King Pong! 1st Annual Beer Pong Tournament:
These rules are designed with fairness to all players & minimization of possible disputes between participants.
Cup Formation:
10 cups per 2-person team
Starting formation is a “tight triangle” formation (rims touching), pointing towards the opposing side. Re-racks are used to maintain formations.
The 10-cup triangle must be centered on the table and the back of the rack must be in line with the back edge of the table.
Cups must not be tilted or leaned against the surrounding cups.
Content of Cups:
Water will be distributed evenly in the 10 cups on each side of the table. These water cups are not for consumption–they are to be reused every round and beer is poured into clean glasses from a pitcher for consumption by participants.
Shooting and Table Sides:
First possession will be determined by coin toss. Alternatively, table side may be chosen in lieu of first possession.
Each team will get two (2) shots for each turn, one shot per team member.
Grabbing:
The ball in play may not be grabbed.
In the event of player interference prior to the ball making contact with a cup, (aka premature grabulation), a one-cup penalty will be imposed for the interference. The thrower who had his or her shot interfered with may choose the cup to be removed.
Bounce Shots:
Players are required to let their shots bounce off of the table before making it to the cup.
Reformation:
Cups must be reformed(re-racked) at 6, 3, and 1 cups remaining on the table.
Racks must be aligned to the center of the table.
Rollbacks:
If both players on a team sink his/her shot on the same turn, that team will get one (1) additional rollback shot. The only exception to this rule is during redemption(see below).
Either teammate may take the rollback shot.
Leaning:
A player may not place a hand/foot/leg/penis/whatever on the table in order to gain additional reach and/or leverage. A player’s hand may touch the table after a shot is released.
Players may not edge themselves around the table when they throw.
Under no circumstances may a player shoot with any part of his or her body on (against is permitted) the table.
Players may not move cups out of position in order to gain a leaning advantage. If the cups move as a result of contact with the body while shooting, the cups must be returned to their original spot before the opposing team shoots. Any cup knocked over as the result of excessive leaning will count as a hit shot.
Distractions:
Players may not cross the plane of play (the imaginary plane which runs vertically and separates you from your cups) with any part of their bodies, clothing, or other objects, while the other team is shooting. To avoid violating this rule, just stand back a few feet from your cups.
Players may not fan, blow, or otherwise intentionally create an air current surrounding the cups in play.
Players may not approach the opposing team members in an unsportsmanlike manner. This includes running alongside the table to talk trash in an opposing players face. In general, players should never be on the side of the table (picking up a ball is an exception).
Players and spectators may not visually block cups from opposing players. This includes the use of lighting mechanisms to interfere with vision. As an example, no player may shine a laser pointer in his opponents eyes.
Spectators are permitted to aid in distractions, but may not be inside the playing area at any time. In addition, in the event that players are positioned close to the outer edges of a playing area, spectators are prohibited from unreasonably interfering with a players ability to shoot. Specifically, no spectator is allowed to scream directly into the ears of players at close range, or attempt to block a player’s view of the cups.
Cup Interference:
In the event that a player knocks over his or her own cups, those cups are to be counted as though sunk and removed from the table. They are not to be refilled or replaced unless the dipshits are not paying attention.
Ending the Game:
Redemption (A.K.A. Rebuttal) & Overtime
As soon as the last cup is hit, the opposing team has the opportunity to try and bring the game into Overtime.
Either player may take the first shot, and the ball is rolled back until a player misses. As soon as a miss occurs, the game is over. At this time, players MUST alternate throwers in the event of multiple hits-one player may NOT take all the redemption shots.
Successful redemption results in initiation of a 3-cup overtime, with the dominant team (the team which would have won had their opponents not redeemed), selecting possession. The same redemption and rollback rules apply during overtime as apply pre-overtime.
Disputes
A dispute is not considered to be valid unless witnessed by two or more individuals. In the event of a valid dispute, that game is considered paused and an official must be notified. Any witnesses to the event in question must remain at the table until the dispute has been resolved. All calls made by the referee are final. Intentional abuse of game rules and/or disputation without adequate cause is grounds for ejection from the tournament.
Time Limit On Shooting
In general, players are expected to take their shots within a reasonable amount of time, and in accordance with proper sportsmanship. Generally, no specific time limit is placed on shots. However, times may arise when it is necessary to limit the amount of time each player has to take a shot. In these cases, a referee, at his sole discretion, may institute a ‘shot clock’. When a shot clock has been imposed, the referee will give each player 30 seconds to shoot. This 30 second period will start when the referee deems that the player is ready to shoot (i.e. the player has recovered the ball, and there is nothing preventing him from shooting). In the event that the 30 second period expires, the shooter will forfeit his shot.
Absentee Players
In the event that a player is temporarily absent, no substitution may be made. The game continues without the missing player; i.e. that team receives only one shot per side until the missing player returns.
Conduct
All players are to conduct themselves in a matter respectful to other players, referees, and the venue. Unacceptable conduct will result in severe punitive action, to be applied at the discretion of the referees. Unacceptable conduct includes, but is not limited to, fighting, abuse of referees, unreasonably throwing balls at opponents, abuse of other players, abuse of beer (excessive spilling), etc. Duncan has the final say in all matters.