Although positions will typically be categorized as either fullback, halfback, midfield/inner or striker, it is important for players to have an understanding of every position on the field. There are many variations to overtime play that depend on the league or tournament rules. If the back side of the stick is used, it is a penalty and the other team will get the ball back. The word hockey itself has no clear origin. Each team may also play with: * a goalkeeper who wears a different color shirt and full protective equipment comprising at least headgear, leg guards and kickers; this player is referred to in the rules as a goalkeeper; or, * Only field players; no player has goalkeeping privileges or wears a different color shirt; no player may wear protective headgear except a face mask when defending a penalty corner or stroke.[5]. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. Although they may have particular spaces on the field which they are more comfortable and effective as players, they are responsible for occupying the space nearest them. Finally, there is the obstruction rule: a player is not permitted to obstruct an opponent by putting his stick or any part of his body between the opponent and the ball or by running between the opponent and the ball. Hockey features in F. J. Campbell's 2018 novel No Number Nine, the final chapters of which are set at the Sydney 2000 Olympics. These experimental rules apply to all free-hit situations, including sideline and corner hits. The Australian men’s field hockey team has also been world cup champions thrice. A fully equipped goalkeeper must wear a helmet, leg guards and kickers, and like all players, they must carry a stick. Field hockey goals also include sideboards and a backboard, which stand 50 cm (20 in) from the ground. The first club, the Molesey Ladies, was founded in 1887. Although at higher levels this was considered tactically risky and low-percentage at creating scoring opportunities, it was used with some effect to 'win' penalty corners by forcing the ball onto a defender's foot or to deflect high (and dangerously) off a defender's stick. Get the Argentina Women's Field Hockey team news, updates, match schedule … Causing a dangerous play by raising the ball by undercutting it, as well as hooking an opponent’s stick, are also fouls. In the United States, the games at the junior high level consist of four 12-minute periods, while the high-school level consists of two 30-minute periods. While a player is taking a free hit or starting a corner the back swing of their hit cannot be too high for this is considered dangerous. Nicknamed Las Leonas, it is one of the most successful sides in the sport having won four consecutive Olympic medals since the 2000 edition. The penalty stroke is taken by a single attacker in the circle, against the goalkeeper, from a spot 6.4 m from goal. It does not permit a goalkeeper or player with goalkeeping privileges to propel the ball forcefully with arms, hands or body so that it travels a long distance. Tackling is permitted as long as the tackler does not make contact with the attacker or the other person's stick before playing the ball (contact after the tackle may also be penalized if the tackle was made from a position where contact was inevitable). For this reason players now use the tight curved sticks. Amongst the women, Australia and Netherlands have 3 Olympic golds while Netherlands has clinched the World Cup 6 times. Netherlands, Australia and Argentina are the most successful national teams among women. In order to produce a powerful hit, usually for travel over long distances or shooting at the goal, the stick is raised higher and swung with maximum power at the ball, a stroke sometimes known as a "drive". Although there has been a change in the wording of this rule from 1 January 2007, the current FIH umpires' briefing instructs umpires not to change the way they interpret this rule.[31]. During the Middle Ages a French stick game called hoquet was played, and the English word may be derived from it. The basic tactic in field hockey, as in association football and many other team games, is to outnumber the opponent in a particular area of the field at a moment in time. The game is played by two teams of 11 players on a rectangular ground. The use of the stick to strike an opponent will usually be much more severely dealt with by the umpires than offences such as barging, impeding and obstruction with the body, although these are also dealt with firmly, especially when these fouls are intentional: field hockey is a non-contact game. Other notable men's nations include Argentina, England (who combine with other British "Home Nations" to form the Great Britain side at Olympic events) and South Korea. [22], Historically the game developed on natural grass turf. Unlike football, a player may receive more than one green or yellow card. With the 2009 changes to the rules regarding free hits in the attacking 23m area, the common tactic of hitting the ball hard into the circle was forbidden. In the case of a second yellow card for a different breach of the rules (for example a yellow for deliberate foot, and a second later in the game for dangerous play) the temporary suspension would be expected to be of considerably longer duration than the first. The FIH felt it was a dangerous practice that could easily lead to raised deflections and injuries in the circle, which is often crowded at a free-hit situation, and outlawed it. They are not allowed to use their feet and legs to propel the ball, stop the ball or deflect it in any direction including over the back line. When an attacking free hit is awarded within 5 m of the circle everyone including the person taking the penalty must be five metres from the circle and everyone apart from the person taking the free hit must be five metres away from the ball. Since the 1970s, Australia, the Netherlands, and Germany have dominated at the Olympics and World Cup stages. Learn more about field hockey, including its history. This form of shooting was developed because it is not height restricted in the same way as the first hit shot at the goal and players with good technique are able to drag-flick with as much power as many others can hit a ball. The game's roots in the English public girls' school mean that the game is associated in the UK with active or overachieving middle class and upper class women.