rules to play foosball

A pinned ball on the 5 man cannot be directly advanced to the 3 man rod of the same team. It must touch at least two player figures as it is put into the motion of a pass (Except an accidental stub or squib pass SEE 21.1c). A pinned ball is on that is pinned to the wall or playfield. A ball whose motion has clearly stopped may be legally passed if this pass if immediate. Any hesitation befor the pass and the pass shall be declared illegal. Once a ball has clearly stopped and is not immediately passed it must then touch at least two player figures before it can be legally passed.f Changing the lateral speed or direction of the ball from the front or back of the man prior to passing the ball is considered to be an adjustment and is illegal. Changing the speed or direction of the ball from the side of the man is legal. An accidental stub or squib pass is legal. However, if a ball is stubbed or squibbed by a player figure, released, and then passed by that player figure before striking another player figure on that same rod, it is illegal. A pinned or stopped ball may be shot on goal, to be considered a shot, the ball must either go into the goal, be blocked by the opposing goalies men, or hit the back wall. If the atte[Bmpted shot is blocked by the opposing five man rod and then caught by the shooters three man, It shall be declared an illegal pass. If a pinned or stopped ball from the five man is shot on goal, and the ball hits the shooters three man row, then the shot would be legal, provided the ball was not caught by the three man. A caught ball is defined as a ball that is in the possession of a rod long enough for a controlled pass or shot to be attempted (examples: pick up and quick shots). Before attempting a pass from the five man rod, the player cannot make the ball strike the side wall of the table more than twice. It makes no difference which wall the ball touches a total of two times is all that is allowed. If the ball goes to the wall a third time, it must be advanced in the motion of a pass or shot. Defensive trap if an opponents pass or shot is stopped by trapping it against the side wall, that does not count as one of the two times allowed to touch the wall by the player who made the trap and is now in possession of the ball on his five man rod. Once the ball has touched the wall, it will not be counted as hitting the wall again until the ball has rolled off the side strip (if present on the table). Passing from the two man and goalie rods rule 21.1 also applies to a pass from the two man or goalie rod to the same teams five man rod. However, once a ball is forwarded from either the two man or the goalie rods, if it should strike an opposing teams player figures, that ball is no longer considered a pass but a live ball that may be legally caught by any player. Rule 21.2a also applies here for a stopped shot from the two man touched by the five man. It is legal to have just one hand on the rods when playing defensive (example: right hand on defensive five man). It is also legal to use two hands to move a rod (example: defensive five man). Penalty for an illegal pass if a team violates the above rule of passing, the opposing team has the option of continuing play from the current position or re serving the ball.

Enforcement of the time of possession rule shall be made only by an authorized tournament official. Possession of the ball at any one rod shall be limited to 15 seconds, except the five man rod which has a ten second limit, by the end of which time period the player in possession must advance the ball to or past at least one rod of the opposing team. A spinning ball that is within reach of a player figure shall be considered to be in that rods possession and all time limits shall continue. Players must make an honest effort to gain possession of a spinning ball that is within reach, however, if the spinning ball is not within reach, the time limits are not in effect. Rules Clarification August 1996 In the case of this happening in the goalie area, time will be suspended while the ball is not in reach. The official will add the amount of the suspended time at the end of the 15 seconds allowed. Penalty penalty for three man delay is loss of possession to the opposing goalie. The goalie shall put the ball back into play as if it had been declared a dead ball. Penalty for delay at any other rod is loss of possession to the opposing forward for serve.

Best of five matches shall be limited to one hour of play from the time the match is started. Best of three matches shall be limited to 35 minutes from the time the match is started. If the specified time limit expires before the match has been completed, an official will announce to the players that a ten minute overtime period will begin at that time. If the overtime period ends before the match has been completed, the winner of the match shall be the player or team which has won the most games, or if the teams have an equal number of games, it shall be the team that has scored the most points in the game in progress, after the ball in play at this time that the overtime period expires has been scored. If the teams have won an equal number of games and scored an equal number of points after this ball has been scored, one more ball shall be played to determine the winner of the match. Time outs called within the regular time limit of a match shall be counted against the total amount of time left to play. However, time outs do not count against the ten minutes in the overtime period (a time out would then stop the clock). Official time outs do not count against the total amount of time left to play. Enforcement of this rule is the responsibility or the Tour nt Director.

Play shall be continuous, except during time outs. A delay of game penalty may only be called by an official. Rules Clarification August 1996 Continuous play defined: Between balls, a player shall be allowed to wipe their brow, dry their hands, adjust their grip, change their stance, or any other activity they deem necessary to prepare themselves for the play of the next ball, providing the combination of ALL such activities takes less than 5 seconds. After a delay of game infraction play shall resume in at most 10 seconds. At the end of 10 seconds another delay of game call should be made. Taking too much time to serve the ball or to put the ball back into play may be grounds for delay of game. The first infraction of this rule is a warning. Subsequent infractions will result in the player being charged with a time out. Example: Player charged with delay of game. If still not ready to resume play after 10 seconds time out charged. If after the time out still not ready, another 10 seconds second time out charged.

Once a match has been called, both teams should report immediately to the designated table. If a team has not reported to the table within three minutes, they should be recalled. A team, upon being recalled, must report immediately to the table in order to stop the forfeiture process. A recall is made every three minutes. Penalty for second and subsequent recalls is forfeiture of a game. If a team has forfeited any games due to recalls, they get the choice of side or serve once play begins. Enforcement of this rule is the responsibility of the Tournament Director.

If, in the judgment of an authorized tournament official, either team competing in a match is at any time in flagrant or intentional violation of these rules of play, a technical foul may be called on the offending team. When a technical foul is called, play shall stop and the ball awarded to the opponents of the offending team at its three man rod. One shot will be taken after which play shall stop. If it scores or not, the ball shall be put back into play at the spot it was when the technical was called. If the ball was in motion, it will be put back into play as if it had been declared dead at that spot. A player is considered to have taken a technical foul shot once ball has left the three man rod. A player is considered to have been blocked the shot once the ball has either stopped in or left the defenders area. Only the shooter and defender should be at the table during the technical foul shot. On a technical foul shot, the ball must be put into play before shooting . Furthermore, all rules, including time limits and resets, still apply. A team may switch positions before and/or after the technical foul shot without being charged with a time out. Time outs may be called during a technical shot, as long as they would otherwise be legal. A point scored on an illegal technical shot shall not be allowed, and play shall resume at the spot the technical was called. If a technical foul shot ends the game, the opposing team gets the first serve of the next game. Further violations of a flagrant or intentional nature shall carry additional technical fouls. A third technical foul in any one game shall result in an automatic forfeiture of the game. Also, the official may announce at any time after the first technical foul is called on a team that further violation by that team shall be cause for forfeiture of the game or match.

If a controversy involves a question of judgement, and the official is present at the time the events in question transpired, his decision is final and no appeal may be made. If the controversy involved an interpretation of the rules, or the official was not present at the time the events in question transpired, the official shall make the most equitable decision possible under the circumstances. Decisions of this nature may be appealed, but it must be done immediately in the manner prescribed below.In order to appeal a rule interpretation, a player must file that appeal with the official before the ball being played at the time of the controversy is put back into play. An appeal concerning the loss of a match must be filed before the team that won has begun its next match. All rule appeals shall be considered by the Head Official and (if present) at least two members of the officiating staff. All decisions on appeals are final. A team making an unsuccessful rules appeal of an obvious nature, or a team that questions a judgment call, will be charged with a time out. In addition, the team may also be penalized for delay of game, at the discretion of the official. Arguing with a Certified official during a match will not be allowed. Violation of this rule will be grounds for a delay of game penalty and/or a violation of the code of ethics.

Any action of an unsportsmanlike or unethical nature during tournament play, in the tournament room, or on the grounds of the host facility, will be considered a violation of the Code of Ethics. Penalty the penalty for breaking the Code or Ethics may be forfeiture of a game or match, expulsion from the tournament, and/or a fine. Whether or not the Code of Ethics has been broken, and what is the appropriate penalty for the infraction will be determined by the Disciplinary Committee of the USTSA.

The administration of tournament play shall be the responsibility of the Tournament Director. This includes making the draws, scheduling the events, timing matches, etc. The decision of the Tournament Director in such matters is final. All matters pertaining to rules of play (appointing officials, handling appeals, etc.) shall be the responsibility of the Head Official. The Tournament Director is responsible for appointing the Head Official.

These 5 bar passing rules are a little complex if you have never played tournament foosball. These passing rules do not apply to the other foosball rods, just the 5 bar. You are required to pass the ball within a 10 second time period from your 5 bar rod to the 3 bar rod directly after a serve. After the initial serve, you then are allowed 15 seconds to pass from the 5 bar. A ball cannot be completely stopped on the 5 bar and passed forward to the 3 bar, it must be moving and touch 2 men on the 5 bar before being advanced. Additionally, the ball can only touch the wall a total of 2 times in a row (before touching a man again on the 5 bar) before being advanced. However, it can touch the ball a 3rd time if it is part of the pass.