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self pass rule confusion
Hi everyone, I have been hunting for a more detailed explanation on the self pass rule for hockey. My under standing of it is that a self pass must involve the ball moving five meters before it is hit by the player or it must be hit from a dead positon (not moving) I have umpired many games where the players 'tap and hit' the ball, often with another player rushing in to tackle just as the 'tap' is played. This seems dangerous but im not sure if the tackler is playing dangerously or if the 'tap and hit' player is dangerous? I have read the rule book but this rule is not explicit enough. Any interpretaions welcome. Thanks
A player can tap and hit yes anywhere but attacking 25
a player cannot tap and hit straight into the circle if a free is won inside the attacking 25, it must travel 5 metres (either by moving the ball themselves or a pass)
if a free or sideline ball is being taken the opposing team has to be 5 away until the ball is played and then yes they can rush into the player, if they are not 5 away then they have to let the player self pass and travel 5 before the can tackle.
the only real thing you have to look at as a umpire is the distance of the opposing team before they attempt to make a tackle, less than 5 then retake the free and state the rule, do it again then card them.
does that help?
There are two aspects of the "5 metres" rule mixed up in your query.
The first concerns the distance the opposition have to be from the self-passing player. This is 5 metres. If they are within 5 metres then they must allow the self-passer to travel 5 metres with the ball before attempting to tackle."Shadowing" an opposing player by being within 5 metres and then closely following or tracking their run with the ball until they achieve 5m progress is also prohibited.
The other aspect is the position of the attacking team taking a free hit inside the 22m line (even from side lines and long corners). In this case, whether the ball is self-passed or not, the ball must travel 5 metres or be touched by another player before it enters the defending team's circle. This is to prevent dangerous play by a strike straight in the circle from just outside. When playing in the 22m area both attackers and defenders have to be 5m away from where the ball is played. So you will hear an umpire shout occasionally "everybody 5!".
Playing strategies have been devised for dealing with this rule in this situation.
Hi Sara and Rob, thanks for the input, i really appreciate it. Just some further discussion, i read an article by coach Ken Humphreys in which he stated that in the self pass, the ball should be moved by the player (5m) =/- 6yrds before it can be played to another player. I did not specify in my original question the distacne the self-pass taker had travelled. To clarify, in games i have umpired (junior level) the players tap the ball less than 1m and then hit to another player. This is my point of contention. Must the ball move 5m before it is played to another player, whether dribbled or tappet and hit? Any ideas? Thanks again for the help in clarifying this rule.
From a self pass the ball must travel at least a metre before a member of the same team can play the ball. However there is no minimum distance the ball must travel before the person taking the hit can play the ball again. If an attacker gets a touch on the ball before it has travelled 5, then the ball is in open play and self pass rules are over. Following on from previous answers, if the ball is inside the 22 and an attacker is not 5, I would immediately award a penalty corner. Outside the 22 I would advance the hit 5 metres up the pitch.
In reality Jason no umpire with any sense will stop the game because the ball hasn't travelled a metre, unless it has somehow had a big impact on the game or gained the team in possession an extra advantage, which is rare. If you watch international games they do it all the time - a player will take a self-pass and touch it twice within a few centimentres but its a waste of time blowing the whistle because it doesn't make any difference.
The ball DOES NOT need to move 5 metres before you can play it to another player. If you are in the attacking 22 all players including your own team must be 5m away before the hit is taken, and you have to move it 5m before you can hit it in to the D, but it doesn't matter if that 5m is a pass, or dribble, or whatever.
To clarify, Stephen, if a defender is not 5m away inside the 22, you are right it is a penalty corner. However if a defender is not 5m elsewhere on the pitch, you should not advance the ball 5m (or 10, as it always used to be). The 'bring it up 10' rule is completely dead in the water now that the 'self-pass' rule exists, because it doesn't give the attacking team any real advantage (and in fact can be a disadvantage if you move it up to inside the 25). The rules state that a defender not retreating to 5m from the hit is, by doing nothing, deliberately not retreating, and therefore should be given a yellow card for deliberately breaking down play. At lower levels of the game you wont always see the card as umpires think it's harsh, but at the top levels like the National League in England it is ALWAYS a card.
Can’t recall ever invoking the one metre rule, It is however a rule, and in the interest of consistency should be adhered to. You cannot enforce one rule and not another, it is why umpires are there, to see the game is played within the rules. Advancing upto ten metres is still listed as a penalty in the current rule book. And a quick attacker can take out half the opposition if reacting swiftly, although I would never advance it into to the 23 with the current rules, it could be a disadvantage, as you say.
Great input guys. Thank you. I understand the rule completely now. Ben, you mentioned that a defender not retreating 5m from a free hit is violating the 5m rule and should be carded. At junior level, i think cards can be used if the teams playing display a proficiency for the game and knowledge of the rules. Where such skill or knowledge is visibly lacking the 'bring it up 10' rule is a severe enough penalty, provided its not giving and advantage away by moving it into the 22. Adversely, if the attacker takes the free hit quickly, before that defender can retreat I would expect that defender to stand asside and let play continue, them being 'not 5'. If they however choose to 'shadow' the attacker from their 'not 5' position this would be penalised, right? Rob brought this up in his answer?
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