Playing The Ball Intentionally Off The End Line | How to Apply the Rules of Hockey | #RuleyTuesday Ep. 1

Here's the first instalment of a new feature called #RuleyTuesday.* I'll present a hot take on one subclause of a hockey rule in as close as I can get to 2′. Up first: intentionally playing the ball off the end line. Let me know your thoughts!

Do you have a request and would like to see your favourite hockey rule shoot up the charts? Reply or comment below, slide in the DMs, or send your best sled dog team with the postal mail. For more in-depth conversations, check out the #UmpireAtHome series of videos too!

*This may be the worst play on words I've ever indulged in. Forgive me for the shutdown has been long and harsh. The brief rush of freedom I experienced at the hair salon went straight to my roots.

#hockey #fieldhockey #hockeyumpire #fieldhockeyumpire #rules #umpirelife #thirdteam #FIH #FIHumpire #rulesofhockey #rulesoffieldhockey

Transcript

Hey friends, I’m Keely Dunn of FHumpires and this is the first edition of #RuleyTuesday; a hot take on just one rule in our actually not-so-vast rule book. So: come with me!

Today's rule is actually a two-for: I believe in value. First, under 7.4, when the ball is played over the back line and no goal is scored: under sub (c), if played intentionally by a defender, unless deflected by a goalkeeper, play is restarted with a penalty corner. The wording is virtually the same where the rule appears for the second time under s. 12.3(d).

What's cool about this rule in both iterations is we discover that it's actually not a foul to play the ball intentionally off the end line.

WHAAAAAATTTT

Look under s. 12.3. Each of the subsections talks about an offence by a defender whether it's intentional or unintentional. There's also that pesky little rule about the ball getting trapped in the goalkeeper's equipment, but let's not go there because we're focusing on this rule. Nowhere in the language is it described as an offence to play the ball intentionally off the end line.

So, that means you can't award a penalty stroke for intentionally sending the ball off the end line. They can only be awarded for unintentionally offending and stopping a probable goal or an intentional offence against a player with possession or likely to gain possession of the ball, not for a “non-offence.”

So if a player has a go at you in the future wanting a penalty stroke because player X was so deliberate with the way they played the ball off the end line, you're just going to have to say, “Nope, I can't, and I learned it here on #RuleyTuesday.”

Thank you for joining in. If you have any comments, questions, or a suggestion for the next #RuleyTuesday, hit me up in the comment or the replies, I'd love to hear from you. Chau for now!