Article II - Double Disc Court

Comment: Double disc court is a game played by two teams of two players each. Each team is charged with defending a court from the attack of the opponents. The attacks are made in two ways: by the throwing of one of two discs in play into the opponents' court in an attempt to have the disc come to rest within that court without ever having touched out-of-bounds, or by causing both discs to be touched by a player or players on the opposing team at the same time. A team scores a point whenever they make a successful attack or whenever an opponent throws a disc out-of-bounds. The first team to score the requisite number of points as determined by the competitive format shall win the game.

The purpose of the following rules is to provide a guideline which describes the way the game is played. Disc sports have traditionally relied on a spirit of sportsmanship which places the responsibility for fair play on the players themselves. Highly competitive play is encouraged, but never at the expense of the bond of mutual respect between players, adherence to the agreed upon rules of the game, or the basic enjoyment of play. Protection of these vital elements serves to eliminate adverse conduct from the playing field. Such actions as taunting the opposing players, dangerous aggression, intentional violation of the rules, or other "win-at-all-costs" behavior are contrary to the spirit of the game and must be avoided by all players. Violations which compromise this understanding may result in penalties or disqualification by the tournament director.

Outline of Contents

• 201 Interpretation
• 202 Field of Play
  • 202.01 Dimensions
  • 202.02 Surface
  • 202.03 Boundary Lines
  • 202.04 Corner Markers
• 203 Discs
• 204 Rules of Play
  • 204.01 Procedures of Play
    • A. Preliminary Considerations
    • B. Readiness
    • C. Service
    • D. Incorrect Service
    • E. Incorrect Servers
    • F. Initiation
    • G. Serving Combinations
    • H. Court Switches
    • I. Time Outs
    • J. Pace of Play
  • 204.02 Play
    • A. General Procedure
    • B. The Impasse
    • C. Deformation
    • D. Interference
    • E. Coaching
    • F. Courtesy Signals
  • 204.03 Throwing
    • A. Court Position
    • B. Traveling
    • C. Line Faults
    • D. Throws From Out-of-Bounds
    • E. Landing-Angle Restrictions
    • F. Offensive Interference
    • G. Late Throws
  • 204.04 Catching
    • A. General Procedure
    • B. Double Touch
  • 204.05 Tipping
    • A. General Procedure
    • B. Two-Handed Tips
  • 204.06 Scoring
    • A. General Procedure
    • B. The Break
    • C. Mid-Air Contact
  • 204.07 Infractions
    • A. General Procedure
    • B. Disputed Calls
    • C. Offsetting Infractions
• 205 Observers
• 206 Suggested Tournament Procedures
  • 206.01 Forfeits
  • 206.02 Suggested Competitive Formats
    • A. Semi-Finals and Finals
    • B. Competitions of 5 to 10 teams
    • C. Competitions of 11 to 20 teams
    • D. Competitions of 21 to 50 teams
    • E. Competitions of 51 to 100 teams
  • 206.03 Tie-Breaking Procedures
• 207 Glossary

• 201 Interpretation: The ultimate interpretation of the letter and spirit of this document shall be the responsibility of the tournament director and/or the head judge of the event.
• 202 Field of Play
  • 202.01 Dimensions: The double disc court shall consist of two square areas measuring 13 m per side known as courts, which are set 17 m apart. The minimum distance between neighboring courts shall be 5 m. Spectators shall not be positioned closer than 2 m to a court, with 5 m suggested if possible (see Figure 2.1) Fig. 2.1
  • 202.02 Surface: The double disc court may have any surface (well-trimmed grass is recommended) which is essentially flat, free of obstructions and holes, and affords reasonable player safety.
  • 202.03 Boundary Lines: The boundary lines shall lie flat on the surface and mark the area of each court. The boundary lines are not part of the courts, they are out-of-bounds. The boundary lines shall be marked with a cord having a diameter not larger than 10 mm nor smaller than 5 mm.
  • 202.04 Corner Markers: The corners of the courts shall be marked with cones made of a brightly-colored flexible material. The cones shall not be larger than 13 cm nor smaller than 9 cm in height and width. The corner markers shall be centered on the corners of the courts and are considered out-of-bounds.
• 203 Discs:
  • A. Any flying discs meeting WFDF specifications set forth in Article I may be used as long as they meet the specific requirements of 203 B and are acceptable to both teams.
  • B. Special Restrictions: For game design and safety considerations, discs in play must meet both the W.F.D.F. general disc specifications (section 107) and these additional specifications:
    • (1) Rim configuration: must achieve a rim configuration rating of 75 or greater (may not be beveled - see section 108 [D]).
    • (2) Weight: must weigh no more than 6.7 gm per cm of outside diameter.
    • (3) Rigidity: must not exceed 89.3 N (9.1 kg/(20 lbs.) of pressing force as measured by the flexibility testing procedure (see section 108[F]).
  • C. If teams cannot agree, the official discs for play will be two orange 23A or 23B mold Frisbee brand discs weighing approximately 110 gm.
  • D. If the teams cannot agree upon two specific official discs for play as described in 203 C, two options are available:
    • (1) each team shall supply one official disc for play of the match; or,
    • (2) if that solution is not acceptable to both teams they shall resolve the disagreement through the disc flipping method set forth in 104.03 of the WFDF rules.(104.03) The team winning the flip shall then supply both official discs for the match.
• 204 Rules of Play
  • 204.01 Procedures of Play:
    • A. Preliminary Considerations: Prior to the start of play, the teams shall resolve the preliminary considerations through the disc flipping method (104.03). The team winning the flip shall have its choice on one of the three options for the first exchange of the match:
      • (1) which court they will defend; or,
      • (2) which team shall initiate; or,
      • (3) which team shall declare its server.

      The team losing the flip shall then have its choice on one of the two remaining options, leaving the final option to the team winning the flip.

    • B. Readiness: Each team shall prepare for the commencement of play by standing within the court it shall defend. A player on each team shall be in possession of a disc and prepared to serve it. The server of the initiation team must establish and maintain a position in the court during the 3 seconds prior to the beginning of the serving call. After the beginning of the serving call, that player and all others may move as they wish. Serves must be made from within the court.
    • C. Service: Upon a serving call from the non-serving member of the initiation team, play begins by a player from each team throwing simultaneously. Players on a team must alternate serves. The serving call shall be a count of, "Ready, two, one, throw." There shall be equal time intervals between each word in the count. The total time of the count shall not be shorter than 2 seconds nor longer than 3.5 seconds. Servers must throw on the word "Throw," Immediately prior to the serving call, the player making the call shall announce the current game score, giving the initiation team's score first.
    • D. Incorrect Service: If an incorrect serving call is given, the non-initiation team may call, "Bad call." If a server throws early, the opponents may call, "Early." If a server throws late, the opponents may call, "Late." To be valid, these calls must be made immediately. The team making the call then may either take any points they have scored on the service, replay the service or if the service resulted in both discs being caught, they may play on after all players are ready. See section 207 for the definition of the "play on" procedure.
    • E. Incorrect Servers: If any player realizes that a service took place using incorrect servers, he or she must call, "Wrong servers," immediately. If the call is made before either: a serve touches the ground, or before a subsequent throw in the exchange: the service must be redone correctly regardless of the outcome of the service. Otherwise, play continues to the conclusion of the exchange with points scored being duly awarded. Regardless, the next service in the match shall return to the correct serving combination.
    • F. Initiation: The initiation on the first exchange of a game shall be determined as per section 204.01(A). On subsequent exchanges and replays in a game, the initiation team shall be the team having won the previous point. In matches of more than one game, the initiation team on the first exchange of each new game shall be the team having won the previous game.
    • G. Serving Combinations: The serving combinations for the first game of a match shall be determined as per section 204.01 (A). In matches of more than one game, the serving combinations shall alternate from one game to the next; i.e., if player A of team A/B and player C of team C/D were a serving combination in the first game, player A should serve against player D and player B should serve against player C in the second game. In the first exchange after any alternation of serving combinations, the initiation team declares its server.
    • H. Court Switches: During a game, teams shall switch courts after every five points total are accumulated. In matches of more than one game, the team losing the previous game has its choice of court for the next game in the match.
    • I. Time Outs: Time out periods shall be 1 minute in duration and may be called by either team between exchanges. Each team is permitted 1 time out per game.
    • J. Pace of Play: After the end of an exchange and determination of points, teams shall retrieve their discs without delay and prepare to serve. The initiation team must begin the serving call within 10 seconds after all players are ready. Breaks between games in a match shall not exceed 3 minutes in duration. Breaks between scheduled matches in a round shall not exceed 5 minutes in duration. These time limits are to serve as general guidelines for the normal pace of play. Special situations such as weather conditions may require consideration.
• 204.02 Play:
  • A. General Procedure: Both discs shall be used during the exchange. Play is accomplished by:
    • (1) the players attempting to throw a disc into the opponents' court such that it lands with a legal angle and stops without ever having touched out-of-bounds; or,
    • (2) the players attempting to cause both discs to be touched simultaneously by a player or players on the opposing team.

    Play continues until a disc touches out-of-bounds, stops dead in the court, or until both discs are touched simultaneously by a player or players on one team. If a disc touches the ground inside the court and is then touched by a player prior to the point being determined, the point is scored for the opponent.

  • B. The Impasse: When ever during an exchange a player on each team holds a disc an impasse occurs. It is the responsibility of the initiation team to throw within 4 seconds of the time the impasse occurred, unless their opponents choose to break the impasse by throwing. If the initiation team fails to initiate correctly, the opponents may call, "Stalling." See section 204.07 for the call procedure.
  • C. Deformation: When a court or disc is deformed during the exchange, either team may call, "Court," or, "Disc," to request that the court be restored to its official shape, or the disc be replaced at the next impasse. After restoration or replacement, play may continue with all players ready and in their respective court positions which they held at the impasse. See section 207 for the definition of the "play on" procedure.
  • D. Interference: Should a disc or player be interfered with by the actions of an outside agent, such as a spectator or animal, a replay of the exchange will be allowed if it is determined that play was altered by the interference.
  • E. Coaching: Coaching of players shall not be permitted during the exchange. Other coaching is permitted provided the pace-of-play rules are not violated.
  • F. Courtesy Signals: Certain situations occur during a game when a signal would clarify the play for the opponents and the officials. The following non-mandatory courtesy signals should be used when these situations occur:
    • (1) When the exchange has just ended and a disc has touched near the boundary line where the officials or the opponents may be unsure if the disc was in or out, the following signals should be used. If the disc was out, the player should point an arm and finger at a 45 degree angle up and away from the center of the court. If the disc was in, the player should point an arm and finger at a 45 degree angle down and toward the center of the court.
    • (2) When a team calls a double and the opposing team agrees with the call, they should indicate the acknowledged double touch by displaying two fingers in a manner known as the "victory" or "peace" sign.
• 204.03 Throwing:
  • A. Court Position: A player's court position is a 1 m diameter circle centered directly under the center ofhis or her hips. Court position is established at the coincidence of a catch and contact with the ground. Should the disc be caught out-of-bounds, the court position is centered at the nearest point inside the court from the point where it was caught. If momentum carries a player closer to the opponents' court after a catch and ground contact, the player must back-step the forward distance gained in order to establish a court position. If momentum carries a player in any direction not closer to the opponents' court, the court position will be established where the player stops. A player moving laterally or toward the rear of the court while making a catch, may throw before establishing a court position only if the throw is made prior to the player making 3 ground contacts after the catch. Other than the serve, each throw must be made with a supporting point on the court position or with no part of the thrower in contact with the ground, in which case the last contact with the ground must have been at the court position.
  • B. Traveling: A player has traveled if all contact with the court position is removed and subsequent ground contact is made elsewhere while still holding the disc. If a player throws after traveling, the opponents may call, "Traveling." See section 204.07 for call procedure.
  • C. Line Faults: If a thrower is legally on the court position and in contact with the boundary line during a throw, the opponents may call, "Line fault." See section 204.07 for call procedure.
  • D. Throws From Out-of-Bounds: Throws made with a supporting point completely out-of-bounds, or, from mid-air with the last supporting point contact having been out-of-bounds, are scored for the opponent. A throw made after a throw from out-of-bounds is considered a late throw. See section 204.03 G.
  • E. Landing-Angle Restrictions: All throws must strike the ground at an angle of 30 degrees or less from horizontal except for a throw that rolls away from the thrower upon initial ground contact and is under 2.5 m as it passes the opponents' front line. When it appears that a disc will hit the ground with illegal angle, the non-throwing team may call, "Angle." This call must be made prior to the disc hitting the ground. See section 204.07 for call procedure. Fig. 2.2
  • F. Endangerment: If a player is hit above the knees by a high velocity shot while he or she is in position to play a lead shot, the defending team may call, "Endangerment," and a replay is taken. If it is determined that the defending player intentionally moved into the shot, there is no replay and the exchange is scored under the usual rules.
  • G. Late Throws: Competitive throws made after a point has been scored are considered to be late and may not score for the thrower. However, late throws shall be scored for the opponents of the throwing team if the throw goes out-of-bounds.
• 204.04 Catching:
  • A. General Procedure: A player may use one or both hands to catch a disc. Legal catches include, in addition to the standard catches, those that are made with simultaneous contact with the ground or boundary lines, those that are made with simultaneous contact between teammates, and those that are made without the use of hands, such as body traps. A player may catch a disc that has been tipped or bobbled by a teammate. A disc caught simultaneously by both players on a team may be thrown by either player.
  • B. Double-Touch: If a player or team touches both discs at the same time or uses a disc in their possession to touch the other disc, a "double-touch" has been committed. When the attacking team observes what they believe to be a double-touch by their opponents, they may call, "Two," immediately after the assumed double. If the defending team agrees with the call, play stops and 2 points are scored for the attacking team. If the defending team does not agree, they must call, "No," immediately after the call of, "Two," and play on without interruption until the next impasse or undisputed score occurs. At that time players must maintain their court position and any disputed calls shall be discussed and determined in the order in which they occurred. If a disputed call is resolved such that a point or points are scored, the exchange is ended. If, however, it is determined that none of the disputed calls result in a point or points scored, then either: any undisputed points which have been scored are awarded, or play should continue after all players are ready. See section 207 for the definition of the "play on" procedure. In games using observers, the observer for the court is to call, "Double," or, "Clean," immediately after any disputed call. A confirming call of "Double," ends the exchange and a call of "Clean," indicates that the exchange is not to be affected by the erroneous double call.
• 204.05 Tipping:
  • A. General Procedure: Tipping is a standard method of escaping double touch situations and is usually done with the first disc touched by a team. Except in escape situations, teams are allowed only one tip. An escape situation occurs when both discs are thrown at the same court. Violations of this rule constitute traveling. See section 204.07 for call procedure. In all non-catching contacts, the disc must be sharply struck. Tips and air-brushes are legal provided the disc is not held in prolonged contact or lifted while being touched. Any prolonged contact with the disc, including a delay or an illegal tip, constitutes a catch.
  • B. Two-Handed Tips: Two-handed tips and air-brushes must comply with section 204.05(A) and meet the additional restriction that no pair of opposite sides of the disc are touched simultaneously.
• 204.06 Scoring:
  • A. General Procedures: Whenever a thrown disc comes to rest completely inside the court, having landed at a legal angle, and having never touched out of-bounds, a point is scored by the team attacking that court. Whenever a thrown disc touches any out-of-bounds area, a point is scored by the opponents of the team that last touched the disc. A disc which comes to rest inside the court and which is breaking the vertical plane of the inside edge of the boundary line, but not touching it, is considered out-of-bounds. A point is scored by the opposing team whenever, during play:
    • (1) a thrown disc is touched and dropped by a player;
    • (2) a player touches his or her own throw or a teammate's throw;
    • (3) a player hands the disc to a teammate.

    Whenever a player or team touches both discs simultaneously during play, two points are scored by the opposing team.

  • B. The Break: Whenever both discs land and the result is a scoring situation against each team, a break occurs. No points are scored and play is restarted, using the other serving combination of the game.
  • C. Mid-Air Contact: If the two discs make mid-air contact at any time, a point will be scored by the opponents for each disc that lands and stops in a team's court. If a player or team touches one or two discs after the contact, which they subsequently fail to catch, their opponents receive a point for each dropped disc, in or out of the court. After mid-air contact, no further throws may be made and the landing-angle restriction and double-touch rules do not apply for the remainder of the exchange. A replay is taken when no points are scored, or when the result is a point scored against each team.
• 204.07 Infractions:
  • A. General Procedure: In order to make a call of an infraction (traveling, line fault, or stalling), the call must be made during or immediately after the occurrence. The angle infraction call must be made prior to the disc hitting the ground. If the team on which the call is made accepts the call as valid, play stops immediately with any throws made after the occurrence being of no consequence. The team making the call then may either:
    • (1) dismiss the infraction with any points that have been scored in the exchange being awarded without consideration of an infraction; or,
    • (2) charge their opponents with an infraction and replay the exchange; or,
    • (3) remove the infraction throw from consideration and award any points scored in the exchange.

    On the third and subsequent instances of a team being charged with any combination of infractions in a game, the team not committing the infraction is also awarded one point if they choose the replay option.

  • B. Disputed Calls: If a player disagrees with an infraction call, that player must call, "No," immediately following the infraction call and play continues without interruption until the next impasse or undisputed score occurs. At that time, players must maintain their court positions and any disputed calls shall be discussed and determined in the order in which they occurred. If a call is determined to be valid, the team making the call then chooses from the options listed under section 204.07(A). If no calls are determined to be valid, then either the undisputed points which have been scored are awarded, or play continues after all players are ready. See section 207 for the definition of the "play on" procedure.
  • C. Offsetting Infractions: In the event that one or more valid infraction calls are made against each team during the same exchange, the infractions shall be considered to offset one another. The exchange is to be replayed with no infraction being charged to either team.
• 205 Observers: Observers are to be used for all semi-final and final matches. Observers may be used for other matches if requested by a team. These observers should be positioned on opposite sides of the courts, on the front lines extended, 2 m to 4 m from the court they are observing.
  • 205.01 Observers shall have the following responsibilities:
    • A. to keep the score and announce it when players switch courts, or when requested
    • B. to announce the time for players to switch courts
    • C. to keep a tally of all infractions
    • D. to call line faults
    • E. to immediately rule on disputed double calls as outlined in section 204.04(B)
    • F. Time the breaks between games and the time-outs. Announce when these time periods have expired.
    • G. to resolve any disputed calls, when requested by a player If players on both teams disagree with the observer's call, it may be overruled, if all players concur. Furthermore, it is expected that players will voluntarily overrule a call resulting in their favor when they are certain the call was in error.
• 206 Tournament Procedures
  • 206.01 Forfeits: Should a team arrive more than 5 minutes late for the beginning of a game, it forfeits that game. If a team is unable to start or complete a game, it forfeits that game. A forfeit is listed as a loss for the forfeiting team, with its score being the number of points it had at the time of the forfeit. The round placements of any teams with forfeits will be determined including those game scores. A second ranking will then be done to determine the finish of the other teams in that round. The second ranking removes all games played by teams with forfeits in that round, skipping the rank positions already assigned to those teams.
  • 206.02 Suggested Competitive Formats:
    • A. Semi-Finals and Finals: The semi-finals shall consist of 4 teams. If the 4 teams come from a single pool, the team which won the previous round chooses their semi-final opponent from among the other 3 teams. This choice must be made at least 1 hour prior to the scheduled start of the semifinals. The 2 teams not chosen shall also play a semi-final match. If the 4 teams come from 2 pools, the winners of each pool play the second place teams from the other pool. Semi-final matches are to consist of a best 3 out of 5 games to 15 points, win by 2, with a cap at 21. The winning team from each match advances to the final, which consists of a best 3 out of 5 games to 15 points, win by 2, with no cap.
    • B. Competitions of 5 to 10 Teams:(1) Preliminary Round - The teams shall be placed in a seeded round-robin pool and shall complete 1 game to a score of 21 points, win by 2, cap at 25, against each team. The 4 teams with the best records shall advance to the semi-final round.
    • C. Competitions of 11 to 20 Teams:(1) Preliminary Round - The teams shall be divided into 2 seeded pools for round-robin play and shall play 1 game to 21 points, win by 2, cap at 25, against each team. The 2 teams with the best records in each pool shall advance to the semi-final round.
    • D. Competitions of 21 to 50 teams:
      • (1) Preliminary Round - The teams shall be divided into 5 seeded pools of 4 to 10 teams each, for round-robin play, and shall play 1 game to 15 points, win by 2, cap at 21, against each team. The 2 teams with the best records in each pool shall advance to the second round.
      • (2) Second Round - The 10 remaining teams shall compete in a round-robin "A" pool playing 1 game to 21 points, win by 2, cap at 25, against each team. The 4 teams with the best records shall advance to the semi-final round. Additionally, the teams that placed 3rd and 4th in the preliminary round shall compete in a similar round-robin "B" pool to establish their rank from 11th to 20th.
    • E. Competitions of 51 to 100 teams:
      • (1) Preliminary Round - The teams shall be divided into 10 seeded pools of 5 to 10 teams each for round-robin play, and shall play 1 game to 15 points, win by 2, cap at 21, against each team. The 2 teams with the best records in each pool shall advance to the second round.
      • (2) Second Round - The winners of the first round pools choose their opponents from among the second place teams of each pool. The order of choice shall be determined by the winners' point margin vs. the second place team in their preliminary pool. No team may play a team that they played in the preliminary round. The teams shall play 2 out of 3 games to 15, win by 2, cap at 21. The winners of each match shall advance to the third round.
      • (3) Third Round - The 10 remaining teams shall compete in a round robin "A" pool playing 1 game to 21 points, win by 2, cap at 25, against each team. The 4 teams with the best records shall advance to the semi-final round. Additionally, the teams that lost their second round matches shall compete in a similar round-robin "B" pool to establish their rank from 11th to 20th, and the teams finishing 3rd in the preliminary pools shall compete in a similar round robin "C" pool to establish their rank from 21st to 30th.
  • 206.03 Tie-Breaking Procedures:

    In round-robin play, ties in which two or more teams have identical records are broken in the following manner: Starting with step 1 below, compare the tied teams. Any team that then has a unique ranking is assigned that ranking. If ties remain, compare the tied teams using the next step in the sequence. Repeat this process until no ties remain. Each comparison is based on the results for that round only. For the purposes of record and point comparison, games against teams that forfeited to any of the tied teams are disregarded.

    • Step 1: Fewest forfeits.
    • Step 2: Record against the other tied teams.
    • Step 3: Net points scored in games against the other tied teams.
    • Step 4: Record against teams that placed above the initial set of tied teams.
    • Step 5: Net points scored in games against teams that placed above the initial set of tied teams.
    • Step 6: Net points scored in games against all teams in the pool.
    • Step 7: If a tie must be broken to determine advancement, then a play-in game (or games, if more than two teams remain tied) may be held. The format shall be the same as in the just-completed round, though it may be changed at the discretion of the tournament director. If additional play is not feasible (as determined by the tournament director), the disc-flipping method (104.03) may be used. If advancement is not an issue, then the tie remains a tie.

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