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Tennis Rules

A participant may play only on 1 team. All Games will be played at the Hilliard Gates Sports Center. United States Volleyball Association rules will govern play, subject to restrictions and exceptions laid down in the following rules:

General Eligibility

  • Participation is limited to currently-enrolled, fee-paying IPFW students, faculty members, and staff. Members of the community are not eligible.
  • In order to participate in an Intramural contest, each player must present their validated Mastodon Card (IPFW Student ID). Exceptions must be directed to the Intramural Sports Office for consideration by the IM staff during regular business hours of 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Bring a photo ID and proof of payment to obtain a waiver from the IM staff. No such waiver will be granted on the courts.
  • Teams are comprised of a minimum of 5 players. 2 doubles teams and 1 singles team. Two of the three must compete to avoid a forfeit. A singles player may not play both singles and doubles in the same match.

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Team Scoring

  • Teams are comprised of a minimum of 5 players. Two players are required to avoid a forfeit. Teams must have two (2) players for each doubles match. Teams are not permitted to allow one player to represent the team in a doubles match (1 vs. 2).
  • A team match will consists of one (1) singles match and one (2) doubles match. To earn a team victory, the team must win at least two (2) of the three (3) matches.
  • All singles and doubles matches will occur simultaneously, therefore the team's singles player may not play doubles during the same team match.

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Individual Scoring

  • Game Time — A game shall consist of three 12–minute games.
  • Game — A game is won if a team scores 15 points and is at least two points ahead or if a team has a two point lead at the end of 12 minutes playing time. If the ball is in play when the horn sounds ending the 12–minute period, continue play until a point or side out is determined. If the game goes into overtime, fast rules will apply and scoring will be rally point. The overtime ends when one team gains a two point advantage. During league play, play all 3 games per opponent. All games count in the standings.
  • Scoring — A point will be scored for the serving team when their opponents fail to legally return the ball. However, if the game is forced into overtime, a point will be scored on each serve (rally point).
  • Net — Women’s net height shall be 7' 4–1/4’. The net height shall be 8' for Men’s divisions.
  • Substitutes — A team may substitute only during a dead ball. The new player must take the original player's place in the rotation.
  • Time Outs — There will be no time outs other than for injuries. Momentary time outs will be allowed for substitutions.
  • Floor Supervisor — The intramural staff hires a floor supervisor to be at the courts. The floor supervisor times all volleyball games. The horn will sound to start and end each playing period. The volleyballs and score sheets will be provided at the courts by the floor supervisor. The captain is responsible for returning the score sheets to the floor supervisor at the end of each game.

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In Play Rules

  • Service — The team winning the toss of the coin shall name their choice of serve or court.
  • Player Position — Six players will compose a full playing team. All players must be in their correct position when the serve is made. Once the serve has been contacted, the players may change their line position. In other words, a front court player can switch with any other front or back court player and the same is applicable for the back court player. However, if a back court player exchanges with a front court player, he/she may not spike or block from his/her position in the front line.
  • Serving Area — The serving area is the area from the outside edge of the right boundary line ten feet in on the back boundary line and six feet in depth.
  • Legal Serve — The server:
    • Must throw or release the ball from the hand or hands before it is hit.
    • Must serve from within the service area.
    • May not hit the ball directly off the holding hand.
    • May not hit the ball with both hands.
    • May not step on the back line or inside the court until the ball is hit.
  • Re–serve— There is never a re–serve permitted even when the ball fails to clear the net or when the ball touches the net while crossing into the opposition's court.
  • Legal Hit — A ball must be cleanly hit. It cannot come to rest momentarily in the hands or arms of a player. Scooping, lifting, pushing, and carrying the ball is illegal. A ball clearly hit with two hands from below is considered a good play. Helpful hints:
    • Receive the serve with the two hand “bump”.
    • Do not attempt to change directions of the ball with a two hand set.
    • Do not push the ball over the net or opponents in a “dink”.
    • Do not follow–through with the hands or arms in contact with the ball.
  • Hitting Ceiling— A ball striking the ceiling or apparatus over the court may remain in play providing it is played again by the offending team before it contacts an opponent, the opponents' playing area, or the out–of–bounds area.
  • Boundary Line — A ball landing on a boundary line is considered good.
  • Playing the ball — The ball may be hit by any part of the body above and including the waist except if the ball contacts one or more players participating in a block. These players may participate in the next contact.
  • Simultaneous contact with ball — The ball can contact any number of parts of the body down to the waist providing the contacts are simultaneous and that the ball is not held but hit and rebounds clearly.
  • Double contact — A player contacting the ball more than once with whatever part of the body, without another player having touched it between these contacts will be considered as having committed a double hit, uless the first contact was a block. If it was a block, then the same player may make the next contact.
  • Three contacts by team — The ball may be contacted a total of three times by a team in order to return the ball to opponents area. A team that has effected an actual block shall have the right to three more contacts in order to return the ball to opponents area.
  • Net play — A ball other than the serve may be recovered from the net provided the player avoids touching the net.
  • Reaching Over Net — In returning the ball, a player may follow through over the net, providing he/she first contacts the ball on his/her own side of the net. Players in the act of blocking may reach across the net but may not contact the ball there until their opponent has hit the ball to return it.
  • Crossing Center Line — During play, any part of a player's body may touch the center line, and in addition, his/her foot or feet may contact the playing area on the opposite side of the center line providing that some part of each encroaching foot remains on or above the center line at time of such contact. Any part of a player's body may be in the air below the net and beyond the center if he/she does not interfere with the opponent's play by touching the ball or an opponent. A player may reach under the net to retrieve a ball that is in play by his/her team.

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Co–Rec Rules

  • Players — A team will consist of three males and three females. The game may be started and continued with a minimum of two males and two females and one scorekeeper from each team.
  • Spiking — Males may not spike or drive a ball directly to the floor. Each return by a male must have a slight arch. Females may spike.
  • Contacts by Team — The ball may be contacted a total of three times by a team in order to return the ball to opponent's area. A team that contacts the ball more than once must have a female contact the ball at least once during the volley.

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IPFW is an Equal Opportunity/Equal Access University.