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BOYSPLAYINGTHEFIELD

Astherulesproposalstates:aboycannotplaytheballinsideeitherstrikingcircle.

Thisdoesmeanthataboycantplaytheballinsidethecircleseitherasa

defenderorasanattackplayer,butaboywillbeabletoplaytheballon70%of

thefield.

Hewouldbeanintegralmemberoftheteam:

Playingalongthesidelinesfromendlinetoendlinehecouldsupporthisteammatesintheattackcircleandcouldbefirstdefenderofselfstartlong

hitsandallattackselfstartstakenoutsidethecircleapron.

Betweenthe16yd.lines,hecouldbeakeymidfielderplayingtherolesofoffenseorganizeranddistributor(similartobasketballspointguard)and

couldtakeanyselfstartsoccurringatoroutsidethecircleapron

Fromjustoutsidetheattackcircle,hecouldassistteammatesinscoring,couldexecutelonghitselfstartsandcouldevenbeaskilledstickstopper

forhisteamscornerplays

Asanactivemidfielder,hecouldbehisteamsfirstdefenderforatleast68yardsofthefield.

Manyhighschoolfieldhockeycoachesbelievethatthemidfieldpositionplayers

areateamskeyfieldplayersandthatcontrollingmidfield,controlstheflowof

thegame. Withthemixedgenderrulesproposal,boyscanplayasignificantrole

fortheirteams;yet,thenaturalspeedandstrengthadvantageswillbecontained

soasnottoswampeitherteammatesortheopposinggirlsteams.

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FIELDHOCKEYINFO:

Thegameisplayedonafield100by60yards.

Ateachendofthefieldarethestrikingcirclessocalledbecauseaballmustbetouchedbyanattack

playerinsidethecircleinorderforagoaltobescored.Eachstrikingcircleextends16yardsfromthe

goalpostsintothefield. Playinsidethesecirclesissimilartowhatoccursinthebasketballlaneas

playersfrombothteamsjockeyforpositionreadyingfortherebound,postinguptothegoalpost,

boxingoutdefensivelyortryingtoblocktheshot. Mostteamsplaypersontopersondefenseinthe

circle. Thereisnooffsidesfoulinfieldhockey.

Althoughthegameisplayedby11playersfromeachteam,therearenosetpositionsexceptthatofthe

requiredgoalkeeper. (Ateamcannotremoveitsgoalieatanytimeduringthegame.) Teamsplaya

varietyoffieldplayerarrangements,socalledsystems.

Themostcommonfoulsinclude:

Obstructionwhichissimilartoshieldingtheballbyplacingthebodybetweenballanddefender

Stickinterference:noplayercancontactthestickofanopponentatanytime,whetherinpossessionoftheballornot

Raisedstickfoulsoccurasaplayerliftstheirstickhigherthanshoulderlevelwhenanopponentiswithinplayingdistance

Dangeroushits(oftheball)occurwhenaplayerhitstheballoffofthegroundtoaheightthatcausesdangerordangerousplay

Playersdonotfouloutoffieldhockeygames,noraretheyremoved(asinsenttothepenaltybox)

unlessanofficialcardsaplayer. Forayellowcard,theoffendingplayerisremovedfor5minutesand

theteammustplayshorthanded. Cardingaplayerisnotafrequentoccurrence. Teamsarenot

penalizedforanaccumulationofcardseitherinagameorduringtheseason.

Foulsthatoccuroutsidethestrikingcircle:possessionoftheballisgiventotheotherteam,playisre

startedimmediatelywithuseoftheselfstart. Foulscommittedbyadefenderinsidethecircleresult

intheattackteambeingawardedapenaltycorner(whichisaplayfarlesssuccessfulthantakinga

foulshotinbasketball.)Outofboundsoverthesidelines,playisrestartedimmediatelyusingaself

start,aballhitovertheendlinebyadefenderisrestartedbyaselfstartlonghitatthe5yardmark

onthenearsideline. Quick,skillfulselfstartshavebecomeasignificantpartofthegame.

Controllingplayatmidfieldisgenerallyconsideredessentialtosuccessfulgameplay. Inthelarge,open

spacesofmidfieldateaminterceptsanddeniesopponentsoffensivethrustsupfieldand,inturn,take

possessionanddistributeplayaccordingtotheiroffensesstrategy.

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FIELDHOCKEYRULESPROPOSALFORMIXEDGENDERTEAMS

Noboyisallowedtoplaytheballinsideeitherstrikingcircle. Insidethecircleisdefinedas:theballonorinsidethecirclearcandtheendline

(includingthegoalline)withintheperimeterofthecirclearc. Penaltyfor

violationofthisruleisaccordingtotheoccurrenceofotherfoulswithinthe

strikingcircles.

Rationale: Theareasofthefieldwithinthestrikingcirclesarethemostcongested

andcontestedareasofplay. Thesearetheareasinwhichphysicalcontactwill

mostlikelyoccur. Limitingaboysplaytooutsidethestrikingcircleswould,

therefore,reducetheincidenceofphysicalcontactandinjuryduetoeitherbodily

orstickcontact.

Mixedgenderteamsmayplaytwoboysatatimeonthefield. Teamsmayrotatetheirboyplayerssothatallseeplayingtimeinallgames.

Rationale:precludesthedisplacementofgirls,yetallowsfortheplayofboys.

Duringtournamentgamesofmixedgenderv.girlsteams,inovertimeplay:amixedgenderteammayplaynomorethanoneboyatatimein7v7

periods. Boysmayrotateduringtheovertimeperiod(s)ofplay.

Rationale:precludesthedisplacementofgirls,yetallowsfortheplayofboys.

Submittedby:JoanBannon,HopkintonHighSchool

MimJarema,ReadingMemorialHighSchool

MarianneMurphy,WalpoleHighSchool

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ISSUESPERTINENTTOMIXEDGENDERFIELDHOCKEYRULESPROPOSAL

Unlikegirlsthatopttoplayfootball,girlsthatplayfieldhockeydonotchoosetoputthemselvesattheaddedriskofplayingagainstboys. Theproposedfieldhockeyrulesmodificationsformixedgenderplaywouldprovideforsafergame

playandmaintainacompetitiveenvironment. Indoingso,theseruleswould

continuetoencouragegirlstoplayratherthandiscouragegirlsparticipation.

Theproposedmodificationsareextraordinarilysimilartomixedgendervolleyballruleswhichlimitaboyplayertoplayingtheballfrombeyondtheattackline.

Withsuchlimits,aboycannotplayabovethenet;thus,theforcefuloffensive

(spike)anddefensive(block)playsarenegated. Theattacklineis10feetfrom

thenetoneachsideofthenetandeachsideofthenetis30feetlong. Therefore,

aboyplayingvolleyballisrestrictedfromplaying1/3ofboththeattackand

defensiveareaofthecourt.

Accordingly,aboyplayingfieldhockeywouldberestrictedfromplayingtheball

withinthestrikingcircleswhicharealongeachendline,nomorethan16yards

intothefield. Thusaboyplayingfieldhockeyisrestrictedfromlessthan1/3of

eachendofthefield. Hewouldbeanintegralmemberoftheteamwitha

significantroleatmidfield,butnotinthestrikingcircleswherethemost

congestedandcontestedplayleadingtothemostincidentsofbodycontactand

sticktostickcontact.

Generallyacceptedstandardofduediligencerequiresthatcoachesmatchorequateparticipantsbodymass.Mixedgendercompetitioninasportwhichdoes

havebodycontacttaxesthelimitsofduediligence. Currently,theonlymeansof

addressingsafetyandliabilityconcernsistorefusetoplayamixedgenderteam.

TheMIAAhasregulationswhichrestrictathleticparticipation. Agelimitations

ensurecomparablephysicalmaturity,thusminimizingsizeandstrength

differencesamongcompetitors. Thevolleyballmixedgenderrulesprovidesafer

andfairergameenvironmentforthegirls. Enactingtheproposedrules

modificationsformixedgenderfieldhockeyteamswouldbeanotherinstanceof

theMIAAutilizingitsexpertiseingoverninginterscholasticcompetition.

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FieldHockeyRulesProposalforMixedGenderTeams

Theproposalasstatedaddressesthefollowingissues:

Safetyofgirlsthatdonotchoosetoputthemselvesataddedriskofplayingagainstboys

1987NewJerseyCaseclearlystatedwhenagirltriesoutforaboysteamsheandparentsgoinwiththeireyesopen,however,whenaboyorboysparticipatedonagirlsteam,opponentsdonotexpect

tocompetewithboys

TeamSportsPlayersObservedAggressionasaFunctionofGender,CompetitiveLevel,andSportType;JournalofAppliedSocialPsychology,2006,36,8,pp.19802000. Theresultsrevealedthatmaleplayers

alwaysdisplaymoreaggressivebehaviorthanfemaleplayers,whateverthesport. TheAmericanAcademyofPediatricsclassifiesfieldhockeyasacontactorcollisionsport,basedonthe

probabilityforcollisionorcontactinthegame. MIAACoachingCertificationManualdiscussionofliabilityissues#12;coachesareresponsibleto

match/equatebodymassofparticipants. TheFemaleAthlete,HolschenJC,UniversityofMichigan,Dept.ofOrthopedicSurgery:musclemassand

longerbonelengthsenablepostpubertymalestoproducegreaterforceFairnessofCompetition (Massachusetts1979AGv.MIAA)

Massachusetts1979AGvs.MIAA:withstrengthandspeed(wheremaleshavesomebiologicaladvantages)toproduceathleticresults.

NFHScurrenttrackandfieldrecords:girls100mdash11.11sec,boys100mdash10.15;girlsshot(8lbs.)5410,boysshot(12lbs.)770

Massachusetts1979AGvs.MIAA:topreventtheswampingofgirlsteamsbyboysofprowess Petrie/Illinois1979.Furthermoresuchquotasdonotsolvetheproblemofphysicaldisparityofboysand

girls

RightsofParticipants

Petrie/Illinois1979.Furthermoreeachpositionoccupiedbyamalereducesthefemaleparticipationandincreasestheoveralldisparityofathleticopportunitywhichgenerallyexists.

1979AGvs.MIAA. Whereboysteamswerenotfeasible,admissiontoboystogirlsteamscouldbelimited,nottoexceedreasonablenumbers.

Conclusion

Althoughthe1979Massachusettscaseconsideredtheproblemofboysongirlsteamsmarginal,

whenyoufactorinnotonlythegirlsthataredisplacedbytheboysbutthenumberofgirlsthat

mustparticipateagainsttheboystheproblemismagnified. AsnotedinthePetrie/Illinoisdecision,

quotasalonewillnotresolvetheproblemsinherentinmixedgendercompetition. Yet,whentaken

together,thecombinationofreasonablenumbersofboysandthefieldofplaylimitationsdo

resolvetheproblemsofphysicaldisparity,safetyconcernsandfairnessofcompetition.

Furthermore,withthoseproblemsresolved,theeducationalvaluesofteamwork,developmentof

leadershipskills,andsportsmanshipreturnasthefocalpointforallparticipants.