WFDF Official Rules of Flying Disc Sports

Article II - Double Disc Court

Copyright (c) 1994, WFDF

The purpose of the following rules is to provide a guideline which describes the way the game is played. Disc sports have traditionally relied on a spirit of sportsmanship which places the responsibility for fair play on the players themselves. Highly competitive play is encouraged, but never at the expense of the bond of mutual respect between players, adherence to the agreed upon rules of the game, or the basic enjoyment of play. Protection of these vital elements serves to eliminate adverse conduct from the playing field. Such actions as taunting the opposing players, dangerous aggression, intentional violation of the rules, or other "win-at-all-costs" behavior are contrary to the spirit of the game and must be avoided by all players. Violations which compromise this understanding may result in penalties or disqualification by the tournament director.

Outline of Contents

201. Interpretation

202. Field of Play

202.01. Dimensions:

The double disc court shall consist of two square areas measuring 13 m per side known as courts, which are set 17 m apart. The minimum distance between neighboring courts shall be 5 m. Spectators shall not be positioned closer than 2 m to a court, with 5 m suggested if possible (see Figure 2.1).

202.02. Surface:

The double disc court may have any surface (well-trimmed grass is recommended) which is essentially flat, free of obstructions and holes, and affords reasonable player safety.

202.03. Boundary Lines:

The boundary lines shall lie flat on the surface and mark the area of each court. The boundary lines are not part of the courts, they are out-of-bounds. The boundary lines shall be marked with a cord having a diameter not larger than 10 mm nor smaller than 5 mm.

202.04. Corner Markers:

The corners of the courts shall be marked with cones made of a brightly-colored flexible material. The cones shall not be larger than 13 cm nor smaller than 9 cm in height and width. The corner markers shall be centered on the corners of the courts and are considered out-of-bounds.

203. Discs

A.

Any flying discs meeting WFDF specifications set forth in Article I may be used as long as they meet the specific requirements of 203 B and are acceptable to both teams.

B. Special Restrictions:

For game design and safety considerations, discs in play must meet both the W.F.D.F. general disc specifications (section 107) and these additional specifications:

(1) Rim configuration:

must achieve a rim configuration rating of 75 or greater (may not be bevelled - see section 108[D]).

(2) Weight:

must weigh no more than 6.7 gm per cm of outside diameter.

(3) Rigidity:

must be sufficiently flexible to bend to the point of buckling when subjected to no more than 9.1 kg (20 lb) of weight in a standard testing procedure (see section 108[F]).

C.

If teams cannot agree, the official discs for play will be two orange 23A or 23B mold Frisbee brand discs weighing approximately 110 gm.

D.

If the teams cannot agree upon two specific official discs for play as described in 203 C, two options are available:

(1)

each team shall supply one official disc for play of the match; or,

(2)

if that solution is not acceptable to both teams they shall resolve the disagreement through the disc flipping method set forth in 104.03 of the WFDF rules. The team winning the flip shall then supply both official discs for the match.

204. Rules of Play

204.01. Procedures of Play:

A. Preliminary Considerations:

Prior to the start of play, the teams shall resolve the preliminary considerations through the disc flipping method (104.03). The team winning the flip shall have its choice on one of the three options for the first exchange of the match:

(1)

which court they will defend; or,

(2)

which team shall initiate; or,

(3)

which team shall declare its server.

The team losing the flip shall then have its choice on one of the two remaining options, leaving the final option to the team winning the flip.

B. Readiness:

Each team shall prepare for the commencement of play by standing within the court it shall defend. A player on each team shall be in possession of a disc and prepared to serve it. The server of the initiation team must establish and maintain a position in the court during the 3 seconds prior to the beginning of the serving call. After the beginning of the serving call, that player and all others may move as they wish. Serves must be made from within the court.

C. Service:

Upon a serving call from the non-serving member of the initiation team, play begins by a player from each team throwing simultaneously. Players on a team must alternate serves. The serving call shall be a count of, "Ready, Two, One, Throw". There shall be equal time intervals between each word in the count. The total time of the count shall not be shorter than 2 seconds nor longer than 3.5 seconds. Servers must throw on the word "Throw". Immediately prior to the serving call, the player making the call shall announce the current game score, giving the initiation team's score first.

D. Incorrect Service:

If an incorrect serving call is given, the non-initiation team may call, "Bad call". If a server throws early, the opponents may call, "Early". If a server throws late, the opponents may call, "Late". To be valid, these calls must be made immediately. The team making the call then may either take any points they have scored on the service, replay the service or if the service resulted in both discs being caught, they may play on after all players are ready. See section 207 for the definition of the "play on" procedure.

E. Incorrect Servers:

If any player realizes that a service took place using incorrect servers, he must call, "Wrong servers" immediately. If the call is made before either: a serve touches the ground, or before a subsequent throw in the exchange: the service must be redone correctly regardless of the outcome of the service. Otherwise, play continues to the conclusion of the exchange with points scored being duly awarded. Regardless, the next service in the match shall return to the correct serving combination.

F. Initiation:

The initiation on the first exchange of a game shall be determined as per section 204.01(A). On subsequent exchanges and replays in a game, the initiation team shall be the team having won the previous point. In matches of more than one game, the initiation team on the first exchange of each new game shall be the team having won the previous game.

G. Serving Combinations:

The serving combinations for the first game of a match shall be determined as per section 204.01 (A). In matches of more than one game, the serving combinations shall alternate from one game to the next; i.e., if player A of team A/B and player C of team C/D were a serving combination in the first game, player A should serve against player D and player B should serve against player C in the second game. In the first exchange after any alternation of serving combinations, the initiation team declares its server.

H. Court Switches:

During a game, teams shall switch courts after every five points total are accumulated. In matches of more than one game, the team losing the previous game has its choice of court for the next game in the match.

I. Time Outs:

Time out periods shall be 1 minute in duration and may be called by either team between exchanges. Each team is permitted 1 time out per game.

J. Pace of Play:

After the end of an exchange and determination of points, teams shall retrieve their discs without delay and prepare to serve. The initiation team must begin the serving call within 10 seconds after all players are ready. Breaks between games in a match shall not exceed 3 minutes in duration. Breaks between scheduled matches in a round shall not exceed 5 minutes in duration. These time limits are to serve as general guidelines for the normal pace of play. Special situations such as weather conditions may require consideration.

204.02 Play:

A. General Procedure:

Both discs shall be used during the exchange. Play is accomplished by:

(1)

the players attempting to throw a disc into the opponents' court such that it lands with a legal angle and stops without ever having touched out-of-bounds; or,

(2)

the players attempting to cause both discs to be touched simultaneously by a player or players on the opposing team.

Play continues until a disc touches out-of-bounds, stops dead in the court, or until both discs are touched simultaneously by a player or players on one team. If a disc touches the ground inside the court and is then touched by a player prior to the point being determined, the point is scored for the opponent.

B. The Impasse:

When ever during an exchange a player on each team holds a disc an impasse occurs. It is the responsibility of the initiation team to throw within 4 seconds of the time the impasse occurred, unless their opponents choose to break the impasse by throwing. If the initiation team fails to initiate correctly, the opponents may call, "Stalling".See section 204.07 for the call procedure.

C. Deformation:

When a court or disc is deformed during the exchange, either team may call, "Court" or, "Disc" to request that the court be restored to its official shape, or the disc be replaced at the next impasse. After restoration or replacement, play may continue with all players ready and in their respective court positions which they held at the impasse. See section 207 for the definition of the "play on" procedure.

D. Interference:

Should a disc or player be interfered with by the actions of an outside agent, such as a spectator or animal, a replay of the exchange will be allowed if it is determined that play was altered by the interference.

E. Coaching:

Coaching of players shall not be permitted during the exchange. Other coaching is permitted provided the pace-of-play rules are not violated.

204.03 Throwing:

A. Court Position:

A player's court position is a 1 m diameter circle centered directly under the center of his hips. Court position is established at the coincidence of a catch and contact with the ground. Should the disc be caught out-of-bounds, the court position is centered at the nearest point inside the court from the point where it was caught. If momentum carries a player closer to the opponents court after a catch and ground contact, the player must back-step the forward distance gained in order to establish a court position. If momentum carries a player in any direction not closer to the opponents court, the court position will be established where the player stops. A player moving laterally or toward the rear of the court while making a catch, may throw before establishing a court position only if the throw is made prior to the player making 3 ground contacts after the catch.

Other than the serve, each throw must be made with a supporting point on the court position or with no part of the thrower in contact with the ground, in which case the last contact with the ground must have been at the court position.

B. Traveling:

A player has traveled if all contact with the court position is removed and subsequent ground contact is made elsewhere while still holding the disc. If a player throws after traveling, the opponents may call, "Traveling". See section 204.07 for call procedure.

C. Line Faults:

If a thrower is legally on the court position and in contact with the boundary line during a throw, the opponents may call, "Line fault". See section 204.07 for call procedure.

D. Throws from Out-of-Bounds:

Throws made with a supporting point completely out-of-bounds, or, from mid-air with the last supporting point contact having been out-of-bounds, are scored for the opponent.

E. Landing-Angle Restrictions:

All throws must strike the ground at an angle of 30 degrees or less from horizontal except for a throw that rolls away from the thrower upon initial ground contact and is under 2.5 m as it passes the opponents' front line.

When it appears that a disc will hit the ground with illegal angle, the non-throwing team may call, "Angle". This call must be made prior to the disc hitting the ground. See section 204.07 for call procedure.

F. Offensive Interference:

If a player is hit above the knees by a high velocity shot while he is in position to play a lead shot, the defending team may call, "Offensive interference" and a replay is taken. If it is determined that the defending player intentionally moved into the shot, there is no replay and the exchange is scored under the usual rules.

G. Late Throws:

Competitive throws made after a point has been scored are considered to be late and may not score for the thrower. However, late throws shall be scored for the opponents of the throwing team if the throw goes out-of-bounds.

204.04. Catching:

A. General Procedure:

A player may use one or both hands to catch a disc. Legal catches include, in addition to the standard catches, those that are made with simultaneous contact with the ground or boundary lines, those that are made with simultaneous contact between teammates, and those that are made without the use of hands, such as body traps.

A player may catch a disc that has been tipped or bobbled by his teammate. A disc caught simultaneously by both players on a team may be thrown by either player.

B. Double-Touch:

If a player or team touches both discs at the same time or uses a disc in their possession to touch the other disc, a "double-touch" has been committed. When the attacking team observes what they believe to be a double-touch by their opponents, they may call, "Two" immediately after the assumed double. If the defending team agrees with the call, play stops and 2 points are scored for the attacking team. If the defending team does not agree, they must call, "No" immediately after the call of, "Two" and play on without interruption until the next impasse or undisputed score occurs. At that time players must maintain their court position and any disputed calls shall be discussed and determined in the order in which they occurred. If a disputed call is resolved such that a point or points are scored, the exchange is ended. If, however, it is determined that none of the disputed calls result in a point or points scored, then either: any undisputed points which have been scored are awarded, or play should continue after all players are ready. See section 207 for the definition of the "play on" procedure. In games using observers, the observer for the court is to call, "Double" or, "Clean" immediately after any disputed call. A confirming call of, "Double" ends the exchange and a call of, "Clean" indicates that the exchange is not to be affected by the erroneous double call.

204.05. Tipping:

A. General Procedure:

Tipping is a standard method of escaping double touch situations and is usually done with the first disc touched by a team. Except in escape situations, teams are allowed only one tip. An escape situation occurs when both discs are thrown at the same court. Violations of this rule constitute traveling. See section 204.07 for call procedure.

In all non-catching contacts, the disc must be sharply struck. Tips and air-brushes are legal provided the disc is not held in prolonged contact or lifted while being touched. Any prolonged contact with the disc, including a delay or an illegal tip, constitutes a catch.

B. Two-Handed Tips:

Two-handed tips and air-brushes must comply with section 204.05(A) and meet the additional restriction that no pair of opposite sides of the disc are touched simultaneously.

204.06. Scoring:

A. General Procedures:

Whenever a thrown disc comes to rest completely inside the court, having landed at a legal angle, and having never touched out of-bounds, a point is scored by the team attacking that court. Whenever a thrown disc touches any out-of-bounds area, a point is scored by the opponents of the team that last touched the disc. A disc which comes to rest inside the court and which is breaking the vertical plane of the inside edge of the boundary line, but not touching it, is considered out-of-bounds. A point is scored by the opposing team whenever, during play:

(1)

a thrown disc is touched and dropped by a player;

(2)

a player touches his own throw or his teammate's throw;

(3)

a player hands the disc to his teammate.

Whenever a player or team touches both discs simultaneously during play, two points are scored by the opposing team.

B. The Break:

Whenever both discs land and the result is a scoring situation against each team, a break occurs. No points are scored and play is restarted, using the other serving combination of the game.

C. Mid-Air Contact:

If the two discs make mid-air contact at any time, a point will be scored by the opponents for each disc that lands and stops in a team's court. If a player or team touches one or two discs after the contact, which they subsequently fail to catch, their opponents receive a point for each dropped disc, in or out of the court. After mid-air contact, no further throws may be made and the landing-angle restriction and double-touch rules do not apply for the remainder of the exchange. A replay is taken when no points are scored, or when the result is a point scored against each team.

204.07. Infractions:

A. General Procedure:

In order to make a call of an infraction (traveling, line fault, or stalling), the call must be made during or immediately after the occurrence. The angle infraction call must be made prior to the disc hitting the ground. If the team on which the call is made accepts the call as valid, play stops immediately with any throws made after the occurrence being of no consequence. The team making the call then may either:

(1)

dismiss the infraction with any points that have been scored in the exchange being awarded without consideration of an infraction; or,

(2)

charge their opponents with an infraction and replay the exchange.

On the third and subsequent instances of a team being charged with any combination of infractions in a game, the team not committing the infraction is also awarded one point if they choose the replay option.

B. Disputed Calls:

If a player disagrees with an infraction call, that player must call, "No" immediately following the infraction call and play continues without interruption until the next impasse or undisputed score occurs. At that time, players must maintain their court positions and any disputed calls shall be discussed and determined in the order in which they occurred. If a call is determined to be valid, the team making the call then chooses from the options listed under section 204.07(A). If no calls are determined to be valid, then either the undisputed points which have been scored are awarded, or play continues after all players are ready. See section 207 for the definition of the "play on" procedure.

C. Offsetting Infractions:

In the event that one or more valid infraction calls are made against each team during the same exchange, the infractions shall be considered to offset one another. The exchange is to be replayed with no infraction being charged to either team.

205. Observers

205.01.

Observers shall have the following responsibilities:

A.

to keep the score and announce it when players switch courts, or when requested

B.

to announce the time for players to switch courts

C.

to keep a tally of all infractions

D.

to call line faults

E.

to immediately rule on disputed double calls as outlined in section 204.04(B)

F.

Time the breaks between games and the time-outs. Announce when these time periods have expired.

G.

to resolve any disputed calls, when requested by a player

If players on both teams disagree with the observer's call, it may be overruled, if all players concur. Furthermore, it is expected that players will voluntarily overrule a call resulting in their favor when they are certain the call was in error.

206. Tournament Procedures

206.01. Late Arrival:

Should a player or team arrive more than 5 minutes late for the scheduled start of a game, that team forfeits that game and all games in the round.

206.02. Scratched Games:

Should a player or team fail to play any game in a round, that team forfeits all their games in the round, including any that may have already been played and won by that team.

206.03. Suggested Competitive Formats:

A. Semi-Finals and Finals:

The semi-finals shall consist of 4 teams. If the 4 teams come from a single pool, the team which won the previous round chooses their semi-final opponent from among the other 3 teams. This choice must be made at least 1 hour prior to the scheduled start of the semifinals. The 2 teams not chosen shall also play a semi-final match. If the 4 teams come from 2 pools, the winners of each pool play the second place teams from the other pool. Semi-final matches are to consist of a best 3 out of 5 games to 15 points, win by 2, with a cap at 21. The winning team from each match advances to the final, which consists of a best 3 out of 5 games to 15 points, win by 2, with no cap.

B. Competitions of 5 to 10 Teams:

(1) Preliminary Round

The teams shall be placed in a seeded round-robin pool and shall complete 1 game to a score of 21 points, win by 2, cap at 25, against each team. The 4 teams with the best records shall advance to the semi-final round.

C. Competitions of 11 to 20 Teams:

(1) Preliminary Round

The teams shall be divided into 2 seeded pools for round-robin play and shall play 1 game to 21 points, win by 2, cap at 25, against each team. The 2 teams with the best records in each pool shall advance to the semi-final round.

D. Competitions of 21 to 50 teams:

(1) Preliminary Round

The teams shall be divided into 5 seeded pools of 4 to 10 teams each, for round-robin play, and shall play 1 game to 15 points, win by 2, cap at 21, against each team. The 2 teams with the best records in each pool shall advance to the second round.

(2) Second Round

The 10 remaining teams shall compete in a round-robin "A" pool playing 1 game to 21 points, win by 2, cap at 25, against each team. The 4 teams with the best records shall advance to the semi-final round. Additionally, the teams that placed 3rd and 4th in the preliminary round shall compete in a similar round-robin "B" pool to establish their rank from 11th to 20th.

E. Competitions of 51 to 100 teams:

(1) Preliminary Round

The teams shall be divided into 10 seeded pools of 5 to 10 teams each for round-robin play, and shall play 1 game to 15 points, win by 2, cap at 21, against each team. The 2 teams with the best records in each pool shall advance to the second round.

(2) Second Round

The winners of the first round pools choose their opponents from among the second place teams of each pool. The order of choice shall be determined by the winners' point margin vs. the second place team in their preliminary pool. No team may play a team that they played in the preliminary round. The teams shall play 2 out of 3 games to 15, win by 2, cap at 21. The winners of each match shall advance to the third round.

(3) Third Round

The 10 remaining teams shall compete in a round robin "A" pool playing 1 game to 21 points, win by 2, cap at 25, against each team. The 4 teams with the best records shall advance to the semi-final round. Additionally, the teams that lost their second round matches shall compete in a similar round-robin "B" pool to establish their rank from 11th to 20th, and the teams finishing 3rd in the preliminary pools shall compete in a similar round robin "C" pool to establish their rank from 21st to 30th.

206.04. Tie-Breaking Procedures:

In round-robin play, ties in which two teams have identical win/loss records, are broken by virtue of the head-to-head match in that round. If three or more teams are tied, the following procedures are used:

A. Advancement of One Team:

(1)

If one of the teams has the best record against the other teams with whom they are tied in that round, advance that team.

(2)

If the tie remains, rank the net point totals of each team from those games played against the other tied teams, and advance the team with the best net point total.

(3)

If two teams are tied for the best net point total, advance the team that won the head-to-head match in that round.

(4)

If more than two teams are tied for the best net point total, advance the team with the best point margin vs. the one team in that round ranked just below the tied teams.

(5)

If the tie remains, the disc flipping method (104.03) shall be used to determine the one team that advances.

B. Advancement of an Additional Team:

(1)

If advancement must be decided between two teams which remain from a previous three team tie, the head-to-head match in that round shall be used.

(2)

If advancement must be decided between three or more teams which remain from a previous four or more team tie, advance the team which has the best record against the other teams with whom they are tied in that round.

(3)

If the tie remains, rank the net point totals of each team from those games played against the remaining tied teams, and advance the team with the best net point total.

(4)

If the tie remains, advance the team with the best point margin vs. the one team in that round that ranked just below the tied teams.

(5)

If the tie still remains, the disc flipping method (104.03) shall be used to determine the one team that advances.

207. Glossary