USQ Rules Team wants YOUR feedback! Looking to next season, USQ Rules Team seeks to gather information on community opinion- how they would like to see the rules continue to evolve. Please fill out the survey here to provide feedback, focusing on the start up and contact rules. The form should take 2-3 minutes to complete.

Background

Since US Quadball Cup 2024, US Quadball’s rules team (under Lead Caleb Williams), has convened and continued discussions on the current ruleset and potential necessary changes/updates to the rules for next season. In addition to the ongoing rules suggestion form and all event and gameplay feedback forms from this year, the rules team will continue to consider the effect of rules on gameplay, from officiating to competition. 

Those interested in being involved with this work or any other work volunteering for USQ can indicate interest through the USQ year round volunteer application form. 

Rulebook Refinement Process 

Phase 1 (Complete)

The rules team is composed of USQ staff- players, coaches, and officials focused on refining the rulebook. This team has been collaborating on community needs through personal and community feedback, as well as relevant USQ data. 

This committee met May 17 and June 4  to review responses from end-of-year surveys, and suggestions from USQ staff teams and players. This led to the below list of rules that will be a focus of review this summer (found below).

Specific Rules Under Consideration/Review this Summer:

• 2-pt line
• Start-up procedure
• Play restart procedure
• General Contact
  • Charging, Tackling
• Reviewing playing equipment
• Resets
• Penalties
  • Timing, Limits, Ejections+
• Substitutions
• Seeker swats

*The Gameplay Team handles the maximum gender rule for the collegiate and club divisions. Any decisions regarding this are still under review for the remainder of the summer.

If you have feedback on any of these topics, please email rules@usquadball.org 

Phase 2 (In Progress)

The rules team will continue convening weekly through June 4 to July 20 to discuss different items from the above list. Feedback from the community, play testing during summer fantasies, and similar rules from MLQ and WCQ will be taken into consideration. The team will then come to a consensus on what change(s), if any, should be made. The team may also defer certain rules to be playtested throughout this season with changes considered next summer. 

Phase 3

After all rules have been discussed and a consensus has been reached, the rules team will meet with the officials team during the month of August to ensure any changes can be easily and consistently applied in the upcoming season. The rulebook for the 23-24 season will be released in August.  

Phase 4

A significantly shorter and more digestible version of the rulebook will be released later this fall  to aid teams in teaching new players. This will focus on the basics of gameplay and safety to allow players to feel comfortable on the pitch the first time. This will not serve as a full replacement for the rulebook.

Questions or feedback can be directed to rules@usquadball.org 

Photo Credit: Shirley Lu