Official Tossball Rule Book

Edition #2.1

by Deaven LeBaron and Brian LeBaron, game inventors

Copyright © 2002

Table of Contents

• Object
• Tossing
• Tipping
• Possession
• Penalties and Infractions
• Game Length and Equipment

Object

The object of tossball is to score more points than the opposing team by tossing, (any pass, or toss, which goes above the tosser's head by two metres) followed by tipping (hitting the ball back into the air), and catching the ball.

Tossing

• All singular tosses from a player to himself, where that player both tosses and tips the ball must rise at least two metres (about 6½ feet) before they can be counted.
• Any pass from one player to another player is considered a toss regardless of its height. These are called team tosses.
• After five singular tosses, possession must be given to the other team. An infinite number of team tosses may be performed without loss of possession.

Tipping

• All tips must clearly leave the hands of the player.
• Tips from singular tosses may only be tipped with one hand.
• Any tip which the referee considers to spend to much time on the hand, making it a catch and throw instead of a tip, may not result in scoring.
• An extra point may be added for each legal tip after the first in every toss.
• If the ball is not caught after a tip, no scoring will occur for that toss.
• Upon catching the ball after a toss, the catching team recieves all the points from any tips which occured during that toss, regardless of which team or combination of players tipped the ball. All tips in a toss are cumulative.
• No one player can tip the ball twice consecutively in one toss.

Possession

• Tossball games have traditionally begun with a centre toss in which a player from each team goes to the centre of the field and interlocks fingers. On the referee's signal (or other agreed upon method) both players lift the ball into the air and the possession goes to whichever team obtains the ball at that time. If one player moves too soon, the centre toss must be performed again until it is done correctly.
• If possession is undecided there will be another centre toss to determine the possession of the ball.
• If the ball leaves the playing area, the team that touched the ball last regains possession.
• If the defensive team is able to take the ball away from the offensive team, it is their possession.
• Any tipped ball intercepted from the offensive team results in points for the defensive team. This team is now the offensive team.
• If the offensive team is found by the referee to be guilty of a penalty, they lose possession.
• Five seconds are given to pass the ball in from out of bounds from the time the ball is in an offensive player's hands. If the ball is not passed in during this time possession is given to the other team. The clock runs through this time.
• If a team is the last to touch the ball before it goes out of bounds then that team shall be given possession.
• If a team has more than five players on the the field and is playing offense, that team loses possession.
• If the defensive team has more than five players on the field, the offensive team gains one point.
• There may be only five other players on a team to substitute for the players which are in action at the beginning.
• Substitutions may only occur at time-outs or during the intermission between halves.

Penalties and Infractions

• Any player who attempts to physically or emotionally harm any other player shall be given a penalty.
• Any player which has received three penalties shall be ejected from the game immediately.
• If anyone from one team restrains anyone on the other team from normal motion, that person shall be given a penalty.
• Use of any word considered inappropriate shall result in a penalty toward the player who said it.
• If the referee feels he is being harassed by any of the players, this may result in a penalty.
• Any player who causes another player to fall by tripping shall receive a penalty.
• If players trip or harm each other obviously on accident, they shall not be given a penalty. If it is not obviously accidental, the players should be given penalties.
• There are many other things that constitute a penalty that are too numerous to be written. Use common sense to determine what should receive a penalty and what should not. Try to keep tossball a fair and enjoyable game free of contention over rules.

Game Length and Equipment

• The playfield should be a circle fifty metres in diameter (space permitting), on a grass field. A football field should work nicely (whatever your definition of football).
• A regulation length game is made of two thirty minute halves. Between these halves should be five minutes of intermission.
• Three timeouts are given to each team for every half. Each timeout is one minute long. Timeouts not used in the first half may be used in the second.
• The clock only stops running for timeouts and intermission.
• The ball used for play should be a soft foam ball about the size and shape of a rugby ball or an approximate equivalent. The irregular oblong shape gives a wonderfully unpredictable bounce. Any other soft ball may be used if such a ball cannot be found. The ball first used to play tossball was an actual sized foam (American) football. Tossball has usually not been played with a hard ball, such as a leather football.