OCEANIA HOCKEY FEDERATION
PRESIDENT
SECRETARY
OCEANIA DEVELOPMENT
OFFICER
Derek S Wilshere
Box 41 069
Eastbourne, Wellington 6340
NEW ZEALAND
Ken Read
PO Box 20
Battery Point 7004
Tasmania
AUSTRALIA
Gill Gemming
Box 24 024
Royal Oak, Auckland
NEW ZEALAND
Tel/Fax : 64 (0)4 562 7920
Mobile : 64 (0)274 303 596
Tel: +61(0)438 271332 (M)
Tel: 64 (0)9 621 0448 (B)
64 (0)27 2933321 (M)
Fax :
Fax : 64 (0) 9 629 2934
Email :
[email protected]
Email :
[email protected]
Email :
[email protected]
Oceania Hockey Federation
Newsletter to Members No 6 August 2006
SPG 24 August – 8 September 2007, Apia
Current position – URGENT RESPONSE REQUIRED
Confirmed entries remain insufficient for the competition. We have been working extremely hard to
improve this situation and wish to capitalise on the new facilities in Samoa.
Our best information on entries provided by the SPG Authority is
Women: PNG, Fiji, Samoa,
Men: PNG, Fiji, Samoa
We are hopeful of team entries from:
Women: Tonga, Solomons, American Samoa, Vanuatu
Men: American Samoa, Vanuatu
As you know the competition requires a minimum of six teams to be entered by the cut off date of 25
August 2006.It appears unlikely that a Six a Side competition would change this situation. .
Entries have to be made by your Sports Federation so please do
this urgently.
Please contact me by 21 August to confirm your position...
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Hockey Rules
HOCKEY RULES BOARD
THE RULES OF HOCKEY 2007/8
FIH release ‘The Rules of Hockey 2007/08’
The FIH has recently published The Rules of Hockey for 2007/8. Only a few innovative changes were introduced in
this set of rules that marks a move to a two-year cycle for their production and publication. This means that these
rules cover the period 1 January 2007 to 31 December 2008 at international level although, as in the past, national
hockey associations have discretion to decide the date of implementation at national level.
In some ways, a two-year cycle was already in place because significant changes were not introduced in the
periods leading to each Olympic Games and Hockey World Cup. The 2006 rules will therefore apply in the two
upcoming World Cups to be played in September and October 2006, but the 2007/8 rules are being published now
so that nations who are not involved in these events or who start their playing season in the next few months can
adopt them sooner if they wish.
Two year cycle
Els van Breda Vriesman, President of the FIH, welcomed the adoption of a two-year cycle. “By formalising this
cycle, we’re acknowledging that it’s better to allow a slightly longer period between rules changes for them to settle
down and to be evaluated and reviewed. This gives everyone involved in hockey a clearer timetable on which to
focus when developing the rules to make the game even more attractive to play and watch,” the FIH President
stated.
In this context, there are some rules changes for 2007/8. Wolfgang Rommel, Chairman of the Hockey Rules Board
(HRB) observed. “We’ve looked closely at goalkeeping,” said Rommel. “We’ve set out three clear options: playing
with a goalkeeper wearing full protective equipment; a goalkeeper just wearing protective headgear; or no
goalkeeper at all.”
In the middle option, the HRB has formalised what the player sometimes known as a ‘kicking back’ can and cannot
do. If there is no goalkeeper, Rommel explains the following procedures. “This really means what it says: the team
is playing only with field players. No player can then kick the ball in the circle and so on.” This option allows a team,
if they wish, to press all their players forward with nobody committed to defending the circle. It also overcomes a
previous technicality which sometimes occurred at local levels where there was nobody with goalkeeping kit or if
the goalkeeper had been delayed on their way to the ground! Strictly according to the rules, a game could not take
place unless there was a goalkeeper wearing protective headgear on the field.
More flexibility
Still on the subject of goalkeeping, the 2007/8 rules permit a goalkeeper more flexibility when defending their goal.
They can now sweep the ball away with their hand. “We don’t want to make life too easy for goalkeepers but we
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also don’t want to restrict them in petty ways, “Richard Aggiss, former national player, coach to Australia and
member of the HRB comments. “We’re therefore happy for them to push the ball away with their hands or body but
we don’t want to see them rushing to a ball entering the circle and swiping it to the centre-line with their hand
protector”.
Aggiss was also pleased to see the clarification now added about how defenders can stop a high shot at goal with
their sticks. “Some umpires were being far too strict because the rule could be interpreted that way,” he added. “We
want to make it clear that it isn’t an offence when stopping a shot above shoulder height if the defender’s stick is
not motionless or is travelling towards the ball. As a player and coach, I know it’s virtually impossible to get to the
ball and for the stick to be motionless, when you make contact with the ball.”
There are other small changes and points of clarification in the 2007/8 rules which cannot be covered here. For a
full version, please visit WorldHockey website at www.worldhockey.org. For the first time, they are available in an
easily, accessible, indexed format.
Easier to understand
The rules changes made by the HRB follow from its objectives which include making the game easier to
understand. “This objective is easier to state than to deliver. We have to get a balance between many things,” Gill
Clarke, a World Cup and Olympic umpire and now a member of the HRB, commented. “An extremely simple game
may be easier for spectators to understand and then require few skills but would not be so enjoyable and
stimulating to play. We also have to bear in mind that the rules apply throughout the game. They apply to adults
and children. To young players and veterans. To women and men. To experienced skilful players and to players
just starting out in the game. Everyone, whatever their ability and circumstances, must feel that hockey is a game
for them.”
This means that the work of the HRB is challenging and ongoing. Among other things, it is looking at ways of
avoiding crowded defensive circles. The penalty corner is also being scrutinised and is a good example of where
the HRB has to strike a balance between something which is skilful and exciting but also safe and not too
complicated. There is a desire to see more attacking play while avoiding huge scores and one-sided matches
which can be dull to play in or watch. The HRB is also aware that indoor hockey is an important part of the game so
will be focussing on it in during the next year or so.
Comments and ideas
The Hockey Rules Board therefore welcomes comments and proposals from throughout the game. It is even the
better if ideas are routed through national associations which can add broader comments and make formal
recommendations. Communications about the rules of hockey should be addressed to Roger Webb, FIH Technical
Manager by email to [email protected] or by post at the International Hockey Federation, Rue du
Valentin 61, CH - 1004 Lausanne, Switzerland.
This information about the Rules of Hockey 2007/8 is necessarily only a summary and cannot provide the precise
details of each rule. Readers are therefore encouraged to look at the full set of rules available on the WorldHockey
website www.worldhockey.org or from the FIH Office in Lausanne.
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Oceania matches 2006
Our programme still has a competition planned Island nation’s event for 2006 in Suva probably in early
October. At this stage there is ap0ossibility of a Teat Series between Fiji and Samoa. This could go ahead
even if there is no hockey on SPG. Let us know your thoughts on this. I would also like to have an
Oceania presence at the inaugural “Suva Sixes” later in the year. This could be combined with the
October event as a trial. There is also a possibility that there could be an SPG “Test Event” in Samoa
early in 2007. This is needed to trial all the systems and help develop technical officials.
Olympic Qualifiers
Assuming SPG goes ahead as soon as possible after the SPG our Oceania Olympic Qualifiers will take
place. These will have to be in Australia, New Zealand or Suva. Ken Read has asked for expressions of
interest from you and we have been asked to make a decision on this by 25 August. Note this is also
closure date for SPG. Even if SPG Hockey does not take place we will be seeking to have an Oceania
Qualification process that involves all of you. .
Oceania Congress
We are required to hold a Congress this year before the FIH Congress. Decisions on this also depend on
the SPG outcome. The options are for a Formal Congress or a Telephone Congress. We will be in touch
with you on this.
Derek Wilshere
President, Executive Board member
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