Under 23 Paintball Cup

Paintball Rules/FAQ

Team Line-Up
Only players who are registered in the team line-up are allowed to play on the day of competition.

Attire

• We suggest wearing long pants and long sleeved tops
• Knee pads, elbow pads, headbands and/or beanies/caps are allowed to be worn
• Feet must be covered – running shoes, turf shoes or work boots are allowed on the field. As the field is turf long spiked soccer boots are not permitted.
• Player uniforms may not contain orange color or camouflage design.
• Player uniforms may not resemble paintball hit, splash or splatter that can confuse the referees.
• Each player may only wear two layers of clothing.
• It is forbidden for players to wear anything that may endanger themselves or their opponents during any match.

Equipment

• Paintball markers, protective vest, headgear and goggles will be provided.

Safety

• Players will be given a safety and equipment briefing prior to playing. It is very important for safety reasons that players listen and follow the instructions of staff and officials when on and off the field
• IMPORTANT – Players are not allowed to remove their goggles at any time while they are in the playing field – even when the googles are fogged up, covered in paint or any for any other reason.
• Players caught removing goggles in the playing field will be eliminated without any warning.
• Players must keep the barrel sock on the marker at all times until instructed by officials to remove it or place it back on the marker at the end of games.

Sports Rules

• Each field will be staffed with Referees
• Referees will not provide information to teams during the game, except with respect to safety concerns, warnings, neutrality and eliminations.
• Referees will not, through any action or inaction, deliberately reveal or conceal the locations or actions of players during the course of a game. Referees will not impede the progress of the game.
• All calls and judgments on a field are subject to the review of the Head Referee fore that field. All calls and judgments made or approved by the Head referee are final, are not subject to further review and may not be changed except for him.

Start of Play

• Choice of flag station will be decided by coin toss prior to the start of the game.
• Players start the games inside the playing field boundaries with the muzzle (tip) of their barrels touching their starting bunker. Any player whose muzzle is not touching the front of the flag station at the moment the game starts, will be eliminated for a false start.
• Referee will count down the start calling “Players ready, Get ready for 10 seconds. 3 – 2 – 1 – 10 seconds” The game will start 10 seconds later when the referee calls “Game On” and drops his hands downwards.

Stop of Play

Stop of play will only occur in exceptional and unavoidable circumstances, such as in case of emergency, dangerous weather conditions, a physical alteration of the game field.
In a situation where a false start happens due to a Referee mistake or miscommunication, the Head Referee will stop the game and restart as if the game had never started.
All Field Referees will note the location of the players at the time the game is stopped. Once the game is stopped, the Field Referees will insure that players remain in those locations. Once the condition causing the game stoppage has abated or been resolved, all the live players and flags are placed in proper positions by the Field Referees, the Head Referee will restart the game in accordance with the procedures specified in game start section.

End of Play

A game will officially be considered over when the Head Referee announces “Game Over” after the occurrence of any of the game-ending situations.

Game-ending situations are any one of the following:

• A successful flag hang;
• Elimination of all players on the game field;
• Five minutes of game time have elapsed.
• When the game time has expired or a flag referee declares a flag carrier clean and the hang completed, the Head Referee will communicate to all referees “Game Over” as specified.

Scoring
Scoring for games will be conducted as follows:

• A team will be awarded 3 Match points for a valid flag hang.
• A team will be awarded 2 Match points for “flag in transit”. A flag in transit occurs if the opponent’s flag is at the end of the game in possession of a live player. If both parties are in possession of the flag, the Match points will be only awarded to the first to pull the opponents flag.
• Each team will receive 1 Match point for a draw. A draw will be any game where the flag was not grabbed or the flag carrier was eliminated at the end of the game.
• A team will receive 0 Match points for a loss.
• A team will also receive Elimination Difference (E/D) points. E/D points are calculated as the numeric difference between the number of own players being alive at the end of the game and the number of live opponents. Therefore the E/D can range from positive 5(+5) to negative 5 (-5). Elimination Difference Points are only relevant in case of a tie break between teams.

Points are awarded at the conclusion of the game by the Head Referee.

Flags

• Once a team flag is hung in its flag station prior to the start of a game, it is not to be touched by its own team. A player touching his own flag in order to prevent an opponent from pulling it will be eliminated.
• Players carrying flags must carry them in their hands and in full view. Players cannot attempt to hide or disguise the flag in any way. Failure to do so will result in the flag carrier being eliminated.
• Flags may be passed from live players to live players.
• If a player is eliminated while in possession of the flag, the flag will be seized by a referee and the replacement flag will be hung in the base of the origin by the Referee.

Paint Checks

• Paint checks are performed by a referee for the purpose of determining if a paintball has broken on and marked a player.
• Paint checks are performed by a referee when the referee has observed a player taking shots, or when shots are directed into an area occupied by a player that the referee cannot directly observe, when the physical location that a paintball may have broken on is not visible to the referee, or when the referee is directed to do so by another referee.
• Referees may, but don’t have to, make a paint check after a player has requested one.

Hits

A player is considered hit when;

• A paintball, discharged from a paintball marker by a live player, strikes that player or anything he is wearing or carrying and such paintball breaks and leaves a mark, regardless of the size;
• A paintball strikes the edge of a hard surface such as the edge of the visor or lens or the edge of the paintball pods, and spray of paints is seen clearly by the referee but only a speck paint marking is discovered; the referee did not see the source of such paint marking while the player has paint on him that resembles a hit, such player will be declared eliminated. Generally, in such cases, if the paint marking is reasonably solid, appears to be a direct hit – rather than smear, splatter, spray, paint from kneeled-on or sat-on paintballs.

A player is not considered hit when;

• A paintball strikes the player or anything he is wearing or carrying but does not break and leave a mark;
• A player is hit and marked by a paintball shot by an eliminated member of the opposing team;
• A paintball strikes another object first e.g. bunkers and ground, and breaks upon that object before marking a player or anything he is wearing or carrying

In the event two opposing players are hit and marked simultaneously, or if the referee cannot determine which player was hit and marked first, both players will be eliminated. Referees will make every effort to wipe smear, splatter, spray, or paint from kneeled-on or sat-on paintballs off a player at the time they are inspected. If a player continues to play with such paint such player does so at the risk of being eliminated for wearing paint that resembles a valid hit. Players can ask the referee to wipe any markings that is from a bunker rub or equivalent and only referees are allowed to clean a player.

Players and Hits

• Players have very high level of awareness and are responsible for becoming aware of hits.
• When being hit, a player has to immediately cease play and signal his elimination by putting “one hand on his head.” Failing to do so constitutes Playing-On.
• If a player gets shot at and he cannot check for a hit by himself at certain locations (for example visor, throat, back, battle pack) he has to immediately cease play and call a referee for a paint check. Failing to do so constitutes Playing-On.
• Players who are in motion and get shot at may continue to the nearest cover whenever there is such cover between themselves and the nearest opponent not including the cover the opposing player is using. Otherwise they must immediately turn their motion away from the opposition and stop. Upon arrival at such cover the player must immediately check himself for hits. Shooting, posting, communicating, failing to immediately check for a hit or call for a paint check and failing to immediately signal his elimination, if indeed hit, will constitute Playing-On.
• Players who are hit in locations which can be self-checked, may not call for a paint check. Calling for a paint check under such circumstances constitutes Playing-On.
• Players who are eliminated from play must immediately leave the playing field through the shortest route. Eliminated players must respect the live players and the on-going game in the field. If a player who has been eliminated without signaling his elimination and if the live players accidently shoot that player, he must not talk nor react in a manner of a live player. Doing so constitutes Playing-On.

Eliminations

• Players will be eliminated for picking up paintballs from the ground in order to shoot them.
• Players will be eliminated if any part of their bodies or anything that they are wearing or carrying touches any ground or space outside the playing field boundary.
• Players will be eliminated if they step out of line or any tape used as a boundary line. The boundary markings will be considered to be in-bounds.
• Players will be eliminated, if they lose their goggles accidently during a game. This is to ensure the safety of the players and prevent unnecessary accidents – no player without goggles will be allowed to continue playing.
• Players that are found with tools or other prohibited equipment on the field or those working on their markers in violation of the provisions specified in marker section will be immediately eliminated.
• Players that separate themselves from their marker and tank or barrel sock only by more than 2 meters, except squeegees or pods used for holding paintballs, will be immediately eliminated.
• Players that engage in unsportsmanlike conduct will be eliminated. Unsportsmanlike conduct includes, but is not limited to:
• Failure to obey a referee’s call.
• Shooting at referees.
• Shooting a clearly eliminated player with malicious intent to injure or intimidate.
• Excessive shooting which is defined as shooting a player more than is reasonably enough to effect elimination.
• Requesting paint checks to distract referees from checking themselves or teammates or to use referees to locate opposition players.
• Verbal abuse of any players, spectators or referees.
• Physical contact with anyone during the game deemed to be intentional and hostile. Additional penalties may apply such as player being banned.
• Players may be eliminated as the result of a penalty called by a referee for infractions committed by teammates pursuant the provisions contained herein.
• Players are responsible for removing old hits or bringing the same to the attention of a referee prior to game time, so that they may be dealt with in a manner that would not result in the elimination of the players.
• Players that are eliminated, immediately upon their elimination, shall:
• Signal their elimination by putting one hand onto their head as long as the player is not in the dead box.
• Leave the playing field with all equipment they were carrying at the time of their elimination by the most direct route off-field and towards the dead box or any other route directed by a referee. Players that take routes that are not the most direct and that are meant to conceal from the other team such players’ eliminations or players that refuse to follow a referee’s direction on leaving the field will be considered to be “Playing On”.
• Leave their marker outside the dead box (in the place designated for markers of eliminated players) without turning the marker off (the loader may be switched off).
• Enter the dead box where they must remain until directed to leave by a referee.

Penalities

Playing-On

• Playing-On entails continuing to act as a live player in the game after being eliminated. Playing-On includes, but is not limited to:
• Continuing to stay in the bunker although not posting or shooting
• Continuing to shoot or otherwise engage the opposition
• Continuing to move, except with respect to exiting the field by the most direct route or at the direction of a referee
• Talking, signaling or otherwise communicating, either to a referee, opposing players or teammates, impeding the progress of opposition players or a referee
• Hampering a referee in making a paint check or a call
• Discharging or degassing the marker or providing teammates with paintballs or equipment or
• Not having a hand on the head while walking to the pit area/dead-man zone

Wiping

• Wiping is defined as a player actively and deliberately removing or attempting to remove paint markings in order to avoid being eliminated or avoid a referee’s call
• Wiping is penalized by the immediate removal of the player from the game and the immediate subsequent removal of 3 additional players from the same team (3-4-1)

Interference

Spectators may be allowed to observe games and the activities but may not;

• Issue instructions to players on the field 1-1
• Make comments about play which are likely to be heard by players on the field
• Have markers without barrel sock capable of shooting in their possession or
• Otherwise interfere with play in any manner whatsoever
• Team members and associates of the competing teams who interfere or communicate with the play of that game will immediately receive penalty as if a player “Played-On” on the field and will result in the removal of at least one player from the associated team and spectators or team members who are caught making such interferences will be asked to leave the tournament ground.

Assessment of Penalties

• Referees will issue verbal warnings for the following infractions, but not limited to:
• First barrel sock violation
• First offense abuse of calling for paint checks
• First offense of the use of inappropriate language per incident
• First offense of failure to obey Referee’s instructions
• First offense to put their hand on their head after being eliminated
• Referees will eliminate players for the following infractions, but not limited to:
• Second offense abuse of calling for paint checks
• Second offense of the use of inappropriate language per incident
• Second offense of failure to obey Referee’s instructions
• Going out of bounds or moving on boundary tape
• Marked with a valid hit
• Failure to have the barrel tip touching the front of the flag station at the start signal
• Failure to wear goggles at a required time/place
• Having tools on the field
• Interference during the course of the game by a person affiliated with the team not playing in game
• Excessive shooting
• Unsportsmanlike conduct
• Altering the playing field in-game on purpose
• 1 for 1
• Assessment of the 1-for-1 penalty (in addition to the player who committed the infraction being eliminated, an additional player will be eliminated) will take place for the following infractions, but not limited to:
• Continuing to play with a hit in a location that the player can self check
• Continuing to play with an unobvious hit that has become obvious hit because the player has become aware of it
• Engaging in physical contact with another person on the field in a hostile manner after being eliminated
• Checking in as a live player at the end of a game with an obvious hit
• Communicating to a team after being eliminated
• 2 for 1
• Assessment of the 2-for-1 penalty (the removal of the player who committed the infraction and two teammates) will take place for the following infractions, but not limited to:
• Wiping
• Re-entering the field after elimination in order to interfere I the ongoing game without being asked by a referee

Group Tie-Breaker

Points System
– Winner 3 points
– Draw 1 point
– Loss 0 points

Elimination Difference (ED Points)
– Every live player +1 point
– Game Time will be taken note of

In the event that there is a 2-way tie in points in the group table, the winner shall be determined by the head-to-head match result.
In the event that there are three or more teams tie in points in the group table, the winner shall be determined by the following sequence:-
Match Points
E/D Points
1v1 Death match
All match scores with a team that conceded a walkover shall be null and not used for calculation for ED Points.

Game Forfeit
A match will result in forfeit if any of the following occurs:
– Team fails to report 10 minutes before match time.
– An unregistered player is fielded.

Walkover
In the event that there is a walkover by any team, 2 points will be awarded to the opponent team and a match point of 3:0

Substitution & Injuries

• No substitution is allowed at any time of a match or within a tie.
• In the event that a player sustains injuries halfway through a match resulting in inability to continue, the match will still carry on.
• The injured player can be fielded for the next match and/or tie that he/ she is schedule to play only if the first aiders certify that he/she is fit to resume play.