Air Hockey Rules
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Any rule and situation not specifically covered are subject to the current version of the National Intramural
Recreational Sports Association (NIRSA) Flag Football rules and the judgement and discretion of the
intramural sports staff.
All rules are subject to change at the discretion of the Intramural Sports Office, and the
Intramural
Sports Office has the final decision on all situations covered and not covered by the
rules.
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Rule 1: Player Eligibility & Registration
Player Eligibility
✓ Currently enrolled (at least half-time), fee-paying Tennessee Tech University students as well as faculty
and staff of the University may participate in intramural leagues, tournaments, and contests.
✓ Prior to each contest and event, participants must present a valid Tennessee Tech University EagleCard.
✓ Players can compete for only one single-gendered team. Once he or she signs in for one team, that
player cannot transfer to another team in that league for the duration of the season.
✓ For postseason eligibility, a player must have participated in at least one regular season game.
✓ Current and Former professional athletes cannot participate in their sport or related sport for five (5)
years after their official affiliation with a professional team has ended.
✓ Intramural Sports Professional staff shall make the final decision on eligibility issues.
Registration
✓ Teams should register on the TTU IMLeagues site by the posted deadline.
Rule 2: League Format & Team Composition
League Format
✓ A pool play section shall precede the postseason tournament. The overall number of registered teams
will determine the number of pools and number of teams in each pool.
✓ Pool standings will determine a team’s eligibility for the postseason tournament. The following criteria
will determine the pool play standings: (1) number of wins, (2) Head-to-head record, (3) point differential,
(4) sportsmanship, and (5) coin toss.
Match Format
✓ Each match will be best two-out-of-three games.
Leagues
➢ Open
Rule 3: Defaults, Forfeits, Grace Periods, & Protests
Defaults
✓ A default is an unplayed game without penalty (e.g. dropped from the league or assessed a forfeit fee).
✓ To receive a default, the team captain or representative must notify the Intramural Sports Office by 2:00
PM on the day of the contest.
✓ In order to verify that the request is legitimate, the team captain or representative must notify the
Intramural Sports Office via e-mail or in person.
Forfeits
✓ A forfeit is defined as one of the following:
o Failing to field a team for an intramural contest without contacting the Intramural Sports Office.
▪ The final score shall be 2-0.
o Defaulting two games during pool play.
✓ Teams may be assessed a forty dollar ($40) fee for each forfeit. The team captain will have a hold placed
on his/her eagle online account until the fee is paid.
✓ If a team forfeits its first game of the season, that team may be dropped from the league and replaced
with a team on the waiting list.
✓ Any team that forfeits a game will be ineligible for the postseason tournament.
✓ A second forfeiture may result in removal from the league.
Grace Period
✓ If at least one team member is present at game time, the team will be granted a five-minute grace period.
✓ Once a team reaches the minimum number of players to start the game, the team must start when
directed by IM staff.
✓ A team may not wait for additional players once the minimum number of players have arrived.
✓ If the team has not reached the minimum number of players required to play at the end of the grace
period, a forfeit will be declared.
Protests
✓ Intramural Sports Graduate Assistants and Professional Staff will consider protests.
✓ During the contest, teams may protest (a) the misinterpretation or the misapplication of a rule or (b) a
scoring error. The protest must be submitted immediately, and, if the protest is denied, a timeout will be
charged to the protesting team.
✓ Protests regarding the judgement of the game officials will not be recognized.
✓ When protesting player eligibility:
o Regular season: The eligibility of any player may be protested at any point during the regular
season (e.g. before, during, and after the contest; anytime during office hours)
o Postseason Tournament: Player eligibility must be protested before the start of the contest.
Protests made after the start or end of the game will be not recognized.
Rule 4: Playing Area & Equipment
Playing Area
✓ All games will be played in the Marc L. Burnett Student Recreation and Fitness Center game room,
room 102.
Strikers and Pucks
✓ Players will be provided the strikers and pucks for all contests.
✓ Players may bring their own strikers.
Clothing & Equipment
✓ All attire and equipment are subject to the approval of Intramural Sports staff. Any clothing or
equipment that is deemed unsafe or illegal must be removed prior to competition.
Rule 5: Timing & Scoring
Timing
✓ Matches will be best 2 out of 3 games played in five minutes per game.
Scoring
✓ Hitting the puck in your opponent’s goal will award you one (1) point.
✓ The puck must fall into the goal and stay there to be considered a goal.
Rule 6: Playing Rules
TTU Intramural air hockey is self-officiated. Players should review the rules prior to play and honor the
legitimate calls of their opponents. The Intramural Sports Office will settle disagreements that cannot be
resolved in a reasonable time.
Overview
✓ Air hockey is a game played with a puck and each person has a striker.
✓ A player must score goals by hitting the puck with their striker in attempt to score a goal.
Determining who Starts
✓ Players will come together at the beginning of the contest to play paper-rock-scissors to determine who
will start with the puck.
General Rules
✓ Players may stand anywhere on their side of the table and may not cross the center line. You may only
hit the puck if it is on your side of the table; if the puck is on the center line than either person may hit
the puck.
✓ If the puck is on your side, you have 7 seconds to hit the puck to the other side of the table.
✓ If a foul is called, the player who commits the foul must give the puck over to their opponent.
In Game Rules
✓ The following are the list of fouls that are not allowed.
o You may not stop the puck by placing your striker on top of the puck
o Only the striker may come in contact with the puck
✓ A goal is recorded when the puck entirely crosses the goal line and falls through one of the goals.
✓ A goal only stands if the puck remains in the goal. Pucks that go in the goal and bounce out are not
considered a goal.
✓ If the puck is knocked off the table, the puck goes to the person who did not hit it off the table.
✓ A striker can be used to bring an airborne puck back to the table with out resulting in a foul.
✓ Each person may only use one striker.
✓ When a person is scored on, that person places the puck back on the table to resume play.
Winning the Game
✓ A game is over when one person reaches 7 goals.
✓ The match is over when one person wins two games.
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