Format & Rules
Full-length games on a college clock — a format designed to prepare athletes for what comes next.
Game Format
Every Arena game is played at full length. No shortened halves, no running-clock blowouts in the moments that decide a result — and every game starts on the hour.
- Quarters
- Four 12-minute quarters
- Between Quarters
- 1 minute
- Halftime
- 3 minutes
- Stop Time
- Final 2 minutes of the 4th quarter
- Overtime
- Stop time in all overtime periods
- Shot Clock
- 80 seconds
- Advancing the Ball
- 20 seconds to cross midfield, consistent with college rules
- Over and Back
- In effect after the 20-second count
- Shot Clock Reset
- Resets to 60 seconds
Why the Breaks Are Short
Four 12-minute quarters, one minute between quarters and a three-minute halftime put a regulation game at roughly 53 minutes of clock. That is what lets every game tip on the hour and still leave room in the slot for pre-game warmups and overtime, without pushing the rest of the day back.
- Game Slot
- 60 minutes — games start on the hour
- Regulation
- ~53 minutes of running clock
- Remaining
- Warmups and overtime absorbed inside the slot
Quarters
Halftime
Shot Clock
Cross Midfield
One Team,
One Series
To preserve competitive integrity across every stop while allowing roster flexibility, The Arena enforces a 30-player roster cap per team for the full series.
- Teams may register up to 30 total players for the series
- The cap prevents the use of entirely different rosters from one stop to the next
- Teams may add players after the fall event, provided the roster does not exceed 30 players
- This allows flexibility for injuries and availability while maintaining roster continuity
The policy ensures The Arena remains a true multi-stop championship pathway — rewarding fall performance while allowing reasonable adjustments heading into the winter championship.
