continues to defy the rules, Oust them from the game. Fighting is never permitted. You do not need to give a skater a warning before you eject them if they become violent or abusive.

 Details - Special Cases - Exceptions