Proposal 16: Penalty shootout - backwards movement of ball [ Revision 1 ]
Committee: HockeySubmitted on 2019-01-31
Status: Passed on February 22, 2019
Background
Large consensus to look at this rule seriously.
Proposal
OLD RULE
14B.7.2 Penalty Shootout
The goalkeeper must be close to the goal line, at least until the attacking player has had contact with the ball. The Referee places the ball on the center point and the player taking the shot will, after the whistle of the Referee, play the ball from there, trying to score a goal. The ball must be kept in motion towards the goal line (no backwards movement allowed) and once it is shot, the play shall be considered complete. No goal can be scored on a rebound of any kind (an exception being the ball off the goal post and/or the goalkeeper and then directly into the goal), and any time the ball crosses the goal line, the shot shall be considered complete.
NEW RULE
14B.7.2 Penalty Shootout
The goalkeeper must be close to the goal line, at least until the attacking player has had contact with the ball. The Referee places the ball on the center point and the player taking the shot will, after the whistle of the Referee, play the ball from there, trying to score a goal. The player must remain in motion towards the goal line with no backwards movement or stopping allowed. Once the ball has been shot, the play shall be considered complete. No goal can be scored on a rebound of any kind (an exception being the ball off the goal post and/or the goalkeeper and then directly into the goal), and any time the ball crosses the goal line, the shot shall be considered complete.
Body
Pros: Allows a full range of stick work when completing penalty shootout including forward backwards stickhandling, toe drags, behind the back passes etc. Rewards players who try and better their skills by allowing them to use these skills to win a game, instead of handicapping them for the players who choose not to practice. Enables more interesting goals with higher skills shown which is a beneficial for live spectators, advertising our sport (social media etc) and enticing people to take up the sport as it looks cool.
Cons: People who don't train or want to improve their stick handling will have less of a handicap than they used to against a better player. It has been argued it would be more dangerous but I don't see why this would occur.
Changes to gameplay/refereeing/tournaments: A penalty shootout may involve more exciting goals than it has previously as there will be broader range of movements to utilise. By requiring the player to always be moving forward instead of the ball it will take a similar amount of time for a penalty shot to be completed. Previously you would need the ball to move forward very slowly if you wanted to slow down the penalty shot, now you would need yourself to move forward very slowly, unlikely to see a change here particularly as the slowing down of penalty shots has never really been an issue. Refereeing should be unchanged or slightly improved. Whether someone has stopped/ridden away from the goal line is potentially easier to assess than whether the ball has moved away from the goal line when someone is doing fast side to side stickwork parallel to the goal line. Potentially greater percentage of goals scored in penalty shootouts however both teams will have the same conditions.
Note: Implementing this rule change to start with as it has been pointed out that it would likely be easier to referee than floorball rules where the ball OR the player must be moving forward. If the rule is positive then at a future time we may discuss the floorball rule if we think it is necessary to improve ruling/gameplay.
References
Discussion
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Votes on this proposal:
7 out of 11 voting members have voted.
Agree: 6, Disagree: 1, Abstain: 0.