New rules as of 1st May 2009

Rule Changes 2009 : Free Hit

 Anywhere on the pitch the free-hits rule applies to corners (long), sidelines, hit outs (16’s) and centre passes. The free hit may now be passed to your self.
 All self-pass free hits may travel any distance, as long as there are two clear and distinct actions to taking the hit and playing the ball
 All free hits to the attack within the 5 metres from the circle must be taken just outside the 5 metre dotted line.
 At a free hit, corner or sideline ball to the attack within the 23 metre area all players must be 5 metres.
 The ball may not be played directly in to the circle from any free hit, long corner or sideline ball unless it has travelled 5 metres before being played in unless it has been deflected, or played by a defending or attacking player. Penalise as it enters the circle with the hit taken from where it was incorrectly played.
 All free hits which are passed to another player must travel 1 metre.
 At Free Hits, hit outs and sideline balls to the defence in their 23 only the opposition have to be 5 metres.

Key Areas of Note

 The new rule is designed to encourage flow in the game. It is still important to play advantage, because the time it takes to take the self pass is often slower than the advantage would be.

 Be willing to play more advantage inside the 5 metres by the circle, as taking the ball outside the 5 maybe disadvantageous as it allows the defence to set. If possible play advantage in to the circle and let the game flow.

 Make sure the ball is stationary before the free hit is played.

 Penalise players who drag the ball at the self-pass as this does not show two distinct movements.

 Inside the 23 metre area all players should retreat 5 metres including attackers. Manage this early. If a player is tracking back and inside the 5 metres, do not penalise them unless they interfere with the hit/self pass. Recognise defenders trying to be passive as they will often be inside the 5 metres and may not have time to retreat – only allow them to be there as long as they do not interfere.

 Be careful of defending players tracking back and breaking down play. This is an automatic penalty corner inside the 23 metre area, and deal as suitable with a card. Watch out for attackers manufacturing the foul where a free hit to the attack is more appropriate.

 It is more important now that we make the free hit be taken “close to” (within playing distance) from where the offence occurred and more precise in the 23 metres area. Prevent players from moving it from inside to outside the 23 metres to improve their options by early management.

 Clamp down on defenders knocking away the ball after the whistle because even the smallest nudge can cause the game to slow down and stop the attacking team. Deal with this misconduct as appropriate.

 The self-pass allows players to take the free hit faster and therefore the game is much faster
If the player takes the self pass then dribbles 5 metres they are allowed to pass the ball in to the circle.

Hi Chris
re point 5
The ball may not be played directly in to the circle from any free hit, long corner or sideline ball unless it has travelled 5 metres before being played in unless it has been deflected, or played by a defending or attacking player. Penalise as it enters the circle with the hit taken from where it was incorrectly played.

I thought if you have a free hit outside the attacking 23m area, you can hit the ball straight into the D?
And if you have a free hit awarded inside the attacking 23m, you can't take the free hit outside the 23m to gain an advantage.
???
Help


Oh another question, if the ball enters the circle & then the attack are penalised... If the original free hit was taken within 15m of the backline, can the defense move the free hit up to 15m (in line with top of the D)?

Sorry not trying to be anal, just trying to get my head round it.

Good questions Annie..... I thought the rules are easy to understand..!!!!

Point 1.. The rule only applies to free hits to the attack within the 23m

Quote from Rule Book

"from a free hit awarded to the attack within the 23 metres area, the ball must not be played into the
circle until it has travelled at least 5 metres or has been touched by a player of either team other than the player
taking the free hit.

If the player taking the free hit continues to play the ball (ie no other player has yet played it) :
– that player may play the ball any number of times, but the ball must travel at least 5 metres, before that player plays
the ball into the circle by hitting or pushing the ball again.

Alternatively :

– another player of either team who can
legitimately play the ball must deflect, hit or
push the ball before it enters the circle, or

– after this player has touched the ball, it can
be played into the circle by any other player

My understanding is that when the a free hit is awarded to the attack within the 23,
ALL players have to be 5m.
The ball can be either played by the attacker (self pass) who has to move the ball 5m before playing it into the circle, or the player taking the free hit can play the ball less than 5m but more than 1m to a team-mate (who started 5m away from the hit) who runs onto the pass, stops it for the original free-hit taker to then play it into the circle...My understanding is the 2nd person can not play the ball into the circle until the ball has travelled 5m, or the ball has been played for third time, ie by the original hit taker.... This sounds complicated, but as you can see the ball does not have to go 5m before playing it into the circle!!!!, or
you can just simple hit it into the circle, hoping on any deflection on the way.. Deflections or should i say legal deflections will only apply when the player (either side) making the deflection is more than 5m away from the hit


in answer to your second question..

a free hit awarded outside the circle to the defence within 15 metres of the back-line is taken up to 15 metres from the back-line in line with the location of the offence, parallel to the side-line
a free hit awarded inside the circle to the defence is taken anywhere inside the circle or up to 15 metres
from the back-line in line with the location of the offence, parallel to the side-line.

Hope all this helps...



Nigel

Annie, yeah you are correct. Sorry if the post confused you. I merely copied some text from a document Val sent me that was written by a guy called Andy Barnes. The document was called "self pass briefing[1].doc" and is supposed to be a clarification.

Thanks Nigel & Chris.
Chris thanks for putting up all the info, I'm finding it really helpful - no I'm not a suck up!
Nigel very ace response.

One final question for now ... honest.

If a free hit is awarded to the defense as a result of the attack having a free hit inside the 23m area and hitting it into the D... and the original free hit was within 15m of the backline... do you signal free hit or 15m hit out?

So so so many questions Annie...

You only ever signal a 15m when the ball has gone off the back line, which has been touched last by an attacker. All other fouls, irrespective of where on the pitch you signal the respective free hit signal

Nigel

Nigel - You luv it!

Thanks for the answer.

I found this on Youtube and it certainly helped clarify the new rules for me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j63hYOlJBDE&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Eaddershockey%2Ecom%2F&feature=player_embedded