The effect of free-hit rule changes on match variables and patterns of play in international standard women’s field hockey

Mandie Tromp and Lucy Holmes

International Journal of Performance Analysis in Sport, 2011, vol. 11, issue 2, 376-391

Abstract: Rule changes are a common feature in sports today and objective assessments are required to ascertain the impact of such changes. The current project sought to investigate the intention of the latest rule change in field hockey that was introduced in 2009 by the International Hockey Federation (FIH) - the use of a “self-pass” as a legitimate method of taking a free hit, and changes to the procedures for taking free hits within the 25 yard area. Twenty-eight (n=28) international women’s field hockey games were analysed for changes in time-variables from repossession to final outcome, along with methods and areas of repossessions and circle penetrations. Results indicate that the intention of the self-pass rule was met by significantly decreasing the average amount of time taken to engage in free hits (8.0 ± 0.9s in 2008 to 4.6 ± 0.3s in 2009), reducing the disruption of flow to the game. A significant difference was found in the method of circle penetrations, with most penetrations occurring by dribbling (33% in 2008, 57% in 2009). A significant decrease in time taken from repossession in the defensive 25 left and defensive left indicates an increase in the intensity of the game, emphasising the importance of aerobic capacity of participants.

Date: 2011
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/24748668.2011.11868557 (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:taf:rpanxx:v:11:y:2011:i:2:p:376-391

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.tandfonline.com/pricing/journal/RPAN20

DOI: 10.1080/24748668.2011.11868557

Access Statistics for this article

International Journal of Performance Analysis in Sport is currently edited by Peter O'Donoghue

More articles in International Journal of Performance Analysis in Sport from Taylor & Francis Journals
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Chris Longhurst ().