Official Thruball Rules

Overview:

 

Thruball is a team sport played by two teams, each consisting of two players. Each team lines up on opposing sides of the court with the Thruball gate in the center of the boundary lines.

A point begins when the server hits the ball through the Thruball gate towards the opposing team. The object of the game is to hit the ball through the Thruball gate in such a way that the opposing team cannot successfully return it. Each team is allowed up to three touches, but no less than two touches, to return the ball through the Thruball gate. The rally continues until a team is unable to return the ball through the Thruball gate.

Thruball is a self-officiated sport where responsibility for fair play falls on the players. All players are expected to know the rules. The integrity of Thruball depends on each player upholding them. Highly competitive play is encouraged, but never at the expense of the mutual respect among competitors or the simple joy of play.  

 

Serving & Scoring:

• A game starts with a “rally for serve.” No points are awarded to either team, but the team who gets to serve first is decided. Either team can start the “rally for serve.”
• Basic Thruball rules follow a “gentleman’s serve” approach, where the ball is served through the Thruball gate with the sole intent of getting the point started.
• In Thruball a point can only be scored by the serving team. If the rally is lost by the serving team, no points are awarded to either team. The serve then switches to the opposing team for the next rally. If a point is won by the serving team, the serving player continues to serve until the opposing team wins a rally.
• Teammates must alternate who the server is each time a serve is won back from the opposing team.
• A legal serve occurs when the server hits the ball through the Thruball gate without the ball making contact with the Thruball stand or Thruball gate. The ball must then land within the boundary lines or an opposing player makes contact in an attempt to return the ball.

• • Faults: A player serving the ball is allowed one fault, at which point the server has one more attempt to hit a legal serve. If a server hits two faults, the serve is lost and switches to the opposing team. Examples of faults are as follows:

• • • A serve does not pass through the Thruball gate.
    • A serve passes through the Thruball gate, but lands outside the boundary lines without the opposing team making contact.
    • A serve makes contact with the Thruball gate but does not pass through.

• • Lets: A player serving the ball is allowed unlimited lets. A let in Thruball is defined as a serve that makes contact with the Thruball gate while passing through it and lands within the boundary lines. This requires a re-serve.

 

Playing the Ball:

• A team must hit the ball a minimum of two times while returning to the opposing team.
• A team may hit the ball up to three times while returning to the opposing team.
• Players may move as they wish during a point (including the opposing team’s side) but must never make contact with the stand or interfere with a player on the opposing team.
• A hit is considered legal if the ball makes contact with the paddle only. A player’s body may never make contact with the ball.
• A single player may never hit the ball twice in a row unless the ball ricochets off the Thruball gate on their team’s second hit. If this occurs, either team member may use their team’s third hit to return the ball through the Thruball gate.
• Players may not make double contact with the ball (when the paddle makes contact with the ball twice in one hit). Double contact results in the loss of a serve or point.
• A player must not entire or land in the "Kitchen" area while hitting the ball in a downward trajectory. you may enter the "kitchen" if you are passing the ball back to your teammate or hitting the ball in an upward trajectory. 
• You may enter the opposing team's side of the court to play the ball if you do not interfere with their gameplay.

 

Other Ways to Play:

• Tournament Serve: This is defined as serving with the intention of scoring a point. This type of serve must be done with the player’s back foot on the far boundary line. 
• 3 on 3: Two teams, each consisting of 3 players. All other Thruball rules remain the same.
• Longest Volley: Using this method, all four players are on the same team, and each pass through the Thruball gate counts as one point. The goal is to reach the highest number of passes through the Thruball gate as a group.
• Thruball for Kids: Thruball is designed for play by people of all ages. For kids, simply remove one or more pieces from the stand to make the Thruball gate closer to the ground. All other Thruball rules remain the same.