Rules and Regulations: Hockey (Open)

Download a PDF here – LYG24_Hockey_Info_Rules.

HOC 1 The London Youth Games Hockey Competition will be run in accordance with England Hockey In2Hockey rules.

HOC 1.1 Should any rules listed below contradict those outlined by England Hockey, these rules will supersede those.

HOC 1.1.1 The London Youth Games Hockey competition will follow the Transgender Guidance outlined by England Hockey.

HOC 1.2 It will be at the discretion of the event referee and LYG personnel as to the application of these rules, and any subsequent decision made as a result will be final.

HOC 1.3 The Tournament Organisers reserve the rights to alter or amend the playing schedule if necessary and make decisions on any matters arising during the tournament, including any matters not covered by the tournament regulations.

HOC 2 Age Category

HOC 2.1 The following age groups and respective minimum/maximum date of births will apply to the London Youth Games Hockey Competition:

 *Boroughs/Team managers should ensure any participant possesses the required skill level to compete in the U14 age group. LYG will not accept responsibility for any participant of a younger age group being injured if playing up.

 HOC 2.1. Competitors are not permitted to enter this competition if they are ineligible. No exceptions will be made.

HOC 2.2 It is the responsibility of competitors/parents/team managers/local authority staff to ensure all competitors details are entered correctly at the time of submission, and that they are eligible to compete for their borough under the London Youth Games Games Rules, and in accordance with the age groups outlined for the competition.

HOC 2.2.1 In the instance a competitor is found to be ineligible, they will be disqualified from the competition entirely, and the borough will receive a points penalty as per the Games Rules.

HOC 3 Eligibility Any U14 or younger player who represents at County, London Area or representative squads above this level are not eligible to play in the London Youth Games. The following London Area representative squads will be shared prior to the deadline, and any player named on these lists will be ineligible to compete;

• Kent
• Surrey
• Sussex
• Buckingham
• Berkshire
• Hampshire
• Oxfordshire
• East south East
• South Central
• London
• Essex

HOC 3.1 Higher representative squad levels includes player Talent Academies (TA), Player Pathway or England/National levels.

HOC 3.2 In the instance a competitor is found to be ineligible, they will be disqualified from the competition entirely, and the borough will receive a points penalty as per the Games Rules.

HOC 4 Squad Size Boroughs are permitted to enter a minimum of 7 competitors and a maximum of 20 competitors, per gender at the squad submission date.

HOC 4.1 Boroughs are permitted to bring 12 competitors entered to the event on the day.

 HOC 5 Kit & Equipment

HOC 5.1 Competitors must wear appropriate clothing and protective kit including shin pads and gum shields.

HOC 5.2 Players must provide their own hockey stick.

HOC 5.3 Dimpled hockey balls will be used for the competition.

HOC 5.4 Teams must provide a fully equipped goalkeeper which includes full helmet with throat guard, broad protector (groin and chest areas), hand, leg and feet protectors as well as abdominal guard or box. Goal keepers should also have a stick.

HOC 5.5 Players must wear a face mask when defending penalty corners.

HOC 6 Format The competition will take place as a one-day event. Boroughs will be placed in random round robin groups with the top 10 teams progressing to the trophy finals and the remaining teams progressing to the plate knockout finals.

HOC 6.1 There will be 4 groups with the group size dependent on entry numbers.

HOC 6.2 The following steps will be used to determine the top 10 teams qualifying for the trophy finals;

• Top 2 teams in each group will automatically qualify for the trophy finals.
• The remaining 2 spots will be given to the two best 3^rd placed teams. This will be determined by goals for, goals against, if still tied a penalty shootout between the tied teams will take place.

HOC 6.3 The teams not qualified for the trophy final will progress to the plate knockout finals.

HOC 6.2 Matches will be 6 minutes each way with a 1-minute break at half-time.

HOC 7 Scoring The following points will be awarded for each game to give a borough’s overall score for the event;

• 3 points for a win
• 1 point for a draw
• 0 points for a loss.

HOC 7.1 In the event of a tie on points in a group at qualifying stage, the following order of steps will be taken to determine final positions;

• Goal difference
• Head-to-head result (the result between the two teams in question)
• Goals for
• Goals conceded
• If still tied a penalty stroke competition will take place to decide the placings.

HOC 7.2 In the event that the competition is cancelled or suspended, the following steps will be used to calculate a final result;

• The furthest completed stage of competition will be used to countback.
• Any teams tied on position will be separated based on the rules above which determine group positions, using averages.
• The minimum competition required to determine a result is a completed stage e.g. round robin stage, elimination stage etc.

HOC 8 Medals & Trophies Medals and trophies will be awarded as follows;

HOC 8.1 Overall Borough medals will be awarded to 1st, 2nd and 3rd placed teams per gender.

HOC 8.2 Trophy awarded to the winners of the trophy finals for each gender.

HOC 8.3 The winner of the plate knockout finals will be awarded a salver.