With a large following throughout the United States, field hockey is among the nation's most popular sporting pastimes. The game features competitive and highly athletic play, while avoiding much of the roughness or violence of other sports.
Basics of the Game:
The basic rules of the game are simple. There are two teams of 11 players, including a goalie. The teams face off on a field measuring 100 yards by 60 yards, with a goal on each end. The teams are equipped with hooked sticks, which they use to hit and pass a small plastic ball. The object of the game is to propel the ball into the goal of the opposite team, thereby scoring a point. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins. Players are not allowed to touch the ball with any part of the body, or with any part of the stick other than the flat hitting surface. Games last for 70 minutes and are divided into two 35-minute halves with a short break in between.
Besides these basic rules, there are a number of further guidelines and specifications for competitive play. These are grouped according to subject.
Equipment:
Field Hockey is a stick and ball game, so players must use long wooden sticks to hit the ball. Sticks have a hook at one end to increase surface area and have both a curved and a flat side. However, they can only be used to strike the ball with the flat side of the hook. The ball is small, about 9 inches in diameter, and is made out of synthetic materials. It is dimpled on the outside, like a gold ball. Goalie sticks are slightly different than normal sticks, having an extra-large hook at the end to maximize surface area and blocking area, as well as a larger handle for the same purpose.
Playing Field:
Measuring a total of 100 yards by 60 yards, the field hockey playing surface is further divided down the middle into two halves measuring 60 yards by 50 yards. Each half is divided into quarters, and each quarter has a striking circle marked out at the end, measuring 16 yards from each goal post. Players may only shoot from within the striking circle. Goals, located at each end of the field, must measure exactly seven feet high, twelve feet wide, and four feet deep. Although most field hockey fields are covered in short grass, all competitive play at the international level must be conducted on artificial turf.
Extended Rules:
A coin-toss is used to determine which team starts with control of the ball and which goal they are attacking. If play stops with no penalty, due to injury for example, a bully is used to restart play. Two competing players face-off over the ball, tap sticks together once, and then each attempts to play the ball.
Rough play or full-body contact is not permitted. Players are not allowed to push, shove, or trip each other, and they cannot interfere with another player's stick. The only contact allowed is between the ball and the stick, with the exception of the goalie, who can block and pass using his entire body.
Players are allowed to substitute in and out of the game, from the choice of up to five alternates, as many times as they wish. Playing time, however, is not stopped during substitutions, except for the goalie.
Fouls and game infractions result in a free hit, during which no opposing player may be within five yards of the ball when hit. If the foul occurs within the demarcated striking circle at either end of the field, a penalty corner is awarded. During penalty corners, the attacking team places the ball on the goal line, at least 10 yards from either goal post, then passes it to any player outside the striking circle. The ball can only be shot on goal once it has been dribbled or passed within the striking circle again.
For more serious infractions, such as the illegal blocking of a sure goal or an intentional foul, a penalty shot is allowed. The attacking player gets a single shot on goal at a distance of seven yards, with only the goalie in position to defend. All other players must be behind the 25 yard line. In addition, referees may suspend players or eject them from the game for excessively rough play, intentional fouls, or other misconduct.
In case of a tie at the end of game play, two extra seven-and-a-half-minute halves are added to the game, with any goal ending the game. If the game remains tied at the end of the two halves, penalty shots are used to determine the result. Each team selects five players to alternate shots until a team has scored.
