How field hockey works at the Olympics

NZ Newswire Updated July 5, 2012, 6:44 am

How the Olympic Games hockey tournament works:

  • Twelve teams in the preliminary rounds in two pools of six

  • The men's draw is:

Pool A: Australia, Great Britain, Spain, Pakistan, Argentina, South Africa

Pool B: Germany, Netherlands, South Korea, New Zealand, India, Belgium

  • The women's draw is:

Pool A: Netherlands, Great Britain, China, South Korea, Japan, Belgium

Pool B: Argentina, Germany, New Zealand, Australia, United States, South Africa

  • Each team plays the other in that pool

  • The top two teams in each pool proceed to the semi-finals

  • The remaining teams play classification matches for places fifth to 12th

  • Semi-final winners play for the gold and silver medals, losers play for the bronze

Competition format

  • Teams comprise 11 players, with five interchange players and unlimited interchange allowed.

  • Goalkeepers may block or deflect the ball from the goal with any part of their bodies

  • Games run for 70 minutes, 35 minutes per half

  • Goals can only be scored by a field goal (shot from inside shooting circle, a D-shaped area in front of the opponents' goal), a penalty corner, or a penalty stroke

  • In finals, classification matches or games that require a winner to advance to the next round, games tied at the end of regulation time go into extra time of seven and a half minute halves

  • First team to score in extra time wins - known as the "golden goal" rule

  • If scores are locked at the end of extra-time, a result is decided by a penalty stroke competition

  • Each team selects five players who take alternating strokes

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