6.4.4 High Sticking
6.4.4.1 A high sticking infraction is called when a player attempts to contact an
airborne ball with the mallet at a height above the nearest opponent’s
handlebars within approximately 3m.
6.4.4.1.1 A player located at a safe distance – approximately 3m or more – from
their nearest opponent may place their mallet in the air, without swinging
it, and deflect the ball to the ground directly below their mallet.
6.4.4.1.2 A player is permitted to use their hand, with their mallet pointed straight
down, to contact an airborne ball as per 4.7.2.1. ( which is the following : Slapping
*4.8.1. Deliberately redirecting or add momentum to the ball with the hands, or the feet is * considered slapping. 4.8.2. Slapping the ball is not permitted.
*4.8.2.1. A defensive player within their own crease may use the hands to redirect the * ball, but may not grab, an airborne ball that is below shoulder height. )
6.4.4.2 A high sticking infraction is called to all contact to a player’s body above the
shoulders by an opponent’s mallet.
6.4.4.3 A high sticking infraction is called if a scoop is raised above height of the
player’s handlebar or an opponent’s handlebars within approximately 3m.
6.4.4.4 Windup and follow through associated with normal shooting motion that
extends above the height of the nearest opponent’s handlebars is only subject
to a high sticking infraction if the Main Referee deems the swing to be unsafe
or out of control in the following situations:
If the shot requires a full rotation of the mallet from above the players head
to the ground.
If the follow-through of the back-hand swing extends above the nearest
opponent’s handlebars
idk if i can punch that mid air ball in the open field , also what if im holding my mallet sideways like more than " straight down" cuz i can hardly rotate my joints that way ? as long as i m not contacting anyone around shouldnt be called
Every tournament I go to, every tournament I follow on stream, I see a ton of ball scooping above the handlebar. Often people argue that it is legal if there is no opponent in a 3m vicinity.
That is not the case.
The quoted part is the only legal scenario to play a ball with your mallet above the handlebar. Hope refs will call this for EHBPC.
true , but at the same time , do you really want to stop the play for it ? if you were reffing a final and its a golden goal , you would give that foul to someone ?
cuz if so i think people just forgot to add that line … i think high sticking rule is there to protect people getting hit , so why would you call a foul if no one is getting hit ?
6.4.4.3 A high sticking infraction is called if a scoop is raised above height of the
player’s handlebar or an opponent’s handlebars within approximately 3m.
There is a misunderstanding because players think if no opponent is within 3m vicinity, you are allowed to scoop above your own handlebar but the rule is quite clear:
i understood the first time , and asked : why is it so important to call it ? if people dont call it its because they dont want to ruin a game with too many tech fouls
we can shoot the ball with full range of motions starting very high above the head without any issues , so why make it so difficult and “punish” a player that is just performing a scoop for a long pass accross the court , with no risk for anyone ?
what i rather punish is :
a player hiting another player while scooping especially people elbowing / wrestling another player getting closer for a screen
a ball being scooped directly into someone else face should be actually called , imo
the rule about punishing someone that his movement went too high or whatever isnt helping imo , we should punish what the issue is ( hits to the body ) , not mitigate what we think will create an issue eventually …
This is what you wrote. I copied 6.4.4.3 because it makes it clear that nothing was forgotten considering the ruleset explicitly addresses it. But maybe I am misunderstanding your point.
This is not true either. The ruleset addresses safety concerns regarding big swings.
I noticed a common misconception and made the post to simply remind people, that scooping above the handlebar is never legal and the ruleset is very clear in that regard. I don´t understand why this seems to be such an issue.
Maybe in a future rules revision this will be changed (I hope not) but if we want better and more consistent reffing, we should at least follow those rules that leave no room for interpretation and not add our own preferences into the mix.
To answer your question.
Yes I would call a foul and disregard a goal scored in a final during golden goal if the pass was made with a scoop above the handlebar.
Also I think your logic could be applied to many other infractions currently defined in the ruleset. Does a dabber outside of active gameplay really need to dab? , …
Whether the rules are clear on scooping above handlebars is a separate matter to whether the big swings are a greater hazard than high scoops.
I am inclined to agree that the rules are overpowered against scoops in comparison to big wins-ups. However, recently, there is a strong community sentiment that scooping is gauche at best and limiting the sport at worst. This is likely because 80% of total scoops are done by 20% of total players. The same cannot be said for shots. Perhaps this explains the tolerance for one and the prohibition on the other both socially and within the rules.
@metriod yeah they adress , but irl uou would completely plague a game of bike polo by reffing it as if every “full rotation” is a foul : a mallet design is meant for it to be swung like this ( ie horse polo swings , grass polo swings )
so why do we have a poorly written line that say “its not ok but the ref can let it slip” when in reality , its completely ok unless it hits someone ( or graze , or someone has to re adjust their trajectory to not get hit)
the just penalize that, the ruleset is beating around the bushes from ages
the line precise exactly what a ref should consider dangerous :
a full rotation swing
a back shot with a swing that goes high
i mean come on wtf are we talking about , anything is dangerous and you can totally take out someones teeth with a calm, forward shot that is not a full swing but that just ends up a bit higher than the next person handlebars … so wtf is this line really about ? nothing. what the people felt like was dangerous.
still shelley get smack in the face and the ref let played because he considered it wasnt a dangerous motion : what - the - fuck
the ruleset need to heavily penalize contacts and allow safe plays. why would i lose a game because i scooped a ball above my handlebars while no one was around ?
and people want to legalize shuffle " because its making the game too hard" ffs stop
I think you underestimate how much some people want to limit scooping… They (we) will try to reduce it any way they (we) can including being very strict about whether it complies with the letter of the law.
None of that excuses the leniency with dangerous swings. That sucks a whole bunch. I lost my front teeth to a fairly innocuous follow through in Cordoba.
The imbalance seems to be that with wayward swings we ref only consequences and with over bar scoops we ref the most stringent interpretation of the rules. There is a genuine tension here as it’s hard to imagine the game without big wind-ups and writing a rule to keep them safe will always lead to more ambiguity than a simple limit to height as is the case with scooping.
Consider the fact that I can’t block someone’s backswing with my mallet if I can’t reach the ball. Perhaps if I can reach your backswing will my mallet you are too close to me? I think it should be legal to stick check someone’s backswing from any position if that backswing is above the bars… The alternative is that I strap on a face cage and put my head in the way… maybe I’ll add some throat protection. Shit, I might not even get the penalty if you are right Benji!
