Time of Possession

Enforcement of the time of possession rule shall be made only by an authorized tournament official. Possession of the ball at any one rod shall be limited to 15 seconds, except the five man rod which has a ten second limit, by the end of which time period the player in possession must advance the ball to or past at least one rod of the opposing team. A spinning ball that is within reach of a player figure shall be considered to be in that rods possession and all time limits shall continue. Players must make an honest effort to gain possession of a spinning ball that is within reach, however, if the spinning ball is not within reach, the time limits are not in effect. Rules Clarification August 1996 In the case of this happening in the goalie area, time will be suspended while the ball is not in reach. The official will add the amount of the suspended time at the end of the 15 seconds allowed. Penalty penalty for three man delay is loss of possession to the opposing goalie. The goalie shall put the ball back into play as if it had been declared a dead ball. Penalty for delay at any other rod is loss of possession to the opposing forward for serve.