POLOCROSSE
© 1998 Francis J. Wolfe
78 Little York Road
Warwick, NY 10990

Goal Judges

From the APA Rule Book: Rule II, Part II, Section 1h, Goal Judges.
Goal Judges shall be appointed to give testimony to the Umpire (at his request) as to the goals scored or the crossing of the 11 yard line. In all cases The Umpire shall make the final decision. The Goal Judge shall, at all times, position themselves so that they have a clear view of both the goal posts and the goal scoring circle. The Goal Judge shall wave a flag or racquet above his/her head to indicate a goal has been scored and shall wave it below knee level to indicate a miss.

• You are there to help the umpire. The umpire makes the final decision whether or not a goal was scored (which means that it's never your fault if a call is missed).

• Stand a few yards behind the goal posts. If it is a fast match, be ready to move. It is unwise and unsafe to sit when the play is at your end of the field. When the number 1 shots at goal, watch where the horse's feet are. All four feet must be outside the 11-yard circle that is drawn on the ground. If they are inside or touching the circle then the shot is no good. Only one of the horse's feet needs to touch the ground inside the circle or on the line for the horse to be considered inside. If the foot hasn't touched the ground yet then the horse isn't considered inside the circle (this only happens in very fast matches). Players can go into the circle while playing - they just can't take a shot on goal.

• Watch that the ball goes through the goal posts. There is no height limit to shots on goal. This means that a ball could be fifty feet above the ground and still be a goal. High shots are often slow ones so you can get between the goal posts and under the ball to see if the shot is good. Don't bother trying to catch the ball, you'll have time for that when the play is over.

• There will be an extra game ball at your end of the field. Throw it to the umpire after a shot on goal. While the umpire is getting the players in order, you can get the ball that just went past you.

• To indicate a goal was good - raise your racquet straight into the air. If the goal was not good, wave the racquet left to right below your knees and then tell the umpire what you saw (ie., foot on the line, ball was wide of the goals).

Timekeepers/Scorers

From the APA Rule Book: Rule II, Part II, Section 1i, Timekeepers and Scorers.
An Official Timekeeper and an Official Scorer will be appointed in all games and matches. They shall report the status of the game as regards numbers of goals scored and the amount of time left to play as requested by the Umpire.

• The umpire is the only person who can start or stop the clock.

• To start the clock: If time has been off for a while they will usually first get your attention by yelling "Time Keeper", then once they see that you are ready they will yell "Time On". Let the umpire know as soon as possible if you can not hear them.

• To stop the clock: The umpire will first stop play with one long blast of his whistle (the clock keeps running) then to stop the clock he will blow two short blasts on his whistle and yell "Time Off". The clock is only stopped if there is a problem retrieving the ball after a penalty or if there is a need to explain a penalty to a player. The clock will usually keep running after a goal is scored.

• At the end of the chukka, blow the whistle that you have been provided with and yell "Time". It is important that you blow the whistle to stop play exactly when time expires.

• Whenever a goal is scored, the umpire will raise their racquet above their head (it is the umpire not the goal judge, who can declare a shot to be good). Both teams will then come back to the center of the field for a line-up. If they don't come back to the center of the field for a line-up then a goal was not scored.

• If the umpire awards a goal as a penalty, they will come over to you and explain which team gets the goal.