HOCKEY.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 8618, 9 May 1906, Page 4

HOCKEY.

THE OFF-SIDE RUli. (Pry's arogorin*.) Of all the rules of hockey none is so imperfectly apprehended ac the offside rule. The rules for fouling,, obstruction, and so forth are simple enough, and usually understood, if not always obeyed, but the off-side rule seems somehow to elude the intelligence of the majority of players, do frequent is the practical — one might add aggressive — evidence of this tHat it is imperative that some voice or pen should be employed in the endeavour to dispel this failure to comprehend the most important individual rule of the game. What better avenue to this end than these columnar-columns whoso purpose is to inform, to interest, to instruct? The crux of the off -side rule is contained in the words, "at the moment when the ball is hit." That is the whole pomt — Was the player on-side or off-eide when he received the ball? Now it is not by any means, easy to oompaes a lucid explanation of this rule in writing. Practical illustration on the field of play would be the best means to the end' we have in view; but as- this is not possible, we must perforce trust to as clear and simple phrases as we can lay intelligence and pen to. Frequently it will happen that an. I umpire whistles a player off-eide, and that players and spectators are at variance with his decision ; and yet the umpire is right and everyone else wrong. How is this? The umpire was watching the movement from the beginning; he saw that, at the moment when the ball was struck, the player to whom it was passed had only two of his opponents nearer to their goal .than himself, but that in the short; interval between its being struck and his playing it one of the, opposing side moved back and apparently put him on-side. The players and spectators miesed the preliminary and important part of the movement. What they saw was a player receiving the ball with three opponents between him and the goal, and yet the whistle j was blown for off-side. And yet, according to the unmistakable reading of the rule, that player *was as much off-side as if there had been no one between him and the other goal. Take the- inverse of this. A player is ostensibly — so players and spectators think— off-6ide ; he gets to the ball, and only fcho goalkeeper nearer to the opposite goal than himself, and yet the umpire sounds no hostile, note, is deaf to the shoute of " off-side." Again the umpire is right and everyone else wrong. But how? The umpire watching with alert eye the posi-\tio-ns of the players took ikvte of the %ct that at the moment wlien the. ball wacs t hit down the field this particular playev was on-side. . that is, had three opponeiate nearer than himself to their goal, buS*. that he instantly darted forward, andS^hie opponents advanced fcc^ wards the t ball, and they, failing to intercept i\ the said forward got possession of it/Vand in so isolated a position as to create the impression that be was badly \off-eide. But once onside, always on-fede, with the reverse of this equally true?. An umpire wojo watches the game with consciehtkm|s insistence, who is unbiassed by theyappeals of players, and has the courage to whistle in accordance with his 4jonvictions, is likely until players understand the off-side rule better— to incarx even so unpleasant a thing as odwim — not in large quantities, we hope. \