Field Hockey Stick - Permitted Bow

Permitted Bow

Increasing the degree of bow to the 'face' side (flat side) makes it easier to get high speeds from the drag-flick (a 'sling-shot' style stroke started from behind the body of the flicker) and allows easier execution of the stroke. At first, after extreme bows were introduced (2005), the Hockey Rules Board (HRB) placed a limit of 50 mm on the maximum depth of such a bow over the length of the stick, but experience quickly demonstrated this degree of bend to be excessive.

The Rules of Hockey 2006 limited this particular curve of the stick to 25 mm so as to limit the power with which the ball can be flicked and to try to ensure that hitting control was maintained (the curvature to the face of the stick considerably influences the angle at which the stick-head strikes through the ball). The placement of the maximum bow along the length of the handle has not, however been specified, so the angle at which the stick head is presented to the ball (and hence the facility to lift the ball easily) will vary (as will the propensity to lift the ball accidentally when hitting it).

It is now illegal for any hockey stick to have a bow height that exceeds 25 mm. The bow height is measured by placing the stick face-side to a flat surface and presenting the official measuring device, a 25 mm-high metal triangular or cylindrical measure, to the gap between the surface and the under-flat of the stick.

Since this article was first written, there have been attempts to get around the rule by the production of a stick which 'in a natural resting position' has a face side that is not parallel to the flat surface measured from but rests with the face at a sharp angle. The result of the sloping of the face side is to put one edge of it closer than 25 mm to the flat surface and permit a much deeper bow than would otherwise be possible. This flouts the intention of the rule, so it is possible that there may be a move to a measuring cylinder, under and across, the entire face of the stick.

There has also been a development in design called the 'low bow'. This places the maximum bow of the stick much closer to the head than was previously the case, when it was positioned more centrally on the length of the stick. The effect of placing the maximum bow lower down the handle has been to increase the angle at which the stick head is presented to the ball. The angle of presentation of a '25 mm low bow' is approximately the same as was achieved when the maximum permitted bow was 50 mm but the maximum was situated at about the mid-length of the stick.

Extreme bow has an effect on the ease with which stick-work and hitting of the ball (so that it stays on the ground) may be carried out. There has always been some bow to a stick handle, 10–20 mm was common (right in diagram) because to have a stick that was straight would make 'gathering' the ball, by pulling it towards the body from the left, more difficult and a bow in the other direction (a convex bow) would cause 'dragging' in stick-work and make hitting the ball cleanly difficult in the other.

A stick with a very small degree of bow (no more than 5 mm) was popular in the days when the clip hit in the outfield was a permitted stroke (a chip hit is a hit down on the top or back of the ball which causes it to rise sharply and produces under-spin, so that the ball does not run on when it lands). The increased use of the scoop when the lifted hit in the outfield was banned led to an increase in bow depth (and many players also found that a moderate bow aided stick-work as well). The maximum depth of this bow was generally at around the mid-length of the stick.

The 'low bow' has been popularized by the development of the drag-flick, particularly as a first shot on goal at a penalty corner. The Pakistan International player Sohail Abbas, who holds the record for the number of goals scored at international level, mostly scored with the set piece drag-flick, had such a stick made especially to his own requirements and many have copied his design - and tried to improve on it.

Although there can be no doubt that the 'slingshot' effect of a bowed stick, when the ball is 'dragged' from the rear of the feet and released after powerful body and arm rotation to the from of the feet, has dramatically increased the velocity at which the ball may be propelled by this flicking method, there may be considerable difficulty in hitting the ball along the ground with a very bowed stick. This may be of advantage when shooting at the goal with a lifted hit from within the 'circle' (which is legal) but a disadvantage when hitting the ball outside of the scoring 'circles', because it is illegal to intentionally lift the ball with a hit except when within the scoring 'circles' i.e. the opponent's 'circle'.

The upright forehand hitting stroke, which is commonly used when the ball is close to the feet, will seldom be made with the handle in the same plane as the ball, unless the ball is to the immediate right of the player i.e. beside or alongside his feet. (Stick shown on far right of illustration) - which is generally the case when the ball is being hit directly to the front or from left to right - with a bowed stick even this vertical handle position will present an angled head to the ball. The further away to the front of the player the ball is the greater will be the head angle presented to the ball. To deal with the problem of head presentation some players use a low 'roundhouse' style of hitting, rather than an upright style and may also employ sweep-hits or slap-hitting of the ball (the difference being the positioning of the hands, sweep hits are generally made with the hands together at the top of the stick and with the base of the stick head in contact with the ground, while slap-hits are usually made with the hands in the more spread dribbling grip and the stick head is not necessarily in contact with the ground, but it may be), either sweep or slap type strokes give greater control over the angle of the face of the stick as it makes contact with the ball and are often the preferred strokes when passing the ball over longer distances (Over shorter distances – less than 20 m – a push stroke is often preferred).

The detail illustration shows that when the handle is angled away from the ball both the position of contact with the ball on the ball and the part of the face of the stick making contact will be altered. The greater the bow the greater the degree of adjustment the player must make to his swing and to the hitting position of the ball to achieve a hit flat along the ground.