Official · League Rules
World Jai Alai League Rules.
The official rules governing the World Jai Alai League — league structure, team makeup, the annual draft, substitution policy, match play, scoring, playoffs, and the championship.
The official rules governing the World Jai Alai League — league structure, team makeup, the annual draft, substitution policy, match play, scoring, playoffs, and the championship.
The following rules govern professional Jai Alai as played in the World Jai Alai League. The League Office reserves the right to amend these and any other applicable rules, bylaws, or governing documents at any time.
The World Jai Alai League (the “League”) is a professional Jai Alai league offering head-to-head, team-format Jai Alai — a modern reinvention of the sport that emphasizes competition between named franchises rather than the pari-mutuel format of prior eras.
The League is comprised of six (6) teams: the Chargers, Cyclones, Devils, Fireballs, Renegades, and Warriors. Each team is comprised of six (6) players. The League may expand the number of teams at its discretion.
All players, coaches, referees, and other League staff are employees of the League. The League is operated and regulated by the League Office and is governed by these rules, bylaws, and any other governing documents created, amended, or promulgated by the League Office. All sponsorships, deals, and third-party contractual relationships involving the League, teams, players, or other employees are subject to the sole discretion of the League Office.
The World Jai Alai League plays two seasons of 12–16 weeks annually throughout the calendar year. The League Office determines the dates and times of play, as well as the duration of each season.
Each live play day features six (6) total matches: up to three (3) Singles matches and up to six (6) Doubles matches between the same two (2) teams.
Players on each team are ranked in Singles and Doubles play by the League Office at the League Office’s sole discretion.
Each team has five (5) Singles players ranked Division 1 through Division 5 and one additional player designated for Doubles play only. Players compete against equally ranked players on other teams: the Division 1 player of one team plays the Division 1 player of another, and so forth down through Division 5.
Each team forms a total of six (6) Doubles pairings. Because each team is made up of six (6) players, each player must be on two Doubles pairings. No player may be on more than two (2) Doubles pairings except due to injury.
A team may designate its Doubles pairings as Division 1 through Division 6, subject to approval by the League Office.
Each team is designated as the “home” or “visiting” team in an equal number of matches. The visiting team serves first in all matches.
Substitutions must generally be executed by using a lower-ranked player on the roster of the substituting team. Exceptions to this policy include:
When, as the result of a scratch in a Singles match, the Division 6 Doubles player would be playing Singles against a player ranked Division 5 or higher, the League may, at its sole discretion, determine the resulting match to be non-competitive and designate a reserve player to play in place of the Division 6 player. In such an instance, points are awarded as follows: if the non-substituting team wins, one point is awarded; if the substituting team wins, each team is awarded one-half point.
In the event of a match-day scratch of a player in Singles or Doubles, only a lower-ranked player (by Singles designation) or the designated Doubles player may be substituted. Substitutions can be made pre-match or in-match based on injuries occurring during play. If no lower-ranked player is available, the match is declared a forfeit.
In the event of a long-term injury (more than 14 calendar days) or an unforeseen circumstance so designated by the League Office, a list of available reserve players will be provided by the League Office, and a team may select from that list or elect to play under the standard scratch policy. Reserve players are given a Division-level designation by the League and cannot play at a level lower than their designation. For example, a reserve player designated as Division 3 may only play at the Division 1, Division 2, or Division 3 level. The same rule applies in Doubles: a reserve player may only replace a player of equal or higher Division-level designation.
In the rare instance that both players on a specific Doubles team are out with documented extended injuries (estimated at more than seven calendar days from the first missed match), the team may substitute a lower-division Doubles team in full, even if that team contains a higher-ranked player than the two players out with extended injuries. This applies only when the full substitute Doubles team is designated at the time of entry. Scratches made after the entry deadline cannot use this substitution process. All substitution decisions must be approved by the League Office at the time of entry.
A player draft is held approximately 15 to 45 days prior to the ensuing season.
The teams finishing last and second-to-last in the prior season may freeze up to two (2) players. All other teams excluding the championship-winning team may freeze up to three (3) players, and the prior season’s championship team may freeze up to four (4) players on its current roster prior to the draft. A frozen player remains at the same Singles ranking for the upcoming season. The decision of whom to freeze is made by the team owner or, if no team owner exists, by the League Office. Frozen players must be submitted to the League Office no less than ten (10) days prior to the draft, or earlier if specified by the League Office.
The drafting order is determined by the reverse order of finish in the previous season. Each round starts with the team that finished with the least amount of total points and ends with the League Champions. In the event an expansion team is added to the League, that team drafts in a position that shifts one position higher in each successive round, ending with the first pick in the sixth round. With a six-team League, the expansion team would draft sixth in the first round, fifth in the second round, and so forth, ending with the first pick in the sixth round. The number of players a team is allowed to freeze may be adjusted at the discretion of the League Office when an expansion team is admitted.
In rounds where teams have protected (frozen) players, they forfeit their pick in that round, and the other teams automatically move up in the draft selection order.
Any players not drafted within two (2) subsequent rounds of their prior season’s Singles ranking level are automatically placed in the reserve pool and are not eligible for draft selection until the following season, at which point they are open to selection in any round.
A player may be frozen at his Singles ranking for a maximum of three (3) full seasons, exclusive of Division 1 ranked players and exclusive of seasons when an expansion team is admitted. Going into the next season, if the team wishes to freeze that same player again, the team must move the player up to a higher Singles rank. If the team does not choose to move the player up in ranking, he becomes eligible for selection in the ensuing draft. When frozen selections are due for an upcoming season, a team may elect to move a current player up to a higher designation, which resets the three-season freeze clock. This player still counts as an official freeze by the team.
Upon conclusion of the drafting portion of Draft Day, the team owner, General Manager, and players have approximately 75 minutes to compose their six (6) Doubles pairings and submit them for approval and announcement by the League Office. One Doubles pairing must consist of the number five (5) and number six (6) ranked players on the team. Doubles teams are initially submitted on draft day with one player designated as the frontcourt player and one as the backcourt player. During the season a team may swap the frontcourt and backcourt players, but once that swap is officially submitted to the League Office, no further changes can be made for the remainder of the season.
A Team Captain for each team is appointed by the team owner or, if no team owner exists, by the League Office at the sole discretion of the League Office. The Team Captain is the only non-player allowed in the player seating area during a match. When the Captain is competing in a match, one player designated by the Captain may take his place in that area.
Matches are played between two Singles players or two Doubles pairings on the World Jai Alai League court — a three-sided playing court made of three walls (front, side/left, and back) and the floor between them. The court is 120 feet long, with the length noted by parallel lines on the side wall every 10 feet, numbered from 1 through 13. Line one (1) is at the front wall side, and numbers continue to line thirteen (13) at the back wall.
The service line, underserve line, and overserve line are marked in red on the floor and the side wall. The out-of-bounds boundary line is marked in red on the floor on the open side of the court. Out-of-bounds boundaries at the front and back walls are also marked in red. Players are required to wear a curved throwing basket on their right hand.
Matches are composed of sets played to six points. The first player or team to win two sets is declared the winner of the match. The server is allowed two serves — the second serve is permitted only if the first serve is an underserve or an overserve. The player or team winning the point retains the serve within a set. The player or team losing the prior set serves first in the next set.
Each serve requires the serving player to bounce the ball behind the service line and then, in one continuous motion, throw the ball off the front wall. The ball must strike the front wall before it comes in contact with the side wall, and it must land in the service box on its first bounce. The service box is designated as the space between the 4 line and the 7 line.
The object of the game is to place the ball where the opponent cannot return it, whether caught on the fly or after one bounce, into the field of play. The ball must be caught and returned in one fluid motion. Holding the ball, juggling the ball, or anything that breaks the continuous motion — as well as failing to return a ball caught in the air or after one bounce — results in a loss of point. Interference may be ruled if, in the judge’s opinion, the location or action of a player prevented the receiving player from returning the ball, provided the receiving player requests interference and does not make an attempt to play the ball.
A player or team scores a point if the opposing player or team:
Should a ball in the course of play strike the banner material above the third row of glass panels on the back wall, the point is replayed. The judge’s decision whether or not to replay a point is final.
If the Chief Judge determines that a player is intentionally stalling play or extending the time between points, a warning is issued. If the conduct continues, the Chief Judge may award a point to the opposing player or team.
An injury timeout of up to five (5) minutes may be issued by the Chief Judge. The injured player must return to the court within the allotted time, or a substitute player must be on the court within the allotted time. Failure to adhere to this rule results in a forfeiture of the match. No player may receive more than one injury timeout in any single match. In lieu of a second timeout, a substitute player — if available — must replace the injured player, or the match will be declared a forfeit.
In the event a judge accidentally blows their whistle signaling the end of a point, the point is replayed.
Winners of Singles and Doubles matches earn one (1) point for their team. There are six matches in a gameday. A match can end in a win, loss, or gameday tie.
Standings are based on one (1) point for a gameday win and one-half (½) point for a gameday tie. Ties between teams with an identical win-loss-tie record are broken by using the total points won during the season.
The four (4) teams earning the most points during the regular season meet in the playoffs. The team earning the most points competes against the team earning the fourth-most points. The teams finishing with the second-most and third-most points compete against each other in the first round.
Each playoff round consists of six (6) Doubles matches. The first team to win four (4) matches is declared the winner and advances to the championship finals. If after six (6) matches the teams are tied three-to-three, the higher-seeded team pre-selects one Doubles pairing to play a one-set sudden-death tiebreaker to six (6) points to determine the match winner. The championship final follows the same format as the playoff round. The higher-seeded team is always designated the home team.
In the event of a regular-season tie in gameday points earned by two or more teams, the team that has won the most individual matches receives the higher ranking.
Players earn prize money for each match won. Teams earn gameday prize money based on winning or losing a gameday. Additional prize money is awarded based on the outcome of the playoff and championship rounds for all teams competing.
The Championship consists of six (6) Doubles matches, following the same format as the playoff round.
The team that wins the World Jai Alai League Championship splits $30,000, and the second-place team splits $15,000.
These rules are subject to amendment by the League Office at any time. Historical seasons may have been played under earlier versions of the ruleset. For questions about interpretation or enforcement, contact the League Office at info@jaialai.com.