Face off clarification 2
Comments about this discussion:
Started
I am wondering what people think about the face-off being executed at the corner mark when within 6.5 m. Firstly do athletes have to face a specific direction for a faceoff? I have traditionally made the players face the goal direction they are trying to score in. But then I find that the faceoff location seems unfair for the the defending player.
In a face off the two players usually hit the ball backwards, but they are so close to the wall where the faceoff is taken that I think the attacking player gets an advantage by getting another chance to get the ball after it hits the wall and comes back. The defending player has much less ability to move the ball out from where they started with it. In ice hockey they use the faceoff circles that are further out, rather than the corner mark, so both players get the ability to drag the ball back to their team mates.
Thoughts?
14B.9.4 Face-off
To resume the game without penalizing one of the teams, a face-off can be used. For
the face-off, the referee drops the ball between two opposing players. The ball should
be dropped from below hip height of players in the vicinity. One player from each team
may take part in the face-off with all other players' unicycles and sticks at a distance of
at least 2 m from the ball. Play starts when the ball touches the ground as signalled by
the referees whistle. A face-off during the game is executed where the ball was when the
game was interrupted. Exception: Within the goal area, the face-off is executed at the
closest corner mark.
Comment
I think it makes sense to specify where players must be in relation to the face off, regardless if we have different rules on different ends of the court. Specifying where players should be might solve the issue of one player gaining an advantage in the corner by playing the ball off the wall and make rules about new floor markings a moot point.
Comment
I can see your point of the attacking player having a small advantage. However, I don't see any way how we can get rid of this and I think the current location is fine. The defending player can try to drag the ball towards the rounded / beveled edges such that the ball lands behind the goal.
For example executing the faceoff further away from the goal line (e.g. at 6.5m line) could lead to even more danger for the defending team as the ball can travel directly towards the goal.
If you have any specific suggestions Steven I'm open to discuss them.
Comment
The face off could potentially be done at an angle or reversed in the corner if we're concerned with one team gaining an advantage there. I don't think it's necessarily an issue though as there's an inherent advantage of attacking. Regardless all teams would have the chance to come up with strategies for attacking and defending against face-offs in the corner.
Comment
There are no rules yet to where all the OTHER players can be positioned at a face-off (unlike for example at a free throw in (unicycle) basketball) apart from being away at least two metres.
Can good positioned others player help the primary defender at the corner mark?