The use of the forehand edge in a sweep hit like the one shown is illegal.

The use of the forehand edge in a hit (note origin of strike in the first frame) is illegal.

After the publication of the The Rules of Hockey 2006, the FIH announced the elimination of the hitting technique known by various names around the world, e.g. low forehand, blade hit.

In February of 2006, UmpireHockey.com first published a story about the newly banned hitting technique.

UmpireHockey.com used the FIH's description of the action to produce a video and in March of 2006 added video that to the original article. The video demonstrated the action as being one in which the stick began and stayed low to the ground.

However, when the FIH published the formal reference to this action in The Rules of Hockey 2007/2008, it modified its original description of what is considered illegal by deleting the word "low".

With "low" eliminated from the description, the definition of the type of action that the FIH meant to eliminate from the sport had changed. UmpireHockey.com contacted the FIH to discuss the implications of the wording change and determine how we might best describe legal and illegal "versions" of forehand edge play for the benefit of our readers.

Unless the forehand edge of the stick is used in a controlled action like those specifically permitted* in The Rules of Hockey, if the ball is struck hard from a position that begins well above the surface, the umpire is given license to judge the action to be illegal.

Further, if the ball is propelled away (out of reach and away from a "close control" action), even if the stick begins and ends on or very close to the surface, the interpretation is also to penalize the action.

Silke Mueller, Germany, looks as if she might be preparing to use the now illegal "forehand edge" hit in a 2004 match against China. Photo copyright Wolfgang Sternberger.

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* Specific exceptions are mentioned in The Rules of Hockey such as using the edge of the stick on the forehand in a controlled action in a tackle, raising the ball in a controlled way over an opponent’s stick or over a goalkeeper who is lying on the ground or using a long pushing motion along the ground.

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