A hockey tournament of four quarters of 17.5 minutes,and a day that fits
A Dutch hockey match is four quarters of 17.5 minutes, and the quarter-hours of the FIH are played only in the Hoofdklasse. Both are ready, alongside indoor hockey, HOCKEY7s and Hockey5s, so you pick the form that fits your day instead of the other way round.
What makes a hockey tournament its own thing
Three things hockey does differently from the neighbours on the same sports park.
The format that fits your day
Four quarters of 17.5 minutes is what every competition below the Hoofdklasse plays, with 2 minutes between quarters 1 and 2 and between quarters 3 and 4 and a 5 minute half time. Four quarters of 15 minutes is the Hoofdklasse and the international game. Indoor hockey and the short forms sit below them.
- Four quarters of 17.5 minutes, the ordinary Dutch match
- Four quarters of 15 minutes, as the FIH Rules of Hockey state
- Indoor hockey of two halves of 20 or 15 minutes
- HOCKEY7s of 25 minutes and Hockey5s of two halves of 10
The table works itself out
In hockey the first tiebreak is not goal difference but the number of matches won. With three points for a win and one for a draw, two teams on the same total need not have won the same number of matches: five wins and a defeat is level on points with four wins and three draws, and on this rung the first of them goes ahead.
- The number of matches won, first
- Then goal difference and goals scored
- Then the results between the teams that finished level
- Anything still level plays a play-off
Hall and pitch in one tournament
Indoor hockey is six a side, with a different stick and no hitting. HOCKEY7s is seven a side on half a pitch with mini-goals, no keeper and no umpires, and Hockey5s is five a side on a small pitch with boards. The scoresheet is the same throughout: whoever scores the most goals wins.
- Indoor hockey six a side, in two halves
- In HOCKEY7s only a goal from the 15-metre area counts
- Hockey5s plays two halves of 10 minutes
- One way of entering results for every form
Setting up a hockey tournament day
The four decisions a hockey tournament comes down to.
- 1
Pick the format and the length
Four quarters of 17.5 minutes if you are playing the league fixture, or four quarters of 15 minutes as the Hoofdklasse does. If a lot has to get through one day, you pick HOCKEY7s of 25 minutes or Hockey5s of two halves of ten.
- 2
Let teams enter themselves
The team manager enters the team and invites the players, who confirm for themselves. You set the minimum and maximum squad size per event. Collecting the entry fee online is coming soon.
- 3
Draw the pools across your pitches
Every pool is laid across the pitches you listed at once, with its own pitch allocation per pool, stage or round. Clashes are flagged before the schedule goes out.
- 4
Play, count and decide
Results come in from the pitch and the pool table keeps up. The tiebreaks run in the order you set, which in hockey starts on the number of matches won.
What is already handled before the first pass
Teams and entries
- Eleven a side, seven a side, six a side indoors and five a side
- A minimum and a maximum squad size per team, reserves included
- Players confirm for themselves that they belong to the squad
- An entry fee per team, paid online as the team enters (coming soon)
- Categories by age and gender, so the youth and the veterans run side by side
- A waiting list the moment the pools are full
Pitches and playing time
- Four quarters of 17.5 minutes, with 2 minutes between quarters and 5 minutes at half time
- Four quarters of 15 minutes for the Hoofdklasse and international matches
- Indoor hockey of two halves of 20 minutes, or 15 on a full hall day
- HOCKEY7s of 25 minutes and Hockey5s of two halves of 10 minutes
- Several pitches at once, and several venues inside one tournament
- The minutes given are playing time; intervals and changeovers go on top
Table and results
- Three points for a win and one for a draw, yours to change
- The number of matches won as the first tiebreak
- Then goal difference, goals scored and the head to head
- Any number of goals is accepted, from 1-1 to 11-0
- The pool table is finished as soon as the last result is in
- Corrections stay visible in the log
Hockey tournament questions
Do we play four quarters of 17.5 or of 15 minutes?+
Below the Hoofdklasse a match is four quarters of 17.5 minutes, with 2 minutes between quarters 1 and 2 and between quarters 3 and 4 and a half time of 5 minutes. The Hoofdklasse and international matches play four quarters of 15 minutes, the length the FIH Rules of Hockey state. Both are ready, so you choose per event.
How much time should I allow per match?+
The playing time shown against the format, plus the intervals and the changeover you set yourself. The hockey clock runs, so seventy minutes of play is about seventy minutes of pitch. The umpires may stop for an injury or a card without adding the time back, and a quarter is prolonged only to finish a penalty corner.
How is a pool decided when teams are level on points?+
In hockey on the number of matches won first, then goal difference, then goals scored, then the results between the teams that finished level. Anything still level is decided by a play-off, which you schedule yourself as a fixture.
We take shoot-outs, do they reach the result?+
The shoot-out series is taken after a drawn match has ended, five one against one attacks each against a defender of the other team. The series is not part of the match, so the result stays the draw that was played.
Can indoor and outdoor hockey share one tournament?+
Yes. They are separate events with their own format, playing time and pitch or hall allocation, and one tournament may run across several venues. Entering results does not change, because in both forms whoever scores the most goals wins.
Set your hockey tournament up and let the teams come in
A free account, your pools laid out and the link sent to the clubs nearby. Entries arrive without you keeping a list. Publishing and taking entries are part of the free plan; the draw, the playing schedule and live results come with a paid plan.