I AM writing these lines in a bit of haste, as my flight for Brussels is just a few hours away. As I had mentioned in one of my previous columns, I will be in Brussels this week, attending a crucial meeting of the International Hockey Federation’s Rules Board. I say crucial not because anything concrete is expected out of this very meeting, but because it is going to initiate a discussion about the shape of the game in the years to come.
The Rules Board is scheduled to discuss a host of issues during the course of the meeting, but high on the agenda will be the discussion on reports submitted by various member countries on the trial matches they have held separately to try out three changes in the rules to assess their impact on the flow and outcome of the game. In Pakistan, the holding of such a trial match did not have many precedents, but this time we were able to set an example by holding not one, but two encounters to try out the suggested changes. It is hoped that the trend will be kept alive in the future as well.
Other member countries have also held these trial matches and each of it, like Pakistan, will present its own report based on their observations. The Rules Board will discuss all these reports, and would decide the way ahead. Mind you, whatever decision the Board takes at its present meeting in Brussels, international hockey will not be impacted in any way in the near future. Even if the reports from member countries are positive in favour of the change, the three rules in question will only be part of game after the forthcoming World Cup. The Rules Board would go through the reports and see which of the three rules need to be incorporated, if at all.
Before we move on, let’s have a quick look at what the three changes basically suggest. The first rule relates to limiting the number of defenders to no more than eight at any time during a match. The second rule relates to enlarging the goal-scoring area to the 23-metre line instead of the traditional ‘D’. The last of the three rules relates to the re-birth of Long Corner drills as they were done in the distant past.
As I had said in one of my earlier columns, while the first two rules had a mixed impact on the game, the third rule — the one that is about re-introducing the Long Corner drills — had a rather negative effect. The rule is the least effective of the three as the drills waste much time, with the defenders taking their positions beyond the goal-line, and with the possibility of several false starts. And, when finally a hit is taken, it results more often in another Long Corner, and not in goals. All this results in breaking the tempo of the field game without adding to the scoreline.
The Pakistan Hockey Federation will do its best to present its point of view at the meeting, and create a consensus among the other FIH members after having a look at what the others think about the suggested changes.
