Extreme Dodgeball

Extreme Dodgeball is an American television show that debuted on Game Show Network in 2004.

Rules

First Season

The rules of Extreme Dodgeball are similar to that of standard dodgeball with some common variations. A team consists of five players (three men and two women), each of which stand on one half of the arena. If a player is hit with a ball, he or she must leave the arena. Catching the ball eliminates the person who threw it, and an already eliminated person on the team that caught the ball gets to come back in (unless no members have been eliminated); deflecting the ball with one held in the player's hands does not count as an eliminating strike, unless the ball is dislodged. If a ball hits the wall or floor, it immediately becomes a "dead ball" and cannot eliminate a player. Chained eliminations (where a ball eliminates one player and immediately strikes another on the same team) are allowed. Strikes to the head are discouraged but do not result in an elimination. Crossing or stepping on any boundary is grounds for an elimination.

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Matches consist of three rounds, in a best-of-three format. The first round is standard, with no special rules, and is played with two standard dodgeballs. The second round, often called the "Big Ball" round, adds a third ball, twice the diameter of the standard balls; this ball is often used to deflect attacks. In the third round, entitled "Dead Man Walking," the Big Ball is removed as each team elects one "dead man"; as soon as that player is eliminated, the round is over.

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When all but one member of a team are eliminated, the remaining player has a single chance to hit the "regeneration" target above the opposite end of the court, thus bringing all his or her teammates back in. A team can only be regenerated once per round.

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Second Season

The second season rules were exactly the same as the first, but instead of hitting a regeneration target, the last man standing just has to stay alive for twenty seconds to regenerate his or her team. A further pair of rule amendments were added during this season: firstly, there is a 5 second delay of game warning, if a team holds more than one ball for over 5 seconds, one of the players is out; and if a player, in the opinion of the referee, is impeding the flow of play of the game by stalling, refusing to throw the ball or attempting to force a play on the opposing team, the referee may give that player a "yellow card" (two yellow cards mean that the player in question is out). This second rule was introduced in the early stages of the second season and is called the Benedetto amendment, after player David Benedetto whose tactics were felt to require the rule's introduction.

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Third Season

The teams in the third season have seven players (five men and two women), one of which is a celebrity captain, but there can only be five players on the court at one time. At the start of a match, two of the players on each team are already out. The basic rules are the same: Catch a ball, the thrower gets out and one of your teammates gets back in; hit someone with a ball, they're out. The 5 sec. rule also applies (See Season 2 rules). This season, if a player gets a yellow card(for yelling at the ref, holding the balls for too long, staying on the court for too long after being out,etc.) that player has to stand in a small square while a player on the other team has a free shot at him/her. Unlike other seasons, there are no out of bounds, so players can walk on the walls.

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The game is now divided into four six-minute quarters. If a player eliminates someone in any way, their team gets one point. If a team is wiped out, the other team gets a bonus point, and four players from the wiped-out team get to come back in. If a team is down to one player, that player has to stay alive for thirty seconds but only one teammate may come back in. However, this can be done unlimited times.

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In the second quarter only, the Big Ball comes in. Since the ball is mainly used for defense and is hard to throw, a team is awarded 2 points if a member can take an opponent out with it, but only one point if your team catches it.

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The fourth quarter is the Dead Man Walking round, but it works different than the previous seasons. In this quarter, one person must wear the orange headband. Anyone who eliminates the Dead Man Walking earns two points for their team, and the Dead Man gives the headband to someone else. Wipeouts in this quarter are three points, two points for the dead man kill and one point for the wipe out. When there are two minutes left in the fourth quarter, there is a break in the game when the teams can pick different people to take the place of the ones previously on the court. Play continues until the end of the fourth quarter. The team with more points wins the match and earns $5,000.

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If there's a tie at the end of the fourth quarter, the game will go into overtime. In overtime, teams choose three players on their team to be out on the court. There are no regenerations. Catching a ball will eliminate the players who threw it, but won't bring back a player. Once you're out, you're out for good. The first team to take out all three of their opponents wins the match.

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