Kabaddi 2023 Circle Rules

1) Definitions:

• i) Raider means the player who enters the court of the opponent with the intent of touching and returning to his own half to gain a point for his team
• ii) Stopper means one of the four players in whose court the raid is being made and whose job is to touch and stop the Raider from returning to his own half to gain a point for his team
• iii) Raid means each attempt made by the Raider to enter the court of the opponent with the intent of touching and returning to his own half to gain a point for his team
• iv) Successful Raid means
• (a) the Raider touching a Stopper or any part of the body of a Stopper touches any part of the body of the Raider and then the Raider touches his court through the Pala within 30 seconds; OR
• (b) at least one of the Stoppers wonder intentionally or unintentionally outside the Boundary or Midline regardless of whether, or not, the Raider has touched or been touched by any part of the body of a Stopper; OR
• (c) a player of the opposing team other than the Stopper first touched by the Raider attempts to interfere with game or obstruct the Raider
• v) Successful Stop means the Raider failing to carry out a Successful Raid
• vi) Referee means any official appointed by the EKF to supervise the match

2) Each team shall consist of no more than 14 players and no less than 8 players. No
more than 12 players and no less than 8 players shall take the ground at a time and the remaining players shall be substitutes
3) Each team shall be divided into at least 4 Stoppers and 4 Riders
4) In the event a team is unable to field at least 8 players a technical point may be
awarded to the opponent team for each player that the team is missing
5) In the event a team is unable to field at least 8 players it will not be allowed to compete and the match will be awarded to the opposing team
6) No one other than the 8 players and a manager and a coach may enter the Ground. Any violation in this will result in a fine of no less than £200.00 and a technical point being awarded to the opponent team
7) The team manager and coach of each team may talk to their own players only and cannot attempt in any way to interfere with the state of play. Any violation in this will result in a technical point being awarded to the opponent team
8) The team manager may at anytime swap the roles of Raiders and Stoppers as he shall desire
9) The duration of the time of the match shall be two halves of 15 minutes each with a 5 minute interval except n the semi final and final matches when the duration of the time of the match shall be two halves of 20 minutes each with a 5 minute interval.
10) Each Team shall be allowed to take Two “Time Outs” of 30 Seconds each in each half; such time out shall be called for by the Captain or Manager or Coach of the team with the permission of the Referee
11) During the Time Out the teams shall not leave the grounds. Any violation in this will result in a technical point being awarded to the opponent team
12) Official Time Out can be called for by the Referee in the event of any injury to a player, interruption by outsiders, re-lining of the ground or any such unforeseen circumstances
13) All legitimate Time Out times will be added to the match time
14) Each team shall take turns to carry out a Raid
15) The first Raid shall be decided by toss of a coin and the winner of the toss shall have the right to either have the first Raid or chose the side they wish to Stop from in the first half
16) The first and last Raid of each half shall be performed by the same team. Therefore, the team which did not Raid first in the first half shall send their Raider first in the second half
17) Each team shall be allowed to perform their last Raid of each half even if the time has expired
18) The first successful Raid or Stop shall carry one and half points
19) Each successful Raid or Stop thereafter shall carry one point
20) At the commencement of each Raid the Stoppers must stand immediately opposite and at tangent to the Pala
21) At the commencement of second half the Courts shall be changed
22) Only one Stopper can try to catch or stop the Raider and if more than one Stopper
attempts to catch or stop the Raider a point shall be awarded to the Raider
23) The raider can only touch one Stopper and if he touches more than one Stopper a point shall be awarded against the Raider
24) No player can take more than three consecutive Raids
25) If any Stopper goes out or is pushed out of Boundary or Midline during the course of play a point shall be awarded against him and the Raid shall be declared as over
26) During the struggle if any player crosses the Boundary or midline first a point shall be awarded against him unless it is the Raider who crosses Midline through the Pala
27) During the struggle, if both the Raider and the Stopper cross the Boundary or Midline simultaneously unless it is through the Pala no point shall be awarded to any team. In such a situation if the Raider crosses the midline through the Pala he shall be declared safe and awarded a point
28) If a Raider crosses the Boundary or Midline while holding the Stopper or being held by
the Stopper he may only pull the Stopper out but cannot step back into the Court and
continue the Raid
29) A Raider takes more than 30 seconds duration to touch a Stopper he shall be ordered back and the opposing team shall be given one point and chance to raid
30) If a Raider goes out of turn the Umpire or Referee shall order him to go back and may award one technical point to the opposing team
31) Not more than one Raider shall enter the opponent’s court at a time. If more than one Raider enters the opponent’s court at a time, the Referee shall order all to go back to their Court and a Technical point will be awarded to the opponent and chance to raid
32) After a Raider has reached his court or is put out in the opponents’ court, the opponents shall send their Raider within 10 seconds. Thus alternative each side shall send their Raider until the end of the game. In case the Raider fails to start his Raid within 10 seconds the team loses its chance to Raid and the opponent team gets a Technical point
33) When a Raider is held, the Stopper shall not try deliberately shut his mouth, push his leg into the genital area or throat or use violent tackling leading to injuries or use any unfair means. If such incident happens, the Referee shall declare the Raider safe
34) During the course of Raid none of the Stoppers shall touch the Raider’s Court until completion of the Raid. In case any Stoppers touch the Raider’s Court before
completion of the raid, one point will be given to the Raider’s team and the Raid shall
be counted as successful
35) Up to a maximum of four players can be substituted with the permission of the Referee during halftime or Time Out
36) Substituted players can be re-substituted
37) If any player is suspended or disqualified from the match, no substitution is allowed for that particular player
38) The team which scores the highest number of points at the end of the match shall be declared the winner
39) The team that wins the match will score three league points and the loser will score zero point
40) Walkover may be given to the opponent team by the referee due to late reporting, non- reporting or due to any other technical issues of the defaulting team. Such team will be scratched from the competition and the opponent team shall also be awarded the three points. The same rule shall be applicable to teams which concede the match
41) If owing to failure of light, heavy rains or any other unforeseen circumstances, the final cannot be completed the result of said final shall be based upon the outcome of the next match played by the said finalists at a later tournament during the same season and in the event the said finalists are not drawn against each other during the remainder of the season then and only then the outcome shall be decided by a toss of a coin. For sake of clarity this rule shall only apply to the final Match and the final Match alone and not to any other Matches played in earlier rounds, quarter finals or semi finals.
42) In case of temporary suspension of the match, such match shall be continued with the same score and remaining time in the same session. During the temporary suspension the players shall not leave their respective courts without the permission of the referee. If a team violates this rule a technical point will be awarded to the opponent team
43) Nails of the players must be closely clipped and no ornaments of any sort shall be allowed