FIH releases new rules of Outdoor Hockey
After the recommendations of FIH Rules Committee, the International Hockey Federation (FIH) has released the Rules of Hockey 2017 which will come into effect for International Hockey from 1st January 2017. However, the National Associations are free to choose the date of their implementation.
Although there have been no major changes to the rule of the game from the last edition of rules of Hockey 2015, the minor changes which came to force in February 2016 have now only been formally incorporated to the rule book.
To keep a close alignment of the rules of indoor and outdoor hockey, FIH has decided to put into effect the new rules to Outdoor Hockey, which was already published in Rules of Indoor Hockey 2017.
The rules incorporated are:-
· Rule 1.10 No equipment etc. to be placed inside the goals
· Rule 2.1 Clarification that decisions taken prior to correcting a team having more than the permitted number of players on the pitch cannot be changed if time and/or play has already been re-started
·Rule 2.2 Clarification that any change between goalkeeping options, even for Players with Goalkeeping Privileges, either on or off the pitch, must take place as a substitution
·Rule 4.2 Change of the description of ‘gloves’ to ‘hand protection’; specification of the size of hand protection which may be used, both for normal play and to defend Penalty Corners; addition of guidance regarding the use of knee pads when defending Penalty Corners
·Rule 4.3 Deletion of ‘single’ in colour of Goalkeeper shirt
·Rule 9.8 Adjustment to the guidance to ‘A ball is also considered dangerous …’
·Rule 9.16 Addition into guidance that if a ball hits discarded Penalty Corner defence equipment then a Free Hit will result if outside the circle or a Penalty Corner if inside the circle
·Rule 13.2 The changes to Rule 13.2, which were posted to the FIH website on 16 February 2016 as an adjustment to the previous Rules, are now formally incorporated
·Rule 13.7d Tidying up of two paragraphs of repeated guidance concerning the completion of Penalty Corners
·Rule 13.8e Addition of ‘once the whistle has been blown to start the Penalty Stroke’ for no movement of the Goalkeeper’s feet at a Penalty Stroke
·Rule 13.10d Adjustment of the guidance for the caution/carding procedure for a Goalkeeper moving early at a Penalty Stroke, bringing it into line with the Indoor Rule
·Addition of the new ‘Corner’ signal in the Umpiring Signals section