Rules differ around the world and in Australia as much as styles of play. For our ‘official’ set of rules, you can click here to download them in full.
Below is a basic outline for Sydney:
Gameplay rules:
- Team numbers are limited to 3-on-3
- A goal can only be scored if hit with the end of the mallet
- First to 5 goals wins
- When a goal is scored, players return to their own half before play resumes
- If you put your foot down on the ground you must remove yourself from play until they “tap-out” by touching the marker (with mallet) at the side of the court before joining play again
- A player who is out of play cannot interfere with the ball, goals or other players until they “tap-in”
Safety rules:
- Number one, don’t be a dick
- Only contact allowed is when parallel to the other player (bike-to-bike or shoulder-to-shoulder). Mallet-to-mallet contact is allowed
- No throwing mallets
- No hitting of mallets into spokes
- No “T-boning” into another bike
Any ball specifications?
We use street hockey balls such as those made by Franklin. They are light, hollow and have a little squish to them. There are a few different versions depending on the temperature… too hot and they get stuck to the court! We currently have plenty of spare balls down each session to have a look at and to find out more.
Hey Brook, how do these balls compare to the NAH Hard Durometer (30deg +) balls we used at WHBPC2013 and the usual Canadian Orange balls, in terms of weight, hardness and bounce?
Don’t forget that this post was from 2011. For reference, the NAH balls are a copy of street hockey balls such as Franklin. The 30deg rating is Fahrenheit, which is the same rating as Franklin. If it’s the type of ball for AHBPC14 you’d like to know about, we are using the Swallows Polo balls which are the same.