Rules of Centergoal

The Field
1. Centergoal is played on a grass field.
2. The field is marked by an outer circle, an inner circle, and a halfway line. The inner and outer circles are concentric with their center point on the halfway line.
3. The length of the grass on the field must be short enough that it is possible to roll a ball along the ground from inside of the inner circle to outside of the the outer circle.
4. The radius of the inner circle is 9.5 meters (31 feet 2 inches). This radius is measured from the center of the field to the inside of the line that marks the boundary of the inner circle.
5. The radius of the outer circle must be at least 24.5 meters (80 feet 4 inches) and not more than 28.5 meters (93 feet 6 inches). This radius is measured from the center of the field to the outside of the line that marks the boundary of the outer circle.
6. The halfway line and the lines that mark the boundaries of the inner and outer circle each have a thickness of 22 centimeters (8.65 inches). This line thickness is equal to the length of any side of the goal and the diameter of either ball.
7. The markings of the outer circle, the inner circle, and the halfway line should be white in color.

The Balls
1. Two balls are used to play the game.
2. The balls may be propelled using the body in any manner (thrown, kicked, bounced off of the head, etc.)
3. Each ball must have a circumference between 68 and 70 centimeters (26.77 and 27.56 inches).
4. Each ball must have a weight between 410 and 450 grams (14 and 16 ounces).
5. When dropped on a hard surface each ball must rebound to at least 30% of the height that it was dropped from.
These size and weight specifications are equivalent to those of a regulation size 5 soccer ball.
The Goal
1. The goal is a cube with each side of the cube being 22 cm (8.65 inches) long. This length of a side of the goal is equal to the diameter of either ball.
2. The goal must have a mass between 1.7 and 2.1 kilograms (3.7 and 4.6 pounds).
3. The goal must have 12 edges that define the shape of the cube but it can have a hollow interior. It may be possible to pass an object through the inside of the goal. The goal building plans on the "Getting Started" page show how to build one such goal.
Teams
1. Two teams compete in a game of centergoal.
2. Each team consists of three players on the field at one time.
3. Teams may carry an additional three substitutes.
4. Substitutions may only occur during stoppages in play before the next session of play has begun.
Uniforms
1. Each player must wear a team color jersey and team color shorts or pants.
2. Each player's jersey must have a number on the back that is different from all other members of that player's team.
3. Jersey numbers may be one or two digits long from 0 through 99.
Equipment
1. No equipment is required other than player uniforms.
2. If protective equipment is chosen to be worn, it must be made of a soft material with no hard outer shell. This is for the safety of the other players on the field.
3. Cleated shoes are permitted.
Referees
1. Two referees shall enforce the rules of the game.
2. Referees must wear a jersey and shorts or pants each with a color that contrasts with the uniform colors of each team that is playing the game.
3. Referees may monitor play from anywhere outside of the inner circle and inside of the inner circle along the halfway line.
4. Each referee is considered to be part of the field and play will continue if a ball hits either referee just as it would if the ball hit a player.
5. Referees should make an effort to avoid contact with the balls and the players during each session of play.
6. Each referee must have a whistle to blow to indicate a stoppage of play.
Beginning The Game
1. At the beginning of the game the goal is positioned in the center of the field entirely on the halfway line with one face of the goal directly facing each half of the field.
2. Each team begins the game with possession of one of the balls.
3. All players of each team begin the game on their half of the field inside of the outer circle or touching the outer circle boundary.
4. Before the game begins the ball of each team must be touching the ground outside of the outer circle while being touched by a player from that team.
5. A whistle from a referee signals the beginning of play.
6. When the game has begun the players from each team may cross the halfway line onto the other team's half of the field.
Sessions of Play
1. A game of centergoal is divided into sessions of play. The first session of play begins when a referee whistles to signal the beginning of the game.
2. Each session of play ends when either a point is scored (see Scoring) or a penalty is committed (see Penalties).
3. Depending on whether or not the previous session of play ended due to a penalty, each team may begin the session of play with possession of one of the balls or one team may begin the session of play in possession of both of the balls.
4. Before the session begins each ball that a team possesses must be touching the ground outside of the outer circle while being touched by a player from that team.
5. At the beginning of the session the goal is positioned in the center of the field entirely on the halfway line with one face of the goal directly facing each half of the field.
6. All players of each team begin the session on their half of the field inside of the outer circle or touching the outer circle boundary.
7. When the players, goal, and balls are in position a whistle from a referee will signal the beginning of the session of play.
8. Once the session has begun the players from each team may cross the halfway line onto the other team's half of the field.
Scoring
1. In centergoal points can be awarded to each team playing the game and also to the field itself. Any point awarded counts as one of the six points that decide the winner of the game (see Ending The Game).
2. A point is awarded to a team when the goal comes to rest entirely on the opposing team's half of the field inside of the inner circle. If the goal is on one half of the field inside of the inner circle but is still in motion, it is possible that the goal may be struck with a ball and moved back onto the halfway line or onto the other half of the field while play continues.
3. A point is awarded to a team when any part of the goal touches the ground outside of the inner circle on the opposing team's half of the field and no part of the goal is still on the halfway line.
4. For a point to be awarded to a team the goal must be entirely on the half of the field of the opposing team with no part of the goal touching the halfway line. If the goal has been moved but there is still a question of whether or not it is completely off of the halfway line a referee may go inside of the inner circle along the halfway line and inspect the position of the goal while play continues. If that referee decides that some part of the goal is still touching the halfway line then play will continue. Otherwise that referee will blow his whistle and a point will be awarded.
5. A referee is allowed to declare that the goal was at rest and completely on one side of the field at an earlier time since the beginning of the current session of play and therefore award a point to the team on the other half of the field even if the goal has been moved in the opposite direction before he was able to signal the stoppage of play with a whistle.
6. A point will be awarded to a team if the goal is completely on one half of the field but has not yet come to rest if the other team whose half of the field that the goal is on commits a penalty before the goal has come to rest.
7. A point will be awarded to a team if the previous session of play ended due to a penalty on the other team and then that same team commits another penalty in the next session of play before either of the two balls has crossed the halfway line.
8. A referee will signal that a point has been awarded to a team by blowing his whistle and pointing both arms toward that team's side of the field.
9. A point is awarded to the field if both balls come to rest out of bounds (see Out Of Bounds).
10. A point is awarded to the field when any part of the goal touches the ground outside of the inner circle and some part of the goal is still touching the halfway line.
11. A point is awarded to the field if a penalty is committed while both balls are out of bounds but have not yet both come to rest in the following situations:
  1. Both balls are outside of the outer circle
  2. One ball is outside of the outer circle and the other is inside the inner circle and comes to a stop inside of the inner circle when allowed to continue moving untouched.
  3. Both balls are inside of the the inner circle and both come to a stop inside of the inner circle when allowed to continue moving untouched.
12. A point is awarded to the field if each team commits a penalty before a new session of play has begun. An example of this would be if a player from one team fouls a player from the other team and then that player retaliates with an action that would also be considered a foul.
13. A referee will signal that a point has been awarded to the field by blowing his whistle and pointing both arms downward.
14. At any point during the game the score should be announced by first saying the number of points that the home team has scored, then the number of points that the field has scored, and finally the number of points that the visiting team has scored. For example, "Zero, one, three".
Out Of Bounds
1. A ball is out of bounds in centergoal if it is touching the ground inside of the inner circle boundary or touching the ground outside of the outer circle boundary.
2. If either ball goes inside of the inner circle boundary during a session of play it may be retrieved (brought back in bounds) provided that the ball can be reached by a player who is not touching the ground inside of the inner circle. It is legal for a player to touch a ball while it is touching the ground inside of the inner circle as long as the player does not touch the ground inside of the inner circle. A ball may also be brought back in bounds by hitting it with the other ball from outside of the inner circle.
3. If either ball goes outside of the outer circle during a session of play it may be retrieved (brought back in bounds) provided that the ball can be reached by a player who is not touching the ground outside of the outer circle. It is legal for a player to touch a ball while it is touching the ground outside of the outer circle as long as the player is not touching the ground outside of the outer circle.
4. A ball is considered to be out of bounds for the remainder of the session of play if it hits any foreign object (player bench, substitute player, water bottle, etc.) outside of the outer circle. In this situation a referee should remove the ball from play by placing it far enough outside of the outer circle that it cannot be reached by any player inside of the outer circle.
Penalties
1. All penalties result in a referee's whistle and a stoppage of play.
2. The referee who called the penalty should announce the jersey number and the team of the player who committed the penalty as well as a description of the penalty.
3. In the next session of play after a penalty has been committed the team that committed the penalty forfeits the ball they would normally begin play with and the other team begins play with each ball on their half of the field.
4. A penalty may be negated if the penalty is called but then a point is awarded to the other team or to the field due to one of the situations listed in the Scoring section where a penalty is called but the session of play ends with a point being scored. One such situation is if the goal is on the half of the field of the team that commits a penalty but the goal has not yet come to rest. In that case a point will be awarded to the other team and the penalty will be negated. Following such situations each team will begin the next session of play with one ball.
5. Some actions will result in a penalty if done to an opposing player whether or not that player is in possession of a ball:
  1. Punching, striking, or chopping an opposing player with the hand is a penalty.
  2. Elbowing an opposing player is a penalty.
  3. Kneeing an opposing player is a penalty.
  4. Kicking or stomping on an opposing player is a penalty.
  5. Head butting an opposing player is a penalty.
6. Other actions are permitted to be done to an opposing player who is in possession of one or both balls in an attempt to stop that player's progress or dislodge the ball from that player's possession:
  1. Body checking a player who is in possession of a ball with the shoulder or hip is permitted.
  2. Tackling a player who is in possession of a ball is permitted provided that the player is released from the tackle when he is no longer in possession of the ball.
  3. Slide tackling a player who is in possession of a ball is permitted provided that the feet of the sliding player remain on the ground and the sliding player does not contact the opposing player with the cleats of his shoes.
  4. Grabbing or holding a player who is in possession of a ball is permitted provided that the player is let go when he is no longer in possession of the ball.
  5. Actions in this list are also permitted to be done to an opposing player who has immediately released one or both of the balls and is no longer directly in contact with them if the referee rules that the defending player started the action while the opposing player still had possession of at least one ball and the defending player did not have sufficient time to avoid contact with the opposing player after the ball was released.
  6. Actions in this list will result in a penalty if done to an opposing player who is not in possession of a ball or has not immediately released a ball.
7. A penalty will be called if a player touches the ground inside of the inner circle with any part of the body unless that player was pushed inside of the inner circle in an illegal manner.
8. A penalty will be called if a player touches the ground outside of the outer circle with any part of the body unless that player was pushed outside of the outer circle in an illegal manner.
9. A penalty for illegal substitution will be called if a player enters the field who was not on the field at the beginning of the current session of play.
10. Mistreatment of either referee by a player due to either physical or verbal abuse will result in a penalty.
Ending The Game
1. A game of centergoal is over when a total of six points have been scored.
2. The game is won by a team if that team has more points than the other team and more points than the field at the end of the game.
3. The game is won by the field if the field has more points than either team at the end of the game.
4. The game can end in a two way tie between the two teams or between one team and the field if they each score three points.
5. The game can end in a three way tie between the two teams and the field if each team scores two points and two points are awarded to the field.

Official Rules of Centergoal