Hi Guys - rule is my fault if you need someone to blame. :-)

Introduced it at Worlds a few years back after everyone started practising catching on glove instead of stick (because it's easier to control the puck after the catch). Many of them then started boasting that they never got caught because they used a black glove with a black stick (and vice versa!).

Definitely makes it easier to see how the catch is made (on stick or glove), as well as whether 'hand' is being used to move the puck while on the bottom.

I've had a few people tell me they have had trouble telling who is on their team because the glove colour confuses them but personally I've never actually found it to be a problem as I tend to look for the stick anyway. As someone else mentioned, glove can be a light neutral colour, such as a light blue or green or grey, so you don't need to have black glove/white stick or vice versa. As long as it strongly contrasts with teh stick colour - WHEN WET! :-)

Cheers, Simon