URO 3-on-3 Ball Hockey Tournament Rules

Reminder - The Referee’s decision is FINAL. There should be no arguing of calls by participants. Arguing calls by can result in a penalty shot being awarded to the other team and the team assessed a bench minor. Multiple bench minors could lead to a team being disqualified. Calls may be questioned, but only by a team captain, who is the sole representative of the team. These policies shall be strictly enforced with a zero-tolerance approach. Penalties awarded as a result of excessive arguing are made at the sole discretion of the Referee.

Note: Any players suspended from the tournament will be ineligible to play in their Sunday URO league games as their supplemental discipline review will be pending until Monday afternoon at the earliest.

Rules and regulations:

Each Recreational team must have a minimum of 4 but may have a maximum of 10 players on its roster. Goalies count towards the 10 player max. The 10 player max is for the entire tournament, there are to be no spares used at any point during tournament play. All players must have a valid Urban Rec Okanagan waiver, players without a signed waiver will be unable to participate until their waiver is signed.
Games may be started or completed with only 3 players (goalie included), but not with 2 players (result is an automatic forfeit).
Teams will be placed in divisions based on information provided at time of registration. Register your team online and - after selecting your choice of conference - you will automatically be placed in the appropriate division skill level.
All games will be played 3-on-3, not including the goaltender (i.e. 3 out players plus one goalie on the court at all times). A team may play without a goaltender, if it chooses to do so, at any time during the match.
The start of each period will begin with a face-off.
The ball will change possession after every goal scored.
There are no offsides or icings.
During play, alternates can substitute as teams deem necessary and/or "on the fly". No stoppage in play is necessary to make substitutions. However, a team needs to be especially careful not to get penalized for too many men on the court when making on the fly changes.
Hand passes are permitted on the defensive side of center court. Any hand pass that is received in the offensive zone will be blown down and a change of possession will occur.
Goal changes can be made on the fly (or halftime) and are subject to the same rules of all other on the fly player changes. Time will NOT stop to replace a goalie. If a goal is scored while a team is attempting to make an on the fly goaltender change, the goal will stand. Teams must identify and use only one goaltender prior to any shootout.
When the ball is covered by the goaltender, the defending team gets possession of the ball behind their net. The other team must give the team with the ball 3 metres of space to make a play. The team with possession is allowed 5 seconds to put the ball in play. The goalie may cover the ball anywhere in their defensive end to stop the play.
When a ball leaves play: The referee will determine possession and where the play will resume. If you have an argument about where the ball is put back in play, you are incorrect. It is the referees decision. That team is given 3 metres of space and 5 seconds of time to make a play. Play will resume with a whistle. Goals may be scored directly upon play resuming (i.e. no need to start play again with a pass. Shots are live!)
After a goal is scored: There is no face-off. The team that was scored on gets possession and may execute play immediately. They also must execute play (i.e. cross the center line) within 10 seconds. If they fail to do so, the other team may encroach aggressively. The team that just scored must always clear center as a full unit and cannot cross the center line until they have done so and the ball, or an offensive player, crosses that line (or the 10- second rule expires). However, during the final 5 minutes of play, the team that just scored must still (in its entirety) clear half - but after so doing may then encroach immediately. The purpose of this rule is to avoid stalling by the team who was scored on and to intensify the final minutes of each game.
Teams will be given a 3-minute warm-up before each game.
A 5-minute forfeit allowance will be strictly enforced.
Games will be 24 minutes in length (Two - 12 minute periods, running time, separated by a one minute half-time break). The final minute of a playoff game will be stop time if the score is within 2 goals.
In a playoff game, if a team scores a goal with the goalie pulled in the final 2-minutes, play will stop to allow the team that scored to return their goaltender.
A mercy rule will be in effect if one team leads the other by a 10 goal margin at any point during the second half of the game. If a team goes up by 10 goals in the first half, play continues. If they are still up by 10 goals when the first half is over, the mercy rule goes into effect. The score is then recorded as a 10-goal margin of victory (even if they were up by more than 10 goals). This is for seeding purposes. The games are also capped at 15 goals. The first team to score 15 goals in a game wins.
Each team will be allowed one (1), 30-second time out per game.
There shall be no slashing, hooking, tripping, crosschecking, high sticking, or inappropriate stick work of any kind. Doing so shall result in a penalty shot for the other team. More serious offenses, including, but not limited to, spearing and/or butt-ending, shall result in an individual being immediately removed from a tournament.
Fighting is unacceptable and will always result in the individual being removed from tournament. Fighting is defined as one punch (gloved punches included).
There shall be no pushing, shoving, checking, or unsportsmanlike conduct of any kind. Doing so shall result in at least a penalty shot for the other team, but may be punished more severely according to the discretion of the referee and/or tournament supervisor.
There shall be no stalling. Stalling is called at the discretion of the official. Doing so shall result in a penalty shot for the other team.
Any player that gets penalized three times during one game for aggressive incidents mentioned above will be disqualified from participating in the remainder of that game. The player in question may be subject to more serious punishment (i.e. ejection from the tournament), if the Tournament Supervisor deems necessary. In addition, the entire team may be removed from the tournament based on the questionable actions of one team member.
A team that loses three players to the “three penalties” rule in a single game will be forced to play the rest of the game shorthanded (2 players on the court).
If any player touches the ball while his/her team has too many players on the court, it shall be ruled a "too many players on the court" penalty and the opposing team shall be awarded a penalty shot. There is no 10-metre grace given for player changes! Too many players on the court penalties are not applied against the four penalties and you are out rule.
Slapshots are allowed.
Any contact made with the ball when the stick is above the crossbar will result in a change of possession at the referees discretion.
The result of all penalties is a penalty shot awarded to the other team. Penalty shots are taken immediately after an infraction, and are taken with the ball being placed at center ice according to breakaway type format.
For penalty shots, the ball is dead after the shot or at the conclusion of forward progress. Possession is always given to the defending team regardless of the outcome of the shot. After the shot, the ball is immediately live to the defending team. Any individual can take all penalty shots for a team if it so chooses (i.e. the shot does not have to be taken by the player that was infracted upon or a player that was on the rink at the time of the infraction).
If the game reaches the 24-Minute time limit in a tie, the teams will go into a shootout to determine the winner. Each team will nominate 3 players from their own team to participate in the shootout. Each of these shooters will be given one breakaway on the opposing goaltender. The team with the most goals at the end of the shootout will be declared the winner. If the score remains tied after the initial shootout round, the shootout will move to sudden death format. In the sudden death shootout, any player can shoot any number times. Sudden death shoot out rounds continue until a winner is declared.
If a semifinal playoff game reaches the 24-Minute time limit in a tie, the teams will play a 3-minute sudden death overtime period followed by a 3 player shootout following the same rules as round-robin play. Ties in the finals will be decided by continuous sudden death overtime.
Sticks and indoor running shoes will NOT be provided and are required by all participants. All sticks are subject to examination by the referee prior to each game. Any type of stick (wood, graphite, plastic blade, etc.) can be used, but if the stick is chipped, sharp, or deemed potentially dangerous at any time before or during game action, its use will not be allowed. Curves of all kinds are allowable. Only white stick tape is allowed, all other colours will need to be removed before the stick is allowed to be used in play.
Helmets and gloves are mandatory. Eye protection, jocks, mouth guards and shin guards are STRONGLY ENCOURAGED FOR ALL PARTICIPANTS, but are not mandatory.
A player must leave the game when an abrasion has flowing blood. Once the flow has stopped and there is no chance of blood contacting other players, the may re-enter the game.

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