Question: "For indoor hockey qualifiers for the National Indoor Tournament, how many stay back for a penalty corner? Is it the goalie and only three other defenders or are all allowed back?"

Answer: When this question was first answered in January of 2009, ALL players on the defending team had to be behind the end-line and the goalkeeper had to be behind the goal-line. Further, no other player besides the goalkeeper was allowed to be behind the goal-line.

Now, however, that has changed. Any number of defenders can, instead of defending the penalty corner from behind the end-line, defend the penalty corner from behind the end-line OR the other side of the center-line.

Unchanged is that the defending players who are outside the goal cage have to be on the opposite side of the goal cage as the attacker beginning the penalty corner.

The exact positions that the defenders taking up positions behind the end-line in preparation for the insertion is a coaching decision.

Only the goalkeeper is allowed behind the goal-line and, in fact, the goalkeeper MUST be behind the goal-line unless, for some crazy reason, the goalkeeper would rather defend from the other half of the pitch.

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