Download - MIAA Rules Proposal for Mixed Gender Teams
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8/7/2019 MIAA Rules Proposal for Mixed Gender Teams
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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.