Editing Field hockey (section)

===General play===
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For the purposes of the rules, all players on the team in possession of the ball are attackers, and those on the team without the ball are defenders, yet throughout the game being played you are always "defending" your goal and "attacking" the opposite goal.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/field-hockey-elizabeth-anders/1101100144 |title=No Results Page &#124; Barnes & Noble |website=Barnesandnoble.com |access-date=15 July 2016 |archive-date=25 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201225220850/https://www.barnesandnoble.com/noresults/field-hockey-elizabeth-anders/1101100144 |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Brenda256.jpg|thumb|right|Sideline hit in a match Standard Athletic Club vs. British School of Paris (1996)]]
The match is officiated by two field [[umpire (field hockey)|umpires]]. Each umpire generally controls the half of the field and the shooting circle to their right, divided roughly diagonally, but they will often defer to the other's judgement when uncertainties arise. These umpires are often assisted by a technical bench including a timekeeper and record keeper at international and high level domestic games.

Prior to the start of the game, a coin is tossed and the winning captain can choose a starting end or whether to start with the ball. Since 2017 the game consists of four periods of 15 minutes with a 2-minute break after every period, and a 15-minute intermission at half time before changing ends. At the start of each period, as well as after goals are scored, play is started with a pass from the centre of the field. All players must start in their defensive half (apart from the player making the pass), but the ball may be played in any direction along the floor. Each team starts with the ball in one half, and the team that conceded the goal has possession for the restart. Teams trade sides at halftime.

Field players may only play the ball with the face of the stick. If the back side of the stick is used, it is a penalty and the other team will get the ball back. Tackling is permitted as long as the tackler does not make contact with the attacker or the other person's stick before playing the ball (contact after the tackle may also be penalised if the tackle was made from a position where contact was inevitable). Further, the player with the ball may not deliberately use his body to push a defender out of the way.

Field players may not play the ball with their feet, but if the ball accidentally hits the feet, and the player gains no benefit from the contact, then the contact is not penalised. Although there has been a change in the wording of this rule from 1 January 2007, the current FIH umpires' briefing instructs umpires not to change the way they interpret this rule.<ref name="Umpires' briefing">{{cite web |url=http://www.fihockey.org/vsite/vfile/page/fileurl/0,11040,1181-180262-197480-115788-0-file,00.pdf |title=Title of presentation |publisher=Fihockey.org |access-date=27 February 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071202000007/http://www.fihockey.org/vsite/vfile/page/fileurl/0,11040,1181-180262-197480-115788-0-file,00.pdf |archive-date=2 December 2007}}</ref>

Obstruction typically occurs in three circumstances&nbsp;– when a defender comes between the player with possession and the ball in order to prevent them tackling; when a defender's stick comes between the attacker's stick and the ball or makes contact with the attacker's stick or body; and also when blocking the opposition's attempt to tackle a teammate with the ball (called ''third party obstruction'').

When the ball passes completely over the sidelines (on the sideline is still in), it is returned to play with a sideline hit, taken by a member of the team whose players were not the last to touch the ball before crossing the sideline. The ball must be placed on the sideline, with the hit taken from as near the place the ball went out of play as possible. If it crosses the back line after last touched by an attacker, a {{convert|15|m|yd|abbr=on}} hit is awarded. A 15&nbsp;m hit is also awarded for offences committed by the attacking side within 15&nbsp;m of the end of the pitch they are attacking.