ISU Air Hockey Rules
SECTION I. Beginning the Game, TIME IN/TIME
OUT, IN PLAY
A. Beginning the Game
1. Every official match begins with a face-off. A coin toss
is used to determine starting sides. The player winning the
coin toss chooses which side to begin on. The winner of the
face-off will begin games 1, 3 and 5 with the puck. His opponent
will begin the games 2 and 4 with the puck.
2. Players will alternate game-beginning serves and tableside
before each game of each match, after the first.
B. TIME IN/TIME OUT, IN PLAY
1.a. Each player may take one ten second or shorter time-out
per game.
b. A player may exercise his/her TIME-OUT
only when the puck is in his/her possession or not in play.
2. A player calling an additional TIME-OUT after his first receives
an automatic "conduct warning" from the referee. The referee
should announce "TIME-OUT," issue the warning by announcing
"conduct warning - extra TIME-OUT," and immediately call "TIME-IN."
3. Referee may call an official time-out of a reasonable duration
if he agrees that the situation warrants it (i.e. sanding the
puck, interference, emergencies).
4. When the puck leaves the playing surface and contacts anything
except a player's mallet, play is suspended until the puck is
put back into play by the referee.
SECTION II. Penalties and Fouls
A. Penalties and Fouls
1. Foul: The penalty for a foul is forfeiture of the puck.
2. Technical Foul: The penalty for a technical foul is a free
shot taken by the innocent player at the unprotected goal of
the guilty player. After a free shot, play immediately begins
when the puck either scores, rebounds from the goal, touches
the end of the table (not sides), or comes to a rest on the
playing surface. All free shots must be legal.
3. Unnecessary or excessive delay of game is considered a foul.
4. Referees should caution players to desist from striking pucks
which are obviously spinning top-like on table.
5. The puck cannot be "topped" by lifting the mallet and placing
it on the top of the puck.
6. Although the puck cannot be "topped", the edge of the puck
may be "chipped" or "chopped" with the bottom or top of the
mallet. The referee should caution players not to tilt their
mallets so as to descend past a 40-degree angle when touching
the puck with the mallet. "Tilting" or "dipping" the mallet
40 degrees or above for either offensive or defensive purposes
is legal.
7. If any part of a player's hand(s), or arm(s), or body, or
clothes touches the puck, "palming" will be called by the referee
which constitutes a foul and the player doing so loses possession
of the puck.
Exceptions:
a. If, during a defensive block only, the
puck rises from the tables and touches the defensive player's
hand(s) or arm(s) no foul need be called.
b. "Goal-Tending": if, in the referee's decision,
"palming" occurs while the puck is moving in a direct path towards
the goal for a score, whether by straight shot or bank shot,
"goal-tending" must be called against the player doing the "palming."
"Goal-tending" incurs a technical foul.
8. When a player loses total control of his own mallet, whether
during an offensive shot, defensive maneuver, or merely positioning
the puck the player commits a foul and loses possession of the
puck.
9. a. When the puck is struck in an offensive manner, leaves
the playing surface, and remains off the table, the player causing
such action commits a foul and loses possession of the puck.
Pucks leaning half on rail and half on table are considered
off the table.
b. If the defensive player, in the opinion
of the referee, blocks the puck and causes the puck to leave
the playing surface permanently, the defensive player retains
possession of the puck.
10. If an offensive player hits a puck and the puck wobbles,
hitting the hand of the defensive player, but not changing the
speed and direction of the puck, then no foul occurs.
11. Anyone violating the centerline rules commits a foul and
forfeits possession of the puck to the player fouled.
SECTION III. Face-offs
1. The referee will use a face-off at centerline as a determinant
at any time during the game. Face-off is when the puck is placed
flat on the center of the table by the referee with the players
allowed to advance to within one inch of the puck. Before the
face-off, no player may touch the centerline. They must wait
until the referee releases the puck, at which time normal centerline
rules will be in effect. Once both players are positioned, the
referee will call "players ready" then wait 1, 2, 3, or 4 seconds
then silently release the puck. If the puck attains excessive
motion, the referee may declare the face-off null and redo it.
If the puck goes off the table, face-off is repeated.
2. The following constitute winning a face-off: a score on the
opponent or gaining the first clear possession without fouling.
A puck, which has not yet left the centerline, can not constitute
possession for either player. The referee will signal with his
arm in the direction of the player who won the face-off.
SECTION IV. Centerline
1. If puck is completely contained in one player's half of the
playing surface, the opposing player may not cross centerline
of table with his/her mallet or body.
2. A player may stand anywhere around the table on his/her side
of the centerline. He/she may not stand past that line.
3. If the puck and mallet of the offensive player are both completely
on the offensive player's side, the defensive player may not
strike either the puck or mallet.
4. Although a mallet is allowed to overreach the centerline,
the mallet may never completely extend over the centerline --
even when following through on a shot. The mallet may never
extend further than its diameter across the centerline.
SECTION V. Scoring, Serves, Shots
1. When the puck enters and drops inside a player's goal, the
player's opponent receives one point. If the puck stops in the
goal yet has tilted and broken the horizontal plane of the goal
then a score has occurred.
2. If the puck rebounds out of the goal mouth, the point does
not count.
3. If a puck hits a player's hand on its way into the goal,
the point counts as long as the puck would have scored without
the contact.
4. The first player to accumulate seven (7) points wins the
game.
5. The player scored upon receives possession of puck for the
next serve.
6. The player has 7 seconds to execute a shot which crosses
the centerline. No exceptions.
7. If a puck is flipping around on its edge on one player's
side of the table, then the player may wait for it to stop.
8. Lifting the mallet from the table and striking the puck is
legal.
9. The puck may be struck with any part of the mallet, (i.e.
the side, the top of bottom edge of the mallet.
10. If interference occurs during a shot which scores and interference
is called by referee, the point does not count
11. If a player takes a shot and drops his mallet and the puck
enters his/her own goal for a score without it being deflected
by the defensive player, the point counts. The player is permitted
to stop the puck with hands or body. If a player shoots and
the defense loses the mallet, the defense may not use hands
or body to stop the shot if the shot occurred prior to or simultaneously
with the losing of the mallet. The point counts if it scores.
12. If a player commits a foul and is scored upon in the course
of the same play the goal counts and the penalty is nullified.
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