How to play

The game

Catchball is played by two teams on a court divided by a net. The objective of the game is to pass the ball over the net to ground it on the opponent's court while preventing the same effort by the opposing team.

The ball is put in play with a serve, thrown over the net to the opponents. When receiving a serve or a pass, players must fully catch the ball; hitting the ball is not allowed. The rally continues until the ball is grounded on the court, goes "out," or a team fails to return it properly. 

• A team can touch the ball up to three times on its side of the net before returning it to the opponent's court. 

• Players can hold the ball only for 1 second maximum. 

• Players can take one step when passing the ball, or 2 steps if passing or performing an attack throw jumping (spike).

The usual pattern is: a player receives the ball from the opposing team and passes it to a teammate. This player can do a second pass or an overhead attacking throw. Teams can also attempt to block the opponent's spike as it crosses the net. A block does not count as one of the three ball contacts.

There are six players on the court in a Catchball team, consisting of front-row and back-row players. Replacements are allowed during the match. The six players on the court must rotate one position clockwise every time their team wins back service from the opposition. Only front-row players can spike or block near the net, while back-row players can perform an attack throw but are not allowed to spike from the front zone.

Scoring

Catchball uses a rally point scoring system. Teams score a point on every rally, regardless of which team served. The first two sets are played to 25 points, and the third set (if needed) to 15 points. A team must win by two points.

Official Catchball Rules version 2022