JAM Toronto

All Sorts of Sports: Ultimate Indoor Box

There is only one format of Ultimate Indoor Box under JAM rules. It is described in its entirety below.

JAM is for Everyone – Inclusion Statement

Our program offerings are designed to be inclusive for all members of the JAM community. Our goal is to create a welcoming gender policy that uplifts and supports each player where they are at. To ensure we can offer something for everyone, our programs may be offered in the following formats: Mixed-Gender, Women's, Men's, and Open.

Many of our league rules specify gender-based roster requirements, the goal of which is to ensure that each player has an equal opportunity to be included in gameplay.

Everyone participating in a JAM program is welcome to compete based on their gender identity and gender expression; regardless of their gender assigned at birth. Members whose gender identity does not align with the binary man/woman construct are welcome to play in all our mixed-gender and open programs.

Nonbinary, trans, genderqueer, and all other players who identify as a gender minority can count towards the roster minimums for either men or women in our mixed-gender leagues.

Game Time

All Ultimate Indoor Box games are approximately 55 minutes in length. Please arrive early to ensure you get the full use of your allotted court time. Regardless of when your game begins your game will always end on time to allow the succeeding games to begin at their scheduled time.

Time Keeping: If you’re playing without an official score clock the JAM Ambassador on site will be keeping track of time and will determine the end of your game. In this instance, you will receive a warning indicating the final five (5) minutes of your game and a final signal for the end of your game. Once the final signal occurs, your game is over.

Defaults: Teams will default a match if they cannot provide a full team 10 minutes after the scheduled start time. A team can play with a minimum of 4 people, as long as two (2) of the players are women and two (2) are men.

Halftimes: There is no stoppage for halftime unless requested by one of the teams. If a half-time is requested, then it must be accommodated by the opposing team.

Players

Teams are comprised of five (5) players with a minimum of two (2) men or gender minority players and two (2) women or gender minority players playing at all times.

Defaults: Teams will default a match if they cannot provide a full team 10 minutes after the scheduled start time. A team can play with a minimum of 4 people, as long as the roster minimums are met.

Exceptions: Captains may agree to waive the rules regarding roster requirements, but this should be decided before the game starts. IF IT IS AGREED THAT THE GAME COUNTS, IT COUNTS!

Playing Area

All Ultimate Indoor Box gyms vary in size and there is no set standard for an JAM Ultimate Indoor Box surface.

The scoring area is a rectangular section of the basketball key, with the foul line marking the top of the area, the left & right lines of the basketball key marking the sides and the baseline of the basketball court to mark the back line of the end zone.

Equipment/Set Up

Team captains are responsible for bringing the supplied Frisbee Disc and four (4) pylons. Teams are also responsible for keeping track of the score. Please designate one person to keep track of the score.

Uniforms

Teams are required to bring both light and coloured shirts to every game. Team colours are posted on the JAM website in your schedule. If two teams have the same colour the team captains should contact each other to ensure that each team knows what colour to wear.

Defaults: There is no default for players that don’t wear the right colour. However, that player must do everything they can to ensure it’s not confusing for the opposition. Whether this means wearing a pinny, a hat, a teammate’s shirt, etc. Under no circumstances can a player purposely deceive the opposition.

Ultimate Indoor Box 101

The following outlines the basis of the rules of Ultimate Indoor Box:

Initiate Play

Each point begins with both teams lining up on the baseline. The defence throws ("pulls") the disc to the offence.
The receiving team has the option of catching the disc or letting it fall, but if they attempt to catch it & drop it, it is an automatic turnover. The pull cannot be knocked down and played by the receiving team like a blocked pass during regular play. Players must play the disc from where it lands. The receiving team does not have to wait to have the disc "tagged in" off the pull. Whoever retrieves the disc off of a pull or from any throw that lands out of bounds must play it. It cannot be handed over to someone else to commence play.

Movement of the Disc

The disc may be advanced in any direction by completing a pass to a teammate. Players may not run with the disc. The person with the disc ("thrower") has eight (8) seconds (stalls) to throw the disc. The defender guarding the thrower ("marker") counts out the stall count but must be within 3 meters of the thrower to call stalls.
The boundary lines are the basketball court lines. A player is out-of-bounds when s/he steps on an out-of-bounds area (lines are out-of-bounds). When a player is in the air, their in or out-of-bounds is determined by where the first point of contact is with the ground. If any portion of the first point of contact is out-of-bounds, the player is considered out-of-bounds.
If a disc goes out of bounds it is a turnover. However, the new offensive team must get the disc "tagged in" by the new defensive team before play begins.
A pivot foot must be established once the disc is caught; moving the pivot foot is "travelling" and the thrower must go back to their original position and stalls are started at the same point where they were when the call was made. Once a thrower has established a pivot foot, their non-pivot foot may make contact with an out-of-bounds area, as long as the pivot foot remains static.
If the disc makes contact with the ceiling or any other fixed object (basketball hoop, rope, etc.) then the disc is considered to be out of bounds and it is a turnover directly beneath where the disc made contact.

Scoring:

Each time the offence completes a pass in the defence's end zone, or box, the offence scores one point. After a point has been scored, the losing team walks to the other end of the gym, and the scoring team stays in the end they just scored in and play is again initiated.
In order for the receiver to be considered in the end zone after gaining possession of the disc, their first point of contact with the ground must be completely in the end zone. A player cannot score by running into the end zone with the disc. Should a receiver's momentum carry him/her into the end zone after gaining possession, the receiver must carry the disc back to the closest point on the goal line and put the disc into play from there. A receiver who lands with one foot in the end zone and one foot out of the end zone (in effect, straddling the goal line) has scored a point if the foot inside the scoring area was the first point of contact. If the receiver lands with both feet straddling the end zone at the exact same time, they have not scored a point and play continues. Similarly, a player that lands on the line (even if the majority of their foot is in the end zone), has NOT scored and must continue to pass the disc.
If it is unclear as to whether an offensive player is fully in the scoring area, and a "quick check" by the offensive player determines that they player has NOT in fact scored, the offensive player must clearly yell "Not In!" The disc must then be "checked-in" with the defender who is covering the offensive player before another pass can be made. If there is not a defender covering the offensive player, the offensive player can check the disc in by touching it to the ground.
Offensive players may only be in the scoring box for 3 seconds. A defensive player can count "Stall 1, Stall 2, Stall 3" to monitor this. If a defender calls three stalls on the person they are covering in the scoring box, a turnover occurs and the defensive team takes the disc from where it was when the 3-second was called.

Change of Possession:

When a pass is not completed (e.g. out of bounds, dropped, blocked, interception), the defence immediately takes possession of the disc and becomes the offence. (a defender may block/knock-down a pass with any part of their body, excluding feet, as long as no contact is made with the intended receiver)
After a blocked or missed pass (a "turnover"), the person who touches the disc first for the new offence (from the team who now has the disc) must be the first thrower. (Knocking the disc down to the ground by a defensive player does not mean they have to take the disc- but once the disc is on the ground, the first person who touches the disc must become the thrower.)

Substitutions:

Substitutions can take place only after a point has been made to replace an injured player
The team without the injured player has the right to substitute an equal number of players during an injury substitution

Fouls:

There should be NO CONTACT. When defending against the thrower, you must stay 1 disc length away from the thrower. You cannot touch the thrower as they throw; however, the thrower may not move their body, arm, hand, etc. into the defender with an established position.
When a player initiates contact on another player a foul occurs. When a foul disrupts possession, the play resumes as if the possession was retained. If the player committing the foul disagrees with the foul call, the play is redone.
If a foul is called, ONLY the player involved in the infraction may contest it. If the foul is contested, the disc is returned to where it was originally thrown from and stalls continue from where they were at the time of the initial throw.
"Picks" are not allowed. Any time a defender's path is blocked by any offensive or defensive players -- EITHER INTENTIONALLY OR UNINTENTIONALLY-- a "pick" can be called. Play is stopped, the defender is allowed to regain coverage on the offensive player, and stalls continue from where it was at when the pick was called.
Defenders must play "man-to-man" and attempt to stay within at least 6 feet of the person they are covering while the disc is in the hands of the thrower.
A defender may not hit the disc out of the thrower's hands; this is called a "strip." If a strip occurs, the thrower regains possession and the defender must restart the stall count
The Principle of Verticality: All players have the right to the space immediately above them. Thus, a player cannot prevent an opponent from making an attempt on a pass by placing their arms above an opponent. Should contact occur, the player restricting the vertical area has committed a foul. This is not to say that defending players cannot reach over the intended receiver to intercept the disc, but in doing so they must not limit the intended receiver's ability to jump, etc.
If the person handling the disc throws the disc into a hand block by the defender, IT IS NOT A FOUL. Following through and hitting someone is not a foul, but it SHOULD be avoided in concordance with Spirit of the Game. It is the responsibility of the handler to throw around the defender. If a defender hits the hand or arm in an attempt to prevent a throw, IT IS A FOUL. Remember that the defender's hands may only block the path of the disc, not the throwing motion itself.

Etiquette:

If a foul is committed and not called, the player who committed the foul should call it on themselves.
Should a dispute or confusion arise on the field, it should be common practice to stop play, & resume play with a "disc-in" check when the matter is resolved. When a novice commits a violation out of sincere ignorance of the rules, it is common practice to stop play & explain the violation.

Regular Season Matches

Games can be tied during the regular season.

Playoffs Eligibility and Tiebreak

There must be a winner in a playoff match. In the event that the match ends in a tie, teams will partake in the following tie-breaker until a winner is determined:

In the playoffs, when the regulation time has expired and the game is tied, the current point should be played out until a team scores.

Rough Play

Any rough or physical play will result in immediate expulsion from further league play and may result in a lifetime league expulsion. Please see the JAM General Policy for our official guidelines on this subject. It is recognized that incidental contact between players is inevitable; however, all players should go out of their way to avoid creating an unsafe play. This rule supersedes all others.

Please note that on-site staff members have full autonomy when supervising games. Games may be stopped entirely, players may be asked to leave the playing area or be removed from the game entirely under their discretion.

Alcohol

There are absolutely no alcoholic beverages permitted on JAM property. Any offenders will be asked to leave the league without refund. No exceptions.