Zingerball

Zingerball is a fun game that combines the elements of hockey and actual sports such as lacrosse.

Field of Play
A standard zingerball court is 120 feet long by 50 feet wide. The field is divided into two halves by a solid half-way line. In the center of the field, there is a center-circle, 16 feet in diameter. The field is bordered by sidelines and end lines. On the center of each end line, there is a goal that is 12 feet wide and 4 feet high. There is an 8-foot semicircle around the center of each goal. Offensive players are not allowed to shoot the zinger from any point within that semi-circle.

There is a dashed line on each side of the court 30 feet from the end lines. These dashed lines have two dots on them, each 12.5 feet from the sideline. These lines and dots serve various administrative purposes..

Ball and stick
A standard zinger is 12 inches in diameter, with a center hole four inches in diameter. A zingerball stick is kind of like a hockey stick, but without the thing sticking out of the edge that controls the puck.

The Players
A zingerball team features six players: Five outfielders and one goalkeeper. The outfielders aren't restricted to any particular position, but there are commonly two forwards, a center, and two defensive players.

The goalkeeper, may use his hands or any other body part to control the zinger. All other players may only control it with their zingerball stick.

Uniform and Equipment
The uniform consists of a shirt and shorts. The home team has the choice to wear a dark colored shirt or a white shirt, the visiting team must wear the other option. Home teams generally opt to wear the colored shirt, but this is not a requirement. The shirt must display the player's surname and jersey number on the back. Thefe is no requirement for the front of the shirt, but it is common to have a team or city name, a team logo, or some combination of the three. Corporate jersey sponsorships are not allowed. Shorts may be either white or one of the team's primary colors. Shorts must be generally solid, but sidestripes are allowed. A player's number must be above the left knee.

Goalkeepers are required to wear a differently-colored uniform. The goalkeeper of the team with white shirts must wear a gray uniform, while the goalkeeper for the colored team must wear a differently colored uniform.

An official's uniform is a red, yellow, yellow, or black-and-white striped shirt with black shorts. The referee's badge is present on the front of his shirt.

The officials
There are three officials that enforce the rules. Each group has a crew chief, who is the most senier official, but all official's calls are binding.

There is generally a lead official, trail official, and center official, who stand in front of the ball along the end line, behind the ball generally halfway between the center line and the dashed line, and the center official, who is near the zinger.

The official is required to use his whistle to stop play. In the event of a whistle malfunction, he can yell STOP! to have the same effect.

Powers
 * stopping, suspending or terminating the match at their discretion, for any infringements of the Laws;
 * stopping, suspending or terminating the match because of outside interference of any kind;
 * stopping the match if, in their opinion, a player is seriously injured and ensuring that they are removed from the field of play. An injured player may only return to the field of play after the match has restarted;
 * allowing play to continue until the ball is out of play if a player is, in the referee's opinion, only slightly injured;
 * allowing play to continue when the team against which an offence has been committed will benefit from such an advantage and penalising the original offence if the anticipated advantage does not ensue;
 * taking disciplinary action against players guilty of violations and fouls (ranging between common, professional, flagrant, and criminal)
 * taking action against team officials who fail to conduct themselves in a responsible manner and may, at the referee's discretion, expel them from the field of play and its immediate surrounds.

Duties
 * enforcing the Laws of the Game;
 * controlling the match in co-operation with the assistant referees and, where applicable, with the fourth and other officials;
 * ensuring that a ny zinger ed meets the requirements of Law 2;
 * ensuring that the players' uniforms and equipment meets the requirements of Law 4;
 * keeping a record for the match;
 * ensuring that any player bleeding from a wound leaves the field of play. The player may only return on receiving a signal from the referee, who must be satisfied that the bleeding has stopped;
 * punishing the more serious offence when a player commits more than one offence at the same time;
 * ensuring that no unauthorised persons enter the field of play (i.e. an illegal sub or a streaker running from the stands);
 * indicating the restart of the match after it has been stopped;
 * providing the appropriate authorities with a match report, which includes information on any disciplinary action taken against players or team officials, substitutions and any other incidents that occurred before, during or after the match.

Duration of the match
Each match features 60 minutes of playing time, divided into four 15-minute quarters. Teams switch ends after each quarter. Prior to the start of the game, the captains meet for a pre-game coin-toss. The winner of the toss gets to select which goal to defend in the first and third quarters, while the loser gets assigned to the other goal. There is a 15-minute half time.

The clock is stopped after goals, or when the official blows his whistle. It resumes upon the start of play.

Whoever scores more points at the end of four quarters is declared the winner. If the score is tied, the game is generally declared a draw.

In games where there must be a winner, such as playoff games, tournament games, or games played in the state of Oklahoma because of a state law that does not allow zingerball games to end in ties, an "almost sudden death" overtime is played. After a 7-minute intermission, teams will switch ends prior to the overtime and start a 15-minute period. After a goal is scored, the other team will be given one minute to respond (if there is less than one minute on the game clock, it will be extended to one minute). Should the scoring team score again, the game is over. Should the one minute expire sans goal, the game is over. Should the other team respond, overtime continues. After 15 minutes, teams will switch ends and play another OT period under the same rules. A 7-minute intermission follows the second, fourth, sixth, etc. OT period.

There is one media time-out per quarter, occurring at the first stoppage of play after seven minutes have elapsed. A media time-out lasts two and a half minutes. There is also a media time-out of the same length after the first and third quarters and after each overtime period. Each team is allowed two time-outs which may be used at any point in the game when the ball is dead. These time-outs last 30 seconds unless ikt triggers a media time-out. Each team gets one additional time-out should a game go into overtime.

Start and re-start of play
A game is started with a face-off at the center court. In a face-off, one player from each team will face each other at the center spot. The visiting team's player will put his stick down first, followed by the home team's player. This gives the home team a small tactical advantage, as he can better time the whistle. All other players myst be on their own side of the center line and outside of the center circle until after the zinger is touched. One very common formation is to have the center take the faceoff, the two foerwards to be standing at the center line, just outside the center circle, and the defensive players to stand on the team's dashline, at or near the dots. Any player except the goalkeeper can face off. In practice, face-offs are usually taken by centers.

When a team is down a player due to a penalty, the general consensus is to only have one player stand on the defensive line, although sometimes, a team will employ a "triangle" formation in which the team's left forward is at his normal spot, the right forward or a defensive player standing on the right side of the center circle about 10-15 feet behind the line, and the other defensive player standing slightly to the left of the center of the dashline.

Players facing off must rest their stick in their gloved hands on the ground and position themselves entirely to the left of their sticks' heads. They must keep both feet on the ground. Between the time they go down into position and the referee's whistle, the players facing off must remain still. A premature movement by any player will be called as a technical foul, and the other team will be awarded an indirect free kick at the center spot. To ensure that they remain still, referees are instructed to time their whistle differently on every face-off.

At the whistle, each face-off player tries to direct the zinger to their teammates on the wing. Only those six players can attempt to pick up the ball at first. After the face-off is complete, neither of the facer-offers can touch the zinger until it is touched by another player or ricochets off a goal post or the referee (very unusual for either of these to happen).

If the loose zinger goes out of bounds on a face-off before either team can pick it up, it is awarded to the team that did not last touch it via throw-in.

The players facing off may not step on or hold each other's sticks to prevent the other from getting the ball. Nor may they trap the ball beneath their sticks without attempting a "tennis pickup" to prevent anyone from establishing possession, an action normally penalized as withholding the ball from play, another technical foul. If they pick the ball up on the back of their stick but do not immediately flip it into the pocket, it is also considered withholding. In all these cases the face-off will be ended with the ball awarded to the opposing team at the spot of the infraction via indirect free kick. If a team violates rules specific to face-offs, either by false starts or illegal actions by the players facing off, more than once in a quarter, each additional violation results in a 2-minute penalty assessed against the team, to be served by any player currently on the court.

A player who does face-offs but not much else for the team is called a “FOGO”, which stands for “face off, get off”.

There have been calls by some dweeby do-gooders to limit face-offs because they result in more injuries than other plays. As a result, some Zingerball leagues, particularly at the youth level, replace a face-off with a kick-off. In this case, the home team kicks off to start the game and the trailing team kicks off to start each quarter. If the score is tied at the beginning of a quarter (including overtime periods), the team who did not kick off to start the previous quarter will kick off.

After a goal is scored, play is resumed by the conceding team performing a kick-off. Basically, outfielders on both teams must line up on their respective dash lines, and the ball is hit from either of the dots on the kicking team's dash line. The kick-off may go forward or backward, and no player on either team (other than the kicker) is allowed to move until the ball is kicked. This gives the kicking team the opportunity to possess the ball a few seconds and develop a play.

Other methods of re-starting play are a throw-in, free kick, expensive kick, and goal kick, which are described below.

Zinger in and out of play
The zinger remains in play from the beginning of each period to the end of that period, except when: The first criterion can be phrased as "all of the zinger must cross all of the line" and is of particular importance in decisions regarding goals.
 * The zinger leaves the field by entirely crossing a goal line or sideline with or without touching the ground (this includes when a goal is scored); or
 * Play is stopped by the referee (for example when the rules have been infringed, an injured player requires medical attention, or a period of play has concluded).
 * The ball touches a match official, remains on the field of play, and one of the following occurs:
 * A team starts a promising attack
 * The ball goes directly into the goal
 * The team possessing the ball changes[1]

When the ball is in play players may play the ball, contest the ball, and goals may be scored. Players are liable to punishment for committing fouls. Substitutions may not occur whilst the ball is in play.

In the case a foul is committed or misconduct occurs, the referee may "play advantage" and elect to allow play to continue if the team of the player who was victimized would be benefited if play were to continue. Once play has stopped, the referee may chose to issue punishment.

When the ball becomes out of play, the ball is put back into play by the appropriate restart. The restarts in football are:
 * Face off: to start any quarter or overtime period, or after a double foul near the center of the court, or a situation in which it can not be determined who touched the zinger last.
 * Kick-off: after a goal, awarded to the team who conceded said goal.
 * Throw-in: when the ball has entirely crossed the sideline; awarded to opposing team to that which last touched the ball.
 * Goal kick: when the ball has entirely crossed the goal line (but not scoring a goal) having last been touched by an attacker; awarded to defending team

Once the ball is out of play, the only restart is the restart appropriate for the reason the ball went out of play in the first place; subsequent actions do not change the restart. For example, if the ball goes out of play because of a foul by Team A against Team B, the restart must be a free kick to Team B even if a Team B player strikes an opponent; offending Team B player would, however, be liable for misconduct (i.e. yellow card or red card).
 * Indirect free kick: awarded to the opposing team following "non-penal" fouls (like obstruction, offside, etc.), certain technical infringements, or when play is stopped to caution/send-off an opponent without a specific foul having occurred.
 * Direct free kick: awarded to fouled team following certain listed "penal" fouls.
 * Penalty shot: awarded to fouled team following "penal" foul having occurred in their opponent's penalty area.

Note, however, that the referee may change the original restart if he realises he has made an error or on the advice of his assistant referees, provided play has not yet restarted. For example, if the ball has gone out of play because the ball was kicked into goal by Team A and the referee has signalled that a goal has been scored, but then notices that an assistant referee has indicated a foul by a Team A player immediately before the goal was scored, the referee would change to the correct restart of a free kick to Team B where the foul occurred.

Determining the outcome of the match
The team who scores more goals after full time is considered the victor. If the scores are level after full time, the match will be considered a draw.

In games where there must be a winner, such as playoff games, tournament games, or games played in the state of Oklahoma because of a state law that does not allow zingerball games to end in ties, an "almost sudden death" overtime is played. After a 7-minute intermission, teams will switch ends prior to the overtime and start a 15-minute period. After a goal is scored, the other team will be given one minute to respond (if there is less than one minute on the game clock, it will be extended to one minute). Should the scoring team score again, the game is over. Should the one minute expire sans goal, the game is over. Should the other team respond, overtime continues. After 15 minutes, teams will switch ends and play another OT period under the same rules. A 7-minute intermission follows the second, fourth, sixth, etc. OT period.

This is the most common method to break ties, and over 95% of tied games are settled in the first 15-minute OT period as goal totals are higher than that of soccer and comparable to that of lacrosse. Total sudden death is prohibited by the Laws. Other approved methods to settle draws are full 15-minute periods, penalty kicks, and a bocce ball game between the two captains.

For two-legged matches, the away goals rule can be applied before or after the above methods.

Offside
Zingerball's offside rule is akin to ice hockey's. An attacking player is offside if he does not control the puck and is in the offensive zone (i.e. past the dashline) when a different attacking player causes the zinger to completely cross the dash line into the offensive zone, until either the zinger or all attacking players leave the offensive zone. Simply put, attacking players must not enter the attacking zone before the zinger. If a player on the attacking team is in the offensive zone before the puck, he must retreat to the neutral zone.

After an offside violation, a free kick is awarded to the other team at the spot of the infraction.

Fouls and Misconduct
In the sport of zingerball, fouls and misconduct are acts committed by players which are deemed by the referee to be unfair and are subsequently penalised. An offence may be a foul, misconduct or both depending on the nature of the offence and the circumstances in which it occurs. Fouls and misconduct are addressed in Law 12 of the Laws of the Game.

A foul is an unfair act by a player, deemed by the referee to contravene the game's laws, that interferes with the active play of the game. Fouls are punished by the award of a free kick (possibly a penalty kick) to the opposing team. A list of specific offences that can be fouls are detailed in Law 12 of the Laws of the Game (other infractions, such as technical infractions at restarts, are not deemed to be fouls); these mostly concern unnecessarily aggressive physical play and the offence of handling the ball. An infringement is classified as a foul when the infringement meets ALL of conditions of: 1) It is committed by a player (not a substitute), 2) on the field of play, 3) while the ball is in play and 4) committed against an opponent. For example, a player striking the referee or a teammate is not a foul, but is misconduct.[1]

Misconduct is any conduct by a player that is deemed by the referee to warrant a disciplinary sanction (caution or dismissal). Misconduct may include acts which are, additionally, fouls. Unlike fouls, misconduct may occur at any time, including when the ball is out of play, during half-time and before and after the game, and both players and substitutes may be sanctioned for misconduct.

Misconduct will result in the player either receiving STRIKE 1 (a two-minute penalty), STRIKE 2 (a four-minute penalty), or STRIKE 3 (ejection from the contest and a four minute penalty). Time penalties are similar to that of ice hockey. A player must remain in a penalty box (which, in zingerball, is an actual box) until the time expires. If the opposition scores a goal, two minutes are reduced from the penalty time. (e.g. if Brad Greg's remaining penalty time is 3:22 when his opponent scores a goal, his penalty time is reduced to 1:22. Likewise, if Brad Greg's penalty time is 1:22 when his opponent scores a goal, his penalty time is reduced to zero).

When a player is ejected, a teammate must serve the time penalty. After that time penalty, the teammate can return to the match. However the ejected player can not take part in the match.

STRIKE 1 is a white card, STRIKE 2 is a yellow card, and STRIKE 3 is a red card.

The system of cautioning and dismissal has existed in the Laws since 1881. Zingerball was not the first major sport to introduce penalty cards to indicate the referee's decisions.

Free kicks
A free kick is a method of restarting play in zingerballl. It is awarded after an infringement of the laws by the opposing team.

The free kick is actually not a kick, but the opportunity to take an unimpeded pass to a teammate or a shot on goal. It be taken from the place where the infringement occurred, with the following exceptions: The zinger must be stationary and on the ground. Opponents must be at least 20 feet from the zinger until it is in play, unless they are on their own goal-line between the goal-posts. If the free kick is taken from within the kicking team's end, behind the dashed line, all opponents must be on the other side of the dash line.
 * if the offence was within the kicking team's own goal area, the free kick may be taken from anywhere within the goal area.
 * if the offence took place outside the field of play, the free kick is taken from the boundary line nearest to where the offence occurred.
 * for certain technical offences (a substitute starts a match without the referee being informed; a player or team official enters the playing area without the referee's permission but without interfering with the game) play is started with a free kick from the place where the ball was when play stopped.

The ball becomes in play as soon as it is hit and clearly moves. The ball must be hit (a goalkeeper may not pick up the ball). A free kick can be taken by lifting the ball with a foot or both feet simultaneously. It is legal to feint to take a free kick to confuse opponents.

A player may be penalised for an offside offence from a free-kick. This distinguishes the free-kick from most other methods of restarting the game, from which it is not possible for a player to commit an offside offence.

A goal or an own goal may be scored directly from a free kick.

The penalty shot
A penalty shot is not like a penalty kick in association football, but rather like the penalty shot in ice hockey.

A penalty shot is awarded to a player who is fouled on a breakaway or fouled in the offensive zone (past the opponents' dash line) and in the middle half of the floor (between the dots) when in a clear act of shooting. A breakaway, in this case, means that there are no other players between the would-be shooter and the goaltender of the defending team. The penalty shot is awarded to a player who is fouled. If the fouled player can not take the shot due to injury, he must sit out for at least the next 15 minutes of game time.

Late in the game, penalty shots can be used in leiu of time penalties. With less than two minutes remaining in regulation, a penalty shot will be awarded in leiu of a time penalty for misconduct (white card) offenses and two penalty shots will be awarded in leiu of a time penalty for repeat misconduct (yellow or red card). With more than two minutes but less than four minutes remaining in regulation, one penalty kick will be awarded, followed by a two minute penalty (whether the penalty kick was successful or not), while the normal two minute penalty will be used for white card misconduct. Likewise, during overtime, if a misconduct penalty is assessed on either team during the minute of response time after a goal, penalty shot(s) are awarded in leiu of any time penalty (however normal penalty timing rules apply during the rest of overtime).

Upon observing any of the above scenarios, the referee will signal a penalty shot by raising his crossed arms above his head with his fists clenched, and then point to the center of the court. In the NHL, officials signal a penalty shot by just pointing to centre ice. The offended player must take the shot, unless he suffers an injury as a result of the foul (should a player not be able to take his penalty shot, he may not re-enter the game for at least ten minutes of game time).

Following the announcement of the penalty shot, the official places the zinger on the center spot. All players other than the shooter and the defending goalkeeper must stand behind the half-way line(from the shooting team's perspective) and outside the center circle. The shooter may stand anywhere within the center circle and the defending goalkeeper must stand within the goal area until the zinger is touched. After this point, the goalkeeper may move out of the goal area to gain a better defending position.

The shooter is allowed to run a short distance to the zinger in order to gain momentum and then, unlike penalty kicks in association football, is allowed to move with the zinger. During the attempt, the zinger must move continuously towards the goal once touched. The goalkeeper may use any legal means to prevent a goal from scoring. Once the zinger crosses the end line, the attempt is considered over, regardless of whether a shot was taken.

During the penalty shot, the players not involved must be positioned behind the half-way line and outside the center circle. The players may not cross the half-way line until the shooter or zinger crosses the dash line.

If the penalty shot is successful, play resumes as if any other goal was scored (i.e. the team conceding the goal is awarded a kick-off). If the penalty shot is unsuccessful, play resumes immediately. As a result, a goal can be scored from a zinger rebounding off the goal post or the goalkeeper back to the shooter. During this case, the game clock is started the moment it is apparent that the penalty shot is no good. Should the penalty shot go out of bounds off the shooter, the defending team is awarded a goal kick. Should the penalty shot go out of bounds off the goalkeeper, the attacking team is awarded a corner kick.

In the rare event of a team simultaneously being awarded two (or more) penalty shots, the uninvolved players may not cross the center line until the final penalty shot is taken. In this case, all  attempts except the final attemt are over once  goal is scored or the shot is deemed to be no good. In this case only, a goal may not be scored from a rebound off of the goaltender, the goal itself or the end boards (although a goal will stand if it the zinger hits one of the above and goes into the goal without making additional contact with the shooter or his stick).

In the rarer event of both teams simultaneously being awarded penalty shots, the penalty shots will cancel each other out. The team given more shots will take any remaining shots. If the teams were awareded the same amount, no shots will be taken and play will resume with a face off at center court.

Should the goalkeeper leave his goal area early or any uninvolved player cross the line before they are legally allowed to do so, it is considered an infraction. If a goal is scored from the penalty shot, the infraction is ignored (because it had no effect on the shooter himself). If no goal is scored, the following methods of re-start will be used: A penalty shootout, governed by similar rules, can be used as a method to break a tie score, but this method is uncommon. The only difference in a penalty shootout is that uninvolved players can not rush to get a rebound, and the play ends as soon as it is apparent the goal will not score and the shooter can not have a second attempt via rebound.
 * Infraction on the shooting team results in a goal kick awarded to the defending team (in this case, a goal can not be scored if the zinger rebounds off the goal or goalkeeper and back to the shooter or another player).
 * Infraction on the defending team results in the penalty shot being retaken (unless a goal is scored by the zinger rebounding off the goal or goalkeeper and back to the shooter or another player, then this goal stands and play is resumed normally).
 * Infraction on both teams results in the penalty shot being retaken (in this case, a goal can not be scored if the zinger rebounds off the goal or goalkeeper and back to the shooter or another player).

The throw-in
The "throw in" occurs after a zinger goes out of bounds across one of the sidelines. It is not an actual throw in because the zinger is not thrown. Instead, it functions identically to a free kick, in that the zinger is kicked from the sideline at the spot in which the ball goes out of bounds, awarded to the team who did not last touch the zinger. Opponents can not stand within 8 feet of the zinger. A goal can not be scored directly from a "throw-in" If the ball goes through the defender's goal without being touched, a goal kick is awarded to the defending team. If the ball goes through the attacker's goal without being touched, a corner kick is awarded to the defending team.

The goal kick
A goal kick is awarded to the defending team when the zinger goes out of the field of play by crossing, either on the ground or in the air, the goal line, without a goal being scored, when the last person to touch the ball was from the attacking team. If the last person to touch the ball was a member of the defending side, a corner kick is instead awarded to the attackers.

A goal kick is awarded to the defending team when the ball goes directly into the goal, having last been touched by the attacking team, from a situation in which the laws do not permit an attacking goal to be scored directly, such as a throw-in. It is also awarded if the offensive team commits an infraction on a missed penalty shot.

The referee signals a goal kick by pointing downwards towards the goal area from which the kick is to be taken. The ball must be stationary and on the ground within the kicking team's goal area . All opposing players must be past the kicking team's dashed linne area until the zinger is in play. The zinger becomes in play as soon as it is hit and clearly moves. The player taking the goal kick cannot touch the zinger a second time until another player touches the zinger. A goal can be scored directly from a goal kick by the "kicking" team. An own goal cannot be scored from a goal kick; in the highly unlikely circumstance that the zinger enters the kicker's own goal before being touched by another player, a corner kick is awarded. Goal kicks are most often taken by goalkeepers, but this is not compulsory under the laws of the game.

The corner kick
A corner kick is the method of restarting play in a game of zingerball  when the ball goes out of play over the goal line, without a goal being scored and having last been touched by a member of the defending team. The "kick" is actually a hit of the zinger, and is taken from the corner of the field of play nearest to where it went out. Corners are considered to be a reasonable goal scoring opportunity for the attacking side, though not as much as a penalty shot or a free kick near the edge of the penalty area.

A corner kick is also awarded instead of an own goal if a team places the ball directly into its own goal from certain restarts (e.g., throw-in, free kick, etc.), though this is rare.

A referee will signal that a corner should be awarded by pointing to the corner from which the "kick" is to be taken. The zinger must be stationariy and myst be touching the corner of the court. All opposing players must be at least 20 feet from the corner until the zinger is in play (however, any player is allowed within the goal area. The zinger is in play when it is hit and clearly moves; it does not need to leave the corner area.  The player taking the corner kick may not touch the zinger a second time before it has touched another player.  The attacking side may score directly from a corner kick, though this is uncommon. An own goal may not be scored directly: in the extremely unlikely event of the zinger going directly into the attacking team's own goal from a corner kick, a corner kick would be awarded to the opposing side.