The Canterbury Hockey Association (CHA) endorses the rules of hockey as promoted by the International Hockey Federation (FIH) and by Hockey New Zealand.  These rules are applied at all levels of the sport in Canterbury, although there are some minor modifications implemented at various levels, in particular Junior Hockey, that are considered beneficial for participants.  For further information on any local modifications, please refer to the specific Rules & Regulations document for each competition played under the jurisdiction of CHA.

2009 Rules Of Hockey
The FIH released in March 2009 its updated Rules of Hockey.  This update identified a couple of rule changes, as mentioned further down on this page, however as is to be expected the majority of rules remained unchanged.  These rules are effective worldwide from May 1 2009, however will be introduced to most CHA competitions from the start of the 2009 to avoid introducing new rules mid-season.

The link below provides access to the 2009 Rules of Hockey.  This version of the rules has an interactive index on page 3, which allows users to click on a heading on page 3 and proceed directly to that section.
FIH Rules Of Hockey 2009

The FIH has also produced a briefing document for umpires, which identifies key points for umpires to consider to improve their performance when umpiring.  This document can be accessed below:
FIH Umpires Briefing Document 2009

To support the understanding of umpires, players and coaches of the new rules introduced in 2009 relating to Free Hit situations, Hockey New Zealand has prepared the document linked below that provides the actual FIH wording of the revised rules, as well as an interpretation of the rules and how they should be applied:
Hockey New Zealand Explanation Of Free Hit Rule Revision 
Hockey New Zealand Clarification Of Free Hit Rule - 23 Metre Attacking Hit Application