Editing Shinty (section)

==Rules of play==
{{refimprove|section|date=November 2016}}
A player can play the ball in the air and is allowed to use both sides of the stick. The stick may also be used to block and to tackle, although a player may not bring their stick down on an opponent's stick, which is defined as hacking. A player may tackle an opponent using the body as long as it is shoulder-to-shoulder as in [[Association football|association football (soccer)]].{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

A player may only stop the ball with the stick, the chest, two feet together or one foot on the ground. Only the goalkeeper may use his hands, but only with an open palm since he is not allowed to catch it. Playing the ball with the head constitutes a foul whether intentional or not, as it is considered dangerous play. Other examples of dangerous play, which will be penalised, are a player, while grounded, playing the ball, or a player recklessly swinging the caman in the air in a way which might endanger another player.{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

[[File:Shinty Style.jpg|thumb|left| A player doing keepy-uppy]]Fouls are penalised by a free-hit, which is indirect unless the foul is committed in the penalty area, commonly referred to as "The D". This results in a penalty hit from {{convert|20|yd|m}}.<ref name="auto">[http://www.shinty.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Byelaw-1-160312.pdf Rules of Play and Playing Season] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121111070524/http://www.shinty.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Byelaw-1-160312.pdf |date=11 November 2012 }}, Camanachd Association - Rules and Byelaws, February 2010</ref>

A ball played by a team over the opposing bye line results in a goal hit from the edge of the D, while a ball played by a team over their own line results in a corner. A ball hit over the sideline results in a shy: a shinty shy involves the taker tossing the ball above his head and hitting the ball with the shaft of the caman, and the ball must be directly overhead when struck.{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

===Scoring===
The winner of a game is the team that scores the most goals. A team scores a goal "when the whole of the ball has passed over the goal-line and under the cross-bar". A goal can only be scored with the caman; there is no goal when the ball "has been kicked, carried or propelled by hand or arm by a player of the attacking side." A goal cannot be scored directly from a free-hit.<ref name="auto"/>

===Team size===
Teams consist of 12 players (men) or 10 players (women), including a goalkeeper. A match is played over two halves of 45 minutes. With the exception of the goalkeeper, no player is allowed to play the ball with his hands. There are also variants with smaller sides, with some adjustments in the field size and duration of play.{{citation needed|date=December 2015}}

===Substitutions===

As with sports such as [[football]], shinty originally did not have substitutes. These were introduced in the 1960s, progressively expanding to allow a maximum of three substitutions per game. As of 2011, a rule change allowed for rolling substitutions to be made at the senior level.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/scotland/9401475.stm | work=BBC News | title=Friday's Scottish gossip | date=18 February 2011}}</ref>