TagTop is a sport of movement and strategy played on a 12 × 8 m pitch. Each team fields four players linked hand-in-hand as a chain and one free player. Tag an opponent, sprint to a corner circle, call “Top!” — and set another teammate free. Encircle the whole enemy team, and the match ends on the spot.
Blue team — chain of 4 + 1 freeRed team — chain of 4 + 1 free“TOP!” — a scored run
Corner circles = Top Points · r = 1 m
TAG!●RUN●TOP!●FREE A TEAMMATE●HOLD THE CHAIN●CLOSE THE RING●60 SECONDS●ONE FOOT IN●FREEDOM IS THE SCORE●TAG!●RUN●TOP!●FREE A TEAMMATE●HOLD THE CHAIN●CLOSE THE RING●60 SECONDS●ONE FOOT IN●FREEDOM IS THE SCORE●
5V5
The game in thirty seconds
Five players. One is free. The rest are the chain.
Freedom is the score. Every tactic in TagTop — the tag, the top run, the encirclement — exists to win freedom for your team or strip it from theirs.
5 v 5
Team size
Four players hold hands as one chain; the fifth starts as the only free player. Up to three substitutes on the bench.
12×8
Meters of pitch
A rectangle with a midline and four corner circles of one-meter radius — the Top Points. Yours sit in the enemy half.
2×10
Minute rounds
Net time, five-minute break, no added time. Teams swap halves — and the loser of round one starts round two a player down.
0
Equipment needed
No ball, no gear. A flat surface, chalk lines, referee flags — and ten people who like to run and think at the same time.
TOP!
How a point is scored
The Top Run
Scoring is a four-beat sequence — and every beat can be broken by the other team.
Step 1
Tag
A free player — or a player at either end of the chain — touches an opponent and calls it out loud. Interior chain players can't tag: both their hands are taken.
“TAG!”
Step 2
Swap
If a chain-end player tagged, the team's free player must first rejoin the chain and take their place — only then may the tagger detach. Break the chain out of sequence and the tag is void, plus a yellow card.
“FREE!”
Step 3
Run
The tagger has one minute — swap time included — to reach one of their team's two Top Points in the enemy half. Any opponent may counter-tag them mid-run and reverse everything.
60 SEC
Step 4
Top
One foot inside the corner circle, one loud word — the point stands. Your team frees one more player from its chain. Fail the run, and you lose a free player instead.
“TOP!”
Reverse scoring: a failed top run costs the attacking team one free player — and if the failure came from a counter-tag, the defenders free one of theirs as well. Momentum in TagTop cuts both ways.
CHAIN
The two great maneuvers
The chain is your weapon. And your weakness.
The Chain
The chain moves as one body. It is slow, but it is wide — and only its two end players have a free hand to tag with. Position the chain well and it herds the enemy free player into a corner; position it badly and it is a wall your own runner has to route around.
Release a hand — deliberately or not — and you're off until the end of the round.
A free player may rejoin at either end at any time, passing freedom to a teammate who detaches from an end.
If an opponent breaks your chain by pulling or striking, the foul is theirs and your chain reforms free of penalty.
The Encirclement
Close your chain into a ring around one or more opponents — the two ends of the chain joining hands — and the trapped players leave the pitch until the round ends. Ring the entire enemy team, and the match ends immediately in a Full Victory.
Encircled players cannot tag the ring that holds them — their tags are void.
A teammate outside the ring can shatter it with a single tag on any encircling player as it forms.
No jumping the linked hands, no forcing under them. The only way out of a closing ring is its open mouth.
FAIR
Discipline
Three cards. No arguments.
TagTop is non-contact by law. The only legal touches are the gentle tag and your own teammates' hands. Everything else meets the referee's pocket.
Caution
Blue Card
A warning. It follows you all match.
Calling “Tag!” without a real touch
Light pushing, shirt-pulling
Time-wasting
Discourteous protest to a referee
Round expulsion
Yellow Card
Off the pitch until the round ends.
Releasing a hand within the chain
Stepping out of the field of play
A second blue-card caution
Full expulsion
Red Card
Out of the match. No replacement.
Striking an opponent
Any blow to sensitive body parts
A third caution
Cautions accumulate across the whole match: 2 blue = yellow · 3 blue = red. A carded player can never be substituted — the card belongs to the player, not the position.
The official laws
Twenty articles. One founding document.
The complete Constitution and Rules of Play govern every official TagTop match. The essentials of each article, in brief:
ART. 1–3Identity & Definitions+
The name TagTop comes from the game's two core actions: the Tag (a gentle, called touch) and the Top (reaching a corner circle). Ten defined terms — Chain, Free Player, Top Point, Top Run, Encirclement and more — carry precise meanings throughout the laws.
ART. 4–5Field & Equipment+
A 12 × 8 m rectangle with a midline and four one-meter-radius corner circles. Flat, non-slip surface with a one-meter run-off zone. Contrasting numbered shirts, no jewelry or hard objects, short fingernails. Referees carry flags, a timer, a whistle, and three cards.
ART. 6–8Teams, Time & Kick-off+
Five field players plus up to three substitutes; men's and women's divisions. Two ten-minute rounds of net time with a five-minute interval. A coin toss chooses halves; each round begins with a four-player chain and exactly one free player per team.
ART. 9–10The Chain, the Tag & the Top+
Only end-of-chain players and free players may tag. A chain-end tag requires the free-player swap before the tagger detaches. One minute to complete the top run; success frees a teammate, failure reverses the score. Fake tag calls draw a blue card.
ART. 11–12Encirclement & Winning+
A closed ring removes the trapped players for the round; ringing the whole enemy team ends the match in Full Victory — as does freeing your entire team while theirs is fully chained. Otherwise, most free players at the round's end wins it. Split rounds go to a five-minute Golden Round: first Top or Encirclement wins.
ART. 13–14Substitutions & Cards+
Unlimited substitutions at stoppages; the substitute inherits the exact status of the player replaced. Blue cautions, yellow round expulsions, red full expulsions — carded players cannot be substituted, and expelled players are never replaced.
ART. 15–16Referees & Safety+
Two sideline referees rule on facts with final authority; a Time Referee runs the clock, the top-run minute, and the match report — all coordinated by flag signals. First aid on site, mandatory warm-up, and a safety inspection before every match.
ART. 17–20Competitions+
League, knockout, and cup formats; Under-12, Under-15, Under-18 and Senior categories (smaller pitch and shorter rounds for U-12). All teams register at tagtop.org. On-field decisions are final; other protests go in writing to the Disciplinary Committee within one hour.
Official competitions, rankings, and certifications are open to registered members only. One annual fee, one official identification number, verifiable at tagtop.org. All fees in CAD.
Membership is annual and renewable, grants no ownership or voting rights in the Federation, and is subject to the Laws and the Disclaimer & Assumption of Risk. Fees are set by the Federation, may be revised annually, and are non-refundable. Full terms: Part III, Chapter 4 of the Charter.
CERTIFY
The TagTop Academy
Get certified. Run the game.
Official refereeing and coaching certifications, issued only by the Federation, recorded with a unique ID and publicly verifiable at tagtop.org. Every course: theory, on-field practice, and a final exam — pass mark 70%.
Referee Pathway
Flags · Cards · Final authority
1
Level 1 — Regional
Officiate local and club matches. The laws, flag signals, card management, and safety control.
$150
2
Level 2 — National
Officiate national leagues and cups. Advanced positioning, encirclement rulings, top-run timing.
$275
3
Level 3 — International
Officiate all competitions, including international events. Match direction and referee assessment.
$450
Prerequisite for each level: a valid certificate at the level below + one recorded season. Requires an active Referee membership.
Coach Pathway
Chains · Tactics · Development
1
Level 1 — Foundation
Teach beginners and grassroots age groups. Fundamentals, safe practice design, and the laws.
$175
2
Level 2 — Club
Lead club teams in official competition. Chain tactics, freedom management, match preparation.
$300
3
Level 3 — Professional
Lead teams at the highest level and train new instructors. Analytics, periodization, elite strategy.
$475
Prerequisite for each level: a valid certificate at the level below + one recorded season. Requires an active Coach membership.
Certificates valid 2 yearsRenewal: refresher course + $40Unique ID · public verificationRevocable for serious misconduct
The governing body of the sport, operated by the creators and rights holders of TagTop through tagtop.org — the exclusive home of the TagTop name, laws, and certification system, and of its official competitions.
What the Federation does
Writes and enforces the official laws. Organizes and licenses competitions at every level. Runs the Academy and issues every official referee and coaching credential. Registers members, clubs and associations, maintains the official world rankings, and manages the brand — sponsorship, media rights, and merchandise.
Founders’ CouncilTechnical & RulesRefereesCompetitionsDisciplinaryEducation Academy
Host a licensed event
Official TagTop matches, leagues and tournaments run under a written Federation license. Licensees get sanctioned status, certified referees, ranking points for participants — and the right to use the TagTop name commercially for their event.
Organizers remain responsible for venue safety, first aid, insurance, and signed participant waivers — see the Disclaimer below and Articles 15–16 of the laws. Casual and school play stays free for everyone, always.
Important notice — this applies to everyone who plays, teaches, or organizes TagTop
Warning of physical risk
TagTop is a physical activity involving sprinting, sudden changes of direction, pursuit and evasion, and coordinated group movement in linked chains. Participation carries inherent risks, including but not limited to: falls; collisions with other players, surfaces, or objects; sprains, strains, and fractures; joint, muscular, and cardiovascular injury; and, in rare cases, serious injury, permanent disability, or death.
Assumption of risk and personal responsibility
Participation in TagTop is entirely voluntary. Every person who plays, practices, teaches, or organizes this sport does so with full knowledge of these risks, freely and knowingly assumes all such risks, and accepts sole and personal responsibility for their own health, safety, and the consequences of their participation.
No liability of the creators
To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, the creators of this sport and of this website, the owner of the TagTop mark and of the domain tagtop.org, the TagTop Federation (whether or not incorporated), any future governing entity of the sport, and all of their respective affiliates, directors, officers, members, agents, and representatives accept no liability whatsoever, and shall not be liable, for any injury, illness, death, or loss or damage of any kind — whether direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, or otherwise — arising out of or in connection with the playing of this sport, the use of this website or its documents, or reliance on their contents, whether arising in contract, tort (including negligence), or otherwise.
Responsibility of organizers
Full responsibility for the safety of any game, practice, or competition rests exclusively with the organizer of that event, including without limitation: assessing the safety of the venue; providing qualified adult supervision; ensuring the availability of first aid; obtaining appropriate liability insurance; obtaining signed waivers, releases, and assumption-of-risk forms from all participants (and from parents or guardians of minors); and complying with all applicable municipal, provincial, and federal laws and regulations of the jurisdiction in which the event is held.
Medical advice
Consult a physician before participating in TagTop, particularly if you have any history of cardiovascular, respiratory, musculoskeletal, or other medical conditions.
Minors
Participation by minors is permitted only with the written consent and under the supervision of a parent or legal guardian, who assumes responsibility for the minor's participation.
Nature of this website and its documents
This website and all documents published on it are provided “as is”, without warranty of any kind, express or implied. Nothing here constitutes medical, legal, or professional advice, and nothing shall be construed as a guarantee of safety.
Governing law and severability
This notice is governed by the laws of the Province of Alberta and the federal laws of Canada applicable therein. If any provision is held invalid or unenforceable in any jurisdiction, the remaining provisions continue in full force and effect.
By using this website, reading its documents, or playing, teaching, or organizing TagTop, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and accepted this notice in full.
