No wall rules?

Some comments in the area rule idea discussion.

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Um, what??? I meant, when the puck is started in the middle of the pool, teams will attempt to move it into space to gain a positional advantage. Much the same as with 6 players now. So you're right, there's no difference there...

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Fast, open skill full play is characterised by games where opposing teams cannot successfully shut the game onto the wall for long periods of time.

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If your only concern is puck locked on the wall, just add some kind of a "wall rule" and that's it.

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it's a lot easier to shut the puck onto the wall than it is to get it off. Plain and simple. It's easier because the wall itself helps you by shutting down angles and options,

SO I have another idea.
The wall seems to be one off the biggest problems.
SO get the wall out off the game! And work with side lines.

To put it in the point system:
Benefits over Underwater Hockey played with a wall

1.Reffs can see the play all time from all sides. (the reffs can swarm arround the play all times. so see more)
(Like you can see much by the sub-top were often is played with a sideline.)
2.No blocking or bashing by/in the wall possible. So faster play.
(when bashing somebody to the side, there is a chance to get an free puck against you by playing the puck outside the playing field)
3.Rules for playing with only sidelines are already existing.
4.More skilful and tactical play.
(because there is no blocking/bashing/ locking the puck against in the wall, so the game will be more open.)
5.Far more better to film. Now you can put movie camera’s on both sides.
(so there will be less distance movie shoots. Across the pool. And more close-up movies.)

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won't the game be slowed down by play stoppages when the puck goes over the sideline?

this may not be too much of an issue at social/club level where players are often happy for a short rest, but at elite level the game will be ruined.

most, if not all teams will try and defend by moving the puck away from the middle of the playing to the sides. the physical battle for the puck will shunt it over the sideline too often to make the no-wall game practical.
there isn't much sense in having 2 versions of the game, so let's forget about only having this rule for club games as well.

it may also be far too easy for players to play the puck off an opponents stick and over the sideline to gain an advantage from what is, in essence, a throw in.

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I think that originally there weren't side walls, but the number of stoppages in play convinced the powers that be that side walls were a good idea. The game really would be a total pr1ck if it stopped every 2 seconds because the puck has gone out.

EUHHMMMMM
in the other discussion somebody (a top rank player) said:
Flicking the puck outside is illigal and breaking the rules,cheating......

First you had sidelines.
Nice buts some teams must play that way it stops the game because flicking the puck outside.
And its also illegal. (also an unsportive way to play!)

Then there were wall introduced in the games.
Real nice no pucks outside the game anymore.
And now everybody (top-rank) is complaining about the wall and the play by the wall by pushing/holding etc.
And that the reffs can not see it anymore because off the wall. And the game is slowed down.

So why not have the sideline back like most national game still use, an co back to playing by the rules.
So not flick to puck every 2 second out! (its illegal!) And iff there is a team that used that as tactic its really an unsportive team. But try fair play and give also the reffs the space because there is no wall so they can see everything. By those sidelines the reffs can swarm around the play so see far more about everything. That also only good for the game.

A new rule will not chance the wall play, that as long there is a wall and more then 2 player by that wall with the puck wil be there. A good tactic can. But a tactic must be free to developed and not in basic be written down in the rules (like the proposal with area play). Playing by the wall is also an tactic. And if it is 8 or 12 players. It will not make a real different. It will be still wall-play that is in basic 2 players against the puck and some players around them so the reffs cant see anything. And a tactic can be overwon by another tactic.

So its very simple in basic.

1: Play with sidelines and have the puck outside the field sometimes.
(ask yourself why by other sports etc the bal is not outside every 2 seconds?)
by playing so means the reffs can see more.

2: Or play with the wall. In every way. But there will be always wall-play. With pushing/bashing/holding etc.
Also because the reffs can not see it all.
It will never be open play as long as there are more then 1 player from each team by that wall.

But in both ways. Sideline uwh or wall uwh can be overwon by other tacticks.
And thats the way to go. Devolphe new tacticks. Not restrickt play by rules and in the end not really play different.

SO MAYBE ITS BETTER NOT THE CHANCE THE RULLES AT ALL.
AND KEEP ON PLAYING IN BASIC HOW WE ALREADY DO, BUT HAVE MORE ATTENTION TO TACTICAL PLAY.
IFF YOU DONT LIKE WALL-PLAY. MAKE A NEW TACTICK. SO SIMPLE IS IT!
IFF YOU HAVE THE PUCK THE OTHER TEAM WILL FOLLOW YOUR TACTICKS.

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1: Play with sidelines and have the puck outside the field sometimes.
(ask yourself why by other sports etc the bal is not outside every 2 seconds?)
by playing so means the reffs can see more.

having asked myself this question, i came up with these answers [they may not be correct or the only answers but i think they are valid]:

by comparing the distance an uwh player can pass a puck with the distance a soccer player can kick a football a football field might need walls 50m high. try selling sideline seats for that game. so that's why they haven't adapted the notion of walls. and soccer can sell seats to spectators without providing them with aqualungs. when we can get spectators [in the main] comfortably into the same environment as our players, maybe we'll have to start looking at this issue again.

compare a rugby field 100mx50m = 5000 sq. m of playing area with 30 players
uwh court 25mx15m = 375 sq. m with 12 players, rugby has about 167 sq m per player, uwh has 31.25 sqm per player with a ball which cannot be passed/kicked the length of the playing area - contact with opponents is guaranteed to be more frequent. perimeter to playing area ratios are also skewed badly against uwh [still looking at rugby for a comparison] rugby area: perimeter = 16.7:1, uwh ? 4:1.
comparing uwh with other sports is, quite obviously, not comparing apples with apples.

rugby, soccer, lacrosse - all developed from games played in open spaces, uwh developed in a naturally enclosed space - the swimming pool [which has to have walls]. most uwh courts, due to pool size restrictions, have at least 1 fixed wall - it's sensible and logical to have a similar barrier around all sides of the playing area.

having reasonably high walls prevents the puck going out of play - that's the reason for them - and reduces game stoppages.
ugly wall play is a by-product of the historical conditions of our game. and like it or not playing along the wall is tactically sensible in many defensive situations.
dirty play along the walls? well that's an individual matter of conscience for each player. it's not acceptable to other players, so that's why we have 3 referees. 1 in front of play, 1 behind play and #3 watching for skulduggery off the play.

and i think you've used the quote from a top rank player out of context and not managed to prove any point by using it.

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I didn't say that people would put it out on purpose, but given where the majority of countries want to play the game (ie right next to the wall) the puck will be over the sideline a lot.

Move on people. :-) The game was played without walls for many years. In the mid eighties walls were introduced and improved the game considerably. Don't go backwards!

Sven, please don't ever use soccer (football) as an example of anything to do with rules and cheating! How can anybody respect a sport where theatrics can determine the winner. Why they don't introduce video replay on all incidents inside the penalty box is beyond me!

Any aspect of the game where fouls can be used to a teams advantage should be eliminated. Like professional fouls, deliberate out-of-bounds etc. I think uwh has progressed well in this area, so lets not go backwards.

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Hm. I tink uwh referees always look at the video ?

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Haha. Apparently, Hendo was told off for looking at the screen when he was Pool-side referee, so obviously uwh isn't there yet.

I am not sure video-reffing is needed in uwh yet, and maybe it's hard to justify in a 30min game.

My comment was comparing soccer ("the World Game", pfft) to other international sports like Rugby, Cricket and Tennis etc where technology is used to assist the mere human refs to eliminate those dubious calls that encourage unsportsmanlike behaviour.

BTW - is there any other sport that has a signal for 'unsportsmanlike behaviour'? Soccer doesn't - if you fake a fall, then you are merely ignored, not penalised. hmm

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