New Experimental Rules for National League & McKenna Cup

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Summary of Proposals of Hurling and Football Rules For Experimentation in the 2010 National League & McKenna Cup.

Football

1. Fist Pass:
Eliminate the “open handed” pass and return to fist pass only.

2. Catch from Kick-out:
A free- kick to be awarded to a player making a catch between the 45 m lines directly from a kick-out. The free-kick is to be taken by the player who makes the catch unless he is injured prior to the free-kick being taken.

3. Bounce:
The bounce in Football to be re-defined as: “For a player to play the ball against the ground with his hand(s) and to catch it on return to his hand(s)”.

4. Penalty Kick
The penalty should be taken from a spot which is located 11m. from the centre of the goal line.

5. Kick-out
All kick-out to be taken from the 13m line, within the large rectangle.

Hurling

1. Hand-pass
That the hand-pass in hurling be defined as: “The ball must be released and struck with a definite striking action of the hand”.

2. Rules 4.16 (a) & (b) – Technical Fouls
To replace the words “before the puck is taken” with “before the ball is struck” in Rule 4.16. (Rule 4.11 and Rule 4.16 relate to the penalty puck and this proposal will simply ensure that the wording is consistent between both Rules).

3. Puck-out
That the penalty under Rule 4.15 relating to taking the puck-out from outside the small rectangle be amended to:
(i) Cancel puck-out.
(ii) Throw in the ball on the defenders’ 20m line opposite the scoring space”.
Proposals affecting Both Games
The following proposals were put forward which affect both Football and Hurling.

1. Advantage
The referee shall indicate that advantage is being played by means of a “raised and extended arm”. Otherwise the rule remains unaltered.

2. Throw-ins
Throw-ins should not take place closer than 13m from the side-line.

3. Charge (Fair)
Include the words “Shoulder to shoulder” rather than “side to side” in the definition of the Fair Charge.
Proposal (from Football Committee): That a player who is in the act of kicking the ball could not be charged, in a manner otherwise considered to be fair.

4. Boundary Line
Amend the penalty for deliberately going outside the boundary lines to gain an advantage to “Free-puck/kick from where the foul occurred”.

5. Time
That the half-time and full-time whistle not be blown until the ball has gone over any boundary line.

6. Rule 4 – Technical Fouls
Amend Rule 4.9 relating to the “small rectangle” to allow a player enter the rectangle once the ball has been played. The rule would not be amended with regard to Set Play situations.

Conclusion
All proposals were adopted by Ard Chomhairle for experimentation during the 2010 National League & McKenna Cup with a view to deciding as to whether they should be proposed to Congress as permanent changes.