PLAYER

VDL this season is being held at Albert Park Indoor Sports Centre, Pit Building, Aughtie Drive, Albert Park, VIC, 3206.

Below are all the dates for the 2025 VDL season:

• Round 1 - 3 May

• Round 2 - 10 May

• Round 3 - 24 May

• Round 4 - 7 June

• Round 5 - 21 June

• Round 6 - 5 July

• Round 7 - 19 July

• Round 8 - 2 August

• Round 9 - 16 August

• Round 10 - 30 August

• Round 11 - 6 September

• Round 12 - 20 September

• Round 13 - 4 October

• Finals 1 - 18 October

• Finals 2 - 1 November

• Finals 3 - 8 November

Full season dates and format information is available on our fixture page

We intend to continue to split rounds into Mixed Foam and Gendered Foam rounds (where possible) for player wellbeing reasons so that players who play in multiple divisions or play across ball types are not scheduled to play an excessive number of games per round.

We running the following divisions for the 2025 VDL competition:

• VDL Cloth (Mixed) - This is the highest state-level mixed cloth dodgeball competition. Will be run largely in the second half of the season.

• VDL Cloth (Women’s) - This is the highest state-level women’s cloth dodgeball competition. Will be run largely in the first half of the season.

• VDL Cloth (Men’s) - This is the highest state-level men’s cloth dodgeball competition. Will be run largely in the first half of the season.

• VDL 1 (Mixed) - This is the highest state-level mixed foam dodgeball competition.

• VDL 2 (Mixed) - This is the intermediate mixed foam dodgeball competition.

• VDL 3 (Mixed) - This is the novice mixed foam dodgeball competition.

• VDL Men’s 1 - This is the highest state-level men’s foam dodgeball competition.

• VDL Men’s 2 - This is the intermediate/novice men's foam dodgeball competition.

• VDL Women's 1 - This is the highest state-level women's foam dodgeball competition.

• VDL Women’s 2 - This is the intermediate/novice women's foam dodgeball competition.

The following player ratios apply to the mixed divisions:

• VDL 1 and VDL Cloth (Mixed) - no more than three (3) players of a single gender on court at any one time

• VDL 2 and VDL 3 - no more than four (4) players of a single gender on court at any one time

Australian Representative (AR): This term refers to a player who has been officially selected for the Australian National Dodgeball squad or has represented Australia at the World Dodgeball Federation Championships (WDBF) at the past two World Championships. It does not include regional competitions. Furthermore, "No AR" specifies that no Australian Representatives of the respective ball format are permitted to participate in a particular division.

Australian Representative Cap (ARC): To promote the sport's growth and maintain competitive balance, VDL has imposed an Australian Representative Cap. This cap limits the number of Australian Representatives who can participate in specific divisions. For instance, "ARC1" signifies a limit of one Australian Representative on court at any given time. The ARC applies to the representatives for the respective ball formats and applies across both mixed and gendered divisions of that ball type.

VDL will consider the eligibility of national representatives from other countries on a case-by-case basis. Any teams with national representatives from other countries as players or substitutes must contact VDL as soon as practicable to obtain approval for that player to play at VDL.

Division Caps: To continue to support the growth of, and build competitive depth in, our most competitive foam dodgeball divisions, VDL is retaining division team caps for VDL 1 and VDL 2, VDL Women’s 1 and VDL Men’s 1 this season.

Club managers and team captains will have the opportunity to register their interest in divisions that have division team caps. However, VDL will retain full discretion in the allocation and assignment of teams in divisions to ensure that each division maintains a balanced level of fairness and competitiveness. For the avoidance of doubt, VDL retains the right to promote and relegate teams as it sees fit (including by considering a team’s performance and results in previous seasons, and the skill, experience and achievement of its players) and may require teams to play grading matches prior to the commencement of the season.

The following ARCs and division team caps apply:

Teams in all divisions have a registered player cap of 12 players per team.

The 2025 Player Registration fee is $80 per player. This is a once-off payment for the 2025 season and will cover all divisions that the player plays in. Player registration closes on 25 March 2025. All players registering after this date will be required to pay a late player registration fee of $100 per player.

Each team will also be required to pay a $220 season bond prior to the commencement of the season. The season bond will be used to cover any forfeit match fees, unpaid match fees, set-up/pack-down penalties in the first instance. Teams who have their season bond applied to such payments during the season will be required to top up their season bond to $220 again before they may participate in any further rounds. Unused season bonds will be automatically applied to pay the match fees for the team’s last games in the season and any leftover amounts will be refunded to the team after the season has ended.

The match fee is $110 per team, per game. The increase in the match fee is intended to cover costs associated with developments in our league, including the introduction of a new statistics platform.

Payments must be made within one (1) week of each round. The match fee covers court hire, equipment, paid referees, recorded matches, statistics and other administrative costs.

For clubs with multiple teams, please organise one lump sum payment per division ($110 x Number of games played by teams in your club in the division) for each round.

VDL bank account details

BSB: 083054

ACC: 242946587

Please use the following description format for your payment “Team name, Division, Round #” Example: BearsVDL1Round1

Uniform penalties will apply from Round 2 - 10 May 2025.

Uniforms are mandatory for each team. Below are the uniform requirements for this season:

• Surname Visibility: Each player's surname must be prominently displayed on the back of the jersey. Please avoid the use of first names or nicknames to maintain a formal and uniform appearance. Players/teams are responsible for ensuring that their surname on their jersey is generally visible in the match recording and matches their registered surname for statistics recording purposes.

• Player Numbers: The player's number on the back should be large, legible, and in a contrasting colour and font to ensure they are easily distinguishable from a distance. Symbols are not permitted. Players/teams are responsible for ensuring that their player number on their jersey is generally visible in the match recording and matches their registered player number for statistics recording purposes.

• VDL Logo Placement: The official VDL logo is to be affixed to one of the jersey sleeves, ensuring league representation is visible.

• Appropriate Design: Team jerseys should not include any potentially offensive or inappropriate content, such as swear words or crude imagery.

• Unique Numbers: Within each team, player numbers must be unique to prevent any confusion. For instance, having players numbered 7 and 07 on the same team is not permitted.

• Team Shorts: While team shorts are encouraged for a cohesive look, they are not mandatory.

• Affiliate Logos: Player Jerseys may only display logos from ADF and WDBF affiliated leagues. This ensures all sponsorships are in alignment with the VDL’s sponsors and governing bodies.

Different colourways of the same jersey will not be considered as matching for uniform purposes.

Teams will be penalised one (1) point (by having this point awarded to their opponents) for each player who does not wear a matching jersey in each game. This penalty is applied at the commencement of the match and is not rescinded in the event that any uniforms are delivered after the start of play. The penalty for uniform infringements is capped at 4 points per team per match.

No uniform penalty will be applied if a player is wearing a matching jersey but the jersey does not have the correct surname and/or player number, or if the only difference between the jerseys are sponsorship/affiliate logos (as long as the jerseys otherwise appear matching/uniform).

VDL endeavours to record and upload all games within a reasonable amount of time where possible. All recorded games will be uploaded to our Youtube channel.

Due to situations out of our control, some games might not be recorded and there may be delays in uploading recorded games. In these situations, please contact us and we can organise a discount for that round.

We intend to move to a new statistics platform this year - stay tuned for more details.

It is the responsibility of players and teams to ensure that their player details on their jerseys are generally visible in the match recordings to enable their statistics to be recorded. No discounts or refunds will be provided where statistics are not recorded due to players not being identifiable on the match recording due to wearing an incorrect jersey, having an incorrect player name and/or player number on their jersey, or because those details are not visible in match recording. Statistics will also not be retrospectively manually entered or updated in these circumstances.

Rules

We have aligned our rules to comply, as far as practicable, with the current WDBF rules. The rules for VDL are available here: https://www.dodgeballaustralia.org.au/vic

Referees

Referees are encouraged to complete training modules offered by the Australian Dodgeball Federation. In 2025, VDL will introduce a new referee grading system to support development and enhance our officiating standards. Referees will be classified into three levels, with corresponding match payments:

• Not Trained: $20 per game

• Level 1: $25 per game

• Level 2: $27.50 per game

Referee training dates will be announced soon. Please note that this training is separate from the modules provided by the Australian Dodgeball Federation (ADF).

If you would like to express your interest in becoming a paid referee for VDL this year, please click here to join the VDL Referees Facebook Group.

Each round referees will have the ability to advise of their availability. VDL will also be looking to run training sessions for referees to ensure we maintain the highest standard of refereeing throughout the season, leading into finals.

The VDL upholds the principles of honesty and integrity in the sport and has introduced a system called the "Blue card". This system aims to safeguard the reputation of the sport and protect the referees and players.

To learn more about our misconduct policy or to report any potential misconduct go to our 2025 Player Misconduct and Disciplinary Policy.

All teams are expected to assist with set-up and pack-down as rostered on the fixtures from time-to-time during the season.

This season, due to changes in our new scheduling arrangements, some divisions may be on set-up or pack-down more often than others (no more than 3 times in a season). For example, the cloth divisions may have more allocated set-up rounds due to cloth being scheduled for the start of each VDL day (to minimise disruption and delays from adjusting the taping of the courts) and less teams being registered in the cloth divisions (such that less rotation of set-up duties can occur). However, all teams within the same division will be rostered for set-up or pack-down on a similar number of occasions (+/- 1 rostered set-up or pack-down).

Please note that set-up and pack-down duties have not been evenly distributed across the season, so your team may have been rostered for set-up or pack-down duties for rounds that are in close proximity to each other, but no team has been allocated to complete both set-up and pack-down in the same round.

Teams must field at least four people to assist with set-up and pack-down when rostered for the duration of:

• the time listed in the fixtures to the commencement of the first game of the day for set-up; and

• from the time of the last scheduled game of the day until pack-down is complete to the satisfaction of the VDL Team.

Teams that do not assist with set-up or pack-down when rostered to do so, or do not provide enough people to assist with set-up or pack-down, will incur a penalty of $110 per instance, to be applied at VDL’s discretion. The relevant team will not be permitted to participate in VDL until the penalty has been paid to VDL.

If there are any difficulties with assisting with set-up or pack-down, teams are encouraged to contact the VDL Team as soon as possible in advance of their rostered set-up or pack-down round.

To ensure the safety and well-being of all players, VDL encourages players to report any incidents that occur during VDL games, including instances of physical, verbal, or sexual assault. If you witness or experience any incidents during gameplay, please email us at info@dodgeballvictoria.com with the details.

By reporting incidents, you can help ensure that the situation is documented and can be used to assist in any investigations. VDL will thoroughly investigate all significant incidents reported to us prior to confirming any final outcomes.

Our goal is to provide a safe and inclusive environment for all players, and we take all reports seriously. We handle all reports with the utmost confidentiality and sensitivity. Additionally, please note that VDL has a zero-tolerance policy for any form of harassment or violence, and any reported incidents will be thoroughly investigated and dealt with accordingly.

Please be reminded that any serious incidents should also be reported to the police and/or the relevant authorities. If you have any questions or concerns regarding our policies or the incident reporting process, please don't hesitate to contact VDL.

Unregistered players

An unregistered player can play a maximum of THREE games before having to register. If a player continues to play beyond three games while being unregistered, VDL reserves the right to include the player’s registration fee in the respective team’s match fees for that round (or a subsequent round).

No statistics will be allocated to a player for the period they are unregistered and will not be retrospectively allocated if the player later registers.

Unregistered players do not count towards a team’s “minimum number of registered players” required to not incur a forfeit.

Unregistered players cannot participate in any finals games.

Subbing (Applies to registered and unregistered players) A player may substitute for a team that is unable to field a full team of six (6) registered players for gendered divisions or the minimum number of players of each gender to meet the applicable gender ratio for mixed divisions for a round-robin game provided they meet all of the following conditions:

• They are not playing for more than one team in each category (mixed foam, gendered foam, gendered cloth or mixed cloth) in a single round.

• They are not a registered player of another team within the same division.

• They are not filling in for a team below their registered team's division.

Breaching the substitute rules may result in a forfeit.

VDL reserves the right to review player substitutions and decline substitutes on the basis that it would unfairly disrupt the competitive balance of the VDL competition.

Any teams intending on having national representatives from other countries or players from other State leagues as substitutes must contact VDL as soon as practicable to obtain approval for that player to play at VDL. As a courtesy, teams should also contact the opposing team captain to obtain their consent to the substitution.

Example 1, a player registered on a VDL2 team may substitute for a VDL1 team or higher, but they may not substitute for another VDL2 or VDL3 team. This is to prevent any players from substituting for multiple teams within the same division and potentially causing imbalances in the competition. For clarity, the player will not be able to play on their VDL2 team in the round that they are a substitute player for a VDL1 team.

Example 2, a player registered on a VDL M2 team may substitute for a VDL M1 team, but they may not substitute for another M2 team. For clarity, the player will not be able to play on their VDLM2 team in the round that they are a substitute player for a VDLM1 team.

To declare a substitute use this form

All Teams that require a substitute for an upcoming match or round must register the substitute player. Failing to register substitutes before your matches may result in a forfeit. Substitutions must be submitted at least 2 days before the match to ensure timely processing

All players will have access to the substitute registry for transparency.

To declare a substitute use this form

In the event that a team is unable to field a team for a scheduled match, the team will be considered to have forfeited the match and will be charged the full match fee for both teams.

The season bond will be used to cover any forfeited matches. Teams who have their season bond applied to a forfeit during the season will be required to top up their season bond to $220 again before they may participate in any further rounds.

Multiple forfeited matches, or unpaid forfeit match fees, may result in penalties for the team or its players, including the loss of eligibility to participate in future rounds/seasons (including in other divisions).

This policy is in place to ensure that all teams are held accountable for their commitment to the season, and to prevent disruption to the schedule and other participating teams.

Please note that forfeit matches will not be rescheduled, and the opposing team will receive an automatic 10- 0 win. We highly encourage all teams to show up and compete to the best of their abilities, as that is what makes VDL enjoyable for all participants.

Players must have played in at least 50% of round robin games for their team during the season in order to qualify to play in any finals games for their team.

Clubs across multiple divisions will earn points for their final standings (determined in finals). The club with the overall highest points tally will be crowned the VDL Club Champions. In cases where a club has multiple teams in the same division, points will only be allocated for the highest standing team.

Should you have any feedback, suggestions or grievances, please do not hesitate to contact us at info@dodgeballvictoria.com

For more information, including the VDL rules, please visit our website: https://www.dodgeballaustralia.org.au/vic .

We will be updating our website regularly with fixtures, current rankings and player statistics during the season.

Keep up to date on everything VDL by following us on Facebook and Instagram!

• 2025 VDL Team (Cherie Fung, Niko Seneviratne, Tyler Bowman)