Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with 11 players in total, made up of 10 field players and a goalkeeper. Teams must move a hockey ball around a pitch by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting circle and then into the goal. The match is won by the team that scores the most goals. Matches are played on grass, watered turf, artificial turf, or indoor boarded surface.
Field hockey is a popular game possibly depicted on walls in Egypt. Drawings of what looks to be hockey have been found in an Egyptian tomb that was 4000 years old. Hockey is a popular game in India and Pakistan. It was played for hundreds of years before other countries like England modernised it. Hockey is similar to an ancient game played in Scotland called shinty. Hockey is often played at schools in the UK but its origins are unclear. Later came ice hockey, which developed in Canada.
Indoor hockey is an indoor variant of field hockey. It is similar to the outdoor game in that two teams compete to move a hard ball into the goal of the opposing side using hockey sticks. Indoor hockey is played on a smaller area and between smaller teams than field hockey and the sidelines are replaced by solid barriers from which the ball rebounds and remains in play.
An umpire in field hockey is a person with the authority to make decisions on a hockey pitch in accordance with the rules of the game. Each match is controlled by two such umpires. In theory they are responsible for decisions taken on their respective half of the field, but practically they 'control' on either diagonal half of the field. In many higher-level events, a reserve umpire is appointed in addition to the two field umpires to act as a back-up in the event of injury or other issue preventing a field umpire from commencing or continuing a match. In World-Level competitions, a video umpire is also appointed in addition to the field and reserve umpires.
In sports, a time-out or timeout is a halt in the play. This allows the coaches of either team to communicate with the team, e.g., to determine strategy or inspire morale, as well as to stop the game clock. Time-outs are usually called by coaches or players, although for some sports, TV timeouts are called to allow media to air commercial breaks. Teams usually call timeouts at strategically important points in the match, or to avoid the team being called for a delay of game-type violation, such as the five-second rule in basketball.
In ice hockey, an official is a person who has some responsibility for enforcing the rules and maintaining the order of the game. There are two categories of officials, on-ice officials, who are the referees and linesmen that enforce the rules during gameplay, and off-ice officials, who have an administrative role rather than an enforcement role.
Instant replay or action replay is a video reproduction of something that recently occurred which was both shot and broadcast live.
In sports, an ejection is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport's rules. The exact violations that lead to an ejection vary depending upon the sport, but common causes for ejection include unsportsmanlike conduct, violent acts against another participant that are beyond the sport's generally accepted standards for such acts, abuse against officials, violations of the sport's rules that the contest official deems to be egregious, or the use of an illegal substance to better a player's game. Most sports have provisions that allow players to be ejected, and many allow for the ejection of coaches, managers, or other non-playing personnel. In sports that use penalty cards, a red card is often used to signal dismissals. In some sports, another player is permitted to enter the game in place of the player who has been ejected, but in others the team is required to continue the game with a reduced number of players.
Ball badminton is a sport native to India. It is a racket sport game, played with a yellow ball made of wool, on a court of fixed dimensions divided by a net. The game was played as early as 1856 by the royal family in Tanjore, the capital of Thanjavur district in Tamil Nadu, India. It enjoys the greatest popularity in India. Ball badminton is a fast-paced game; it demands skill, quick reflexes, good judgment, agility, and the ability to control the ball with one's wrist.
Drag flicking is a scoring technique in the sport of field hockey. It was first seen in the late 1980s in Australia. It is used as an attacking technique, mainly within penalty corner involving two main components known as the scoop and flick. The technique involves a running up, and then forceful 'slinging' technique of the ball around your body, towards the goals.
In field hockey, a penalty corner, sometimes known as a short corner, is a penalty given against the defending team. It is predominantly awarded for a defensive infringement in the penalty circle or for a deliberate infringement within the defensive 23-metre area. They are eagerly sought by attacking players and provide an excellent opportunity to score. There are particular rules for that only apply at penalty corners and players develop specialist skills, such as the drag flick, for this particular phase in the game.
In field hockey, each player carries a stick and cannot take part in the game without it. The stick for an adult is usually in the range 89–95 cm (35–38 in) long. A maximum length of 105 cm (41.3") was stipulated from 2015. The maximum permitted weight is 737 grams. The majority of players use a stick in the range 19 oz to 22 oz. Traditionally hockey sticks were made of hickory, ash or mulberry wood with the head of the sticks being hand carved and therefore required skilled craftsmen to produce. Sticks made of wood continue to be made but the higher grade sticks are now manufactured from composite materials which were first permitted after 1992. These sticks usually contain a combination of fibreglass, aramid fiber and carbon fibre in varying proportions according to the characteristics required.
There is currently no offside rule in field hockey. There were prior offside rules, rules that restricted the positioning of players from the attacking team in a way similar to the offside rule in association football. The evolution of the field hockey offside rule culminated with its abolition in the mid-1990s.
The Gibraltar Hockey Association (GHA) is the governing body of field hockey in Gibraltar. It was initially founded as the Civilian Hockey Association in 1948, although hockey was being played prior to this under the British military forces based in Gibraltar. A year later changed its name to the Gibraltar Hockey Association.
A hockey pitch is the playing surface for the game of field hockey. Historically, the game was played on natural turf (grass) and nowadays it is predominantly played on an artificial turf. The transition to artificial pitches came during the 1970s and was made mandatory for major competitions in 1976. All the lines, markings and goal specifications are outlined by the International Hockey Federation in "The Rules of Hockey".
A penalty shootout is a method used in field hockey to decide which team progresses to the next stage of a tournament following a tied game. Two methods have been used: the original penalty stroke competition is a best-of-five penalty strokes with sudden death if scores were level after five strokes. An alternate penalty shoot-out competition was introduced at major tournaments in 2011. Sometimes known as a penalty shuffle, the method is similar to penalty shots in ice hockey and consists of one-on-ones between an attacking player and a goalkeeper. Up to 2013, up to two 7.5-minute golden goal periods were played first; that method ceased after.
Tim Pullman is an international field hockey umpire from Australia who has officiated over 150 international games since his debut in 1999 including two consecutive Summer Olympics. Prior to umpiring he represented South Australia as a field hockey player from junior through to the National League competition.
A pitch clock is used in various baseball leagues to limit the amount of time a pitcher uses before he throws the ball to the hitter and/or limit the amount of time the hitter uses before he is prepared to hit.
In baseball, pace of play refers to the length of time between in-game action, specifically the length of time a pitcher takes between their pitches. A slow pace of play can extend the length of games, which is regarded as an issue in college baseball and professional baseball. To accelerate the pace of play, leagues have instituted rule changes, such as the implementation of a pitch clock in Major League Baseball.
Carol Metchette is an Irish field hockey player and umpire from Dublin, Republic of Ireland. She retired from playing in 2002 and became an umpire until 2012 when she was forced to retire due to the International Hockey Federation (IHF) creating a mandatory retirement age for umpires. She is currently an IHF video referee.