Uniforms, Equipment in High School Field Hockey Rule Changes

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA (February 11, 2025) – Two changes regarding player uniform and equipment were among the five revisions recommended by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Field Hockey Rules Committee at its January 13-15 meeting in Indianapolis. All recommended changes were subsequently approved by the NFHS Board of Directors and take effect with the 2025 high school field hockey season.

In Rule 1-6-5 regarding face protection, the rules committee approved the option for players to wear a wire-caged face mask during a penalty corner. The new face protection language in Rule 1-6-5 reads as follows:

“A wire-caged face mask that is smooth and rounded may be worn for defending penalty corners. Players shall remove the wire-caged mask at the completion of the penalty corner. If no suitable opportunity to remove the mask arises, they may continue to wear it within the 25-yard area.”  

If the wire-caged face mask is not removed beyond the 25-yard area, the result is a player misconduct penalty.

The other Rule 1 change concerns player uniforms. In an about-switch with the player uniform, the home team will now wear single, solid dark-colored uniform tops, and the visiting team will wear white uniform tops. Also, if an undershirt is worn, the home team shall match the color of the jersey or wear a dark color undershirt, and the visiting team shall wear white undershirts.

The committee noted that this change allows home teams to showcase their primary team colors when playing before the home crowds.  

In other changes, a new penalty was approved in Rule 8-2-1 regarding protocol when a goalkeeper is suspended for a uniform jersey violation.

8-2-1PENALTY 2 will now state that “when a goalkeeper is suspended for a uniform jersey violation, the coach shall remove one field player for the suspension, and the goalkeeper may remain in the game. When a goalkeeper is suspended for any reason other than jersey violation or disqualification, the coach shall remove one field player for the suspension and the offending goalkeeper shall be replaced by another fully outfitted goalkeeper.” 

The final two changes approved by the NFHS Field Hockey Rules Committee involved Rule 4-4-3 regarding substitution and Rule 11-2-7 dealing with the taking of a penalty stroke.

The revision in Rule 4-4-3 clarifies when a substitution is allowed on a penalty corner, and the change in Rule 11-2-7 brings language for penalty stroke end-of-game procedures in line with end-of-game procedures for a penalty corner.

Additional language in 11-2-7 states that “if the penalty stroke is awarded at the end of the game, the game shall continue in order to complete the penalty stroke, unless the scoring opportunity of the goal would not influence the outcome of the game.”   

According to the 2023-24 NFHS High School Athletics Participation Survey, a total of 51,728 girls participated in field hockey at 1,766 schools nationwide.