Coach's Guide to Hockey WA Junior Hockey Years 5-12 2026

Junior games are four quarters, with a 2-minute interval between quarters 1 and 2 and between quarters 3 and 4 (teams stay on the pitch) and a 5-minute half-time.

Up to 10 minutes can be added to the fixtured period for delays or interruptions, but the game must finish by the earlier of 5 minutes before the next game on that field is due to start and 85 minutes after it began. If at least one quarter can be completed, teams must try to play as much of the game as possible.

Each game starts with a coin or stick toss. The winner chooses which goal to attack in the first two quarters or starts with a centre pass. Each team must supply at least one white ball of suitable standard (a contrasting coloured ball can be used if both teams and the umpires agree).

Default. Every junior team must play with a goalkeeper in a different coloured shirt, wearing at least protective headgear, leg guards and kickers. The FIH option to play with all field players does not apply, and a team that cannot field a goalkeeper forfeits the game.

Exception. Teams in J 9/10 Divisions 1 and 2 and J 11/12 Divisions 1 and 2 may choose either a goalkeeper (dressed as above) or only field players with no one having goalkeeping privileges. They can switch between the two options by substitution at a break in play. In these divisions a goalkeeper is treated like any other player, including when carded.

Injury. If a goalkeeper is injured or incapacitated, the team must replace them with another player wearing the protective equipment. The game may be paused for up to 10 minutes while that happens.

Cards. In teams that must play a goalkeeper, a card to the goalkeeper means the team captain serves the suspension, although the card is recorded against the goalkeeper.

Team size. A junior team can have up to 16 players, and forfeits if it has fewer than 7 players on the field at any time.

Hockey WA's Junior 5/6 divisions (school Years 5 and 6) have these modifications to the FIH Rules of Hockey:

• Games: 4 quarters of 12 minutes.
• Coaches: in Divisions 2 to 5, the coach may move around the field between the 23m lines, but only before the seventh fixture week, and only if it doesn't disrupt the game or intimidate players or umpires. An umpire can ask an intimidating coach to leave the field. In Division 1 coaches must stay off the field.
• No overheads: players must not attempt an overhead or play at the ball with their stick above the shoulder. The opposition gets a free hit.
• Penalty corners: defenders are not penalised for entering the circle before the ball is played. If an umpire judges a break and there is no advantage, the corner is replayed.
• Dangerous play: umpires enforce this more strictly. It includes lifting the ball or stick so that it causes legitimate evasive action, entering a contest from the wrong side, using the reverse edge (tomahawk) so that the lifted stick or ball causes evasive action, and swinging the stick from behind the player in possession. Each is a free hit.
• Finals: there are no finals in Junior 5/6.

A goalkeeper in protective headgear, leg guards and kickers is still required.

Each junior competition (J 5/6, J 7/8, J 9/10, J 11/12) has divisions 1 to 5, with Division 1 the highest. Hockey WA may split a division into "Black" and "Gold" grades to cut travel, and decides how many teams and games each division has for the winter season. There is no promotion or relegation in the junior competitions.

• Before the winter season Hockey WA, with the Junior Competition Advisory Group, may set up a grading committee that places every nominated team in a division, and then tells the clubs.
• A club that disagrees can appeal to Hockey WA by the date Hockey WA sets for that season. Moving a team is at Hockey WA's discretion.
• A 5-week regrading period runs from the start of the qualifying season. A team is normally moved only after those 5 weeks, unless there is enough evidence to move it earlier. Hockey WA can move a team without being asked, and a club can also request a move during this period.
• A club cannot have more than 1 team in Division 1, 2 or 3 of any junior competition unless Hockey WA decides otherwise.

Default. A junior may play only one game in a junior competition each fixture week, unless they are a double-up, replacement or permit player, or more than one game in their division is scheduled that week.

Weekly cap. Across all competitions a junior must not play more than 3 games in a fixture week. They may play 4 if at least one game is as a goalkeeper and another as a field player. For example, a junior may play two junior games and one Senior Turf or Metropolitan game.

Double-up players. A double-up player plays two games in a fixture week: one in their Regular Team and one in a team higher in Hockey WA's Grade Hierarchy table. That means a higher division in the same age group, or a team in an older age group that sits in the same row of the table (for example, J 9/10 Division 1 is in the same row as J 11/12 Division 3). A team may field 3 double-up players, or 4 if one is a goalkeeper. In Junior 11/12 the limit is 5, and a goalkeeper may be one of them.

Playing up. A school student can play in the junior competition for their school year or a higher one. A player no longer at school is placed by age on 30 June of the winter season (maximum age 11 for J 5/6, 13 for J 7/8, 15 for J 9/10 and 17 for J 11/12). A player who turns 19 before 1 July cannot play juniors without Hockey WA's permission.

Penalty. Breaching these limits makes the player ineligible, which means a forced loss and a $125 club fine for a first offence ($250, compounding, after that).

Girls in boys' teams. There is no limit on the number of girls in a boys' team. The club must hold written consent from one of the girl's parents before the game starts. If it is her second game that fixture week, the double-up rules and grade hierarchy apply.

Boys in girls' teams. A girls' team may play a boy only if all of these apply:

• he has not turned 12 on the date of the game
• it is the only game he plays that fixture week
• the team plays no more than two boys in that game
• the team plays no more than 12 players in that game.

Breaching these rules makes the team subject to the ineligible player penalty (a forced loss, 0-5 or the actual margin if larger, and a club fine of $125 for a first offence and $250, compounding, for each later one).

Sidelines. No adult may enter the playing field except to attend a medical emergency. Coaches, managers and bench players must stay on their team's allocated side of the half line during the game. Repeated breaches can lead to the umpire giving a card to the team captain. The one exception is Junior 5/6 (see the Junior 5/6 question), where coaches below Division 1 may move between the 23m lines early in the season.

Umpires. Unless Hockey WA has appointed umpires, each team must provide an umpire who is competent, knows the current FIH Rules of Hockey and the Junior Competition Bylaws, follows the Hockey WA codes of conduct and does not coach players during the game. If an appointed umpire is late, the teams must find a replacement, and the appointed umpire can take over if both teams agree. A team that fails to supply an umpire is fined $100 and loses 1 premiership point. A no-show umpire does not entitle either team to have the game re-fixtured.

Trainee umpires. A mentor can explain decisions to a trainee umpire but must not coach players, and both teams must be told who is in control of the game, which cannot change during the game.

Game-day official. Every venue must supply a game-day official for all junior games. They are the first point of contact for disputes and spectator behaviour.

Finals. An umpire a club supplies for finals must not be an immediate family member of a player, coach or manager of either team.

Cards (Bylaw 21.4). The team plays one player short while a player is suspended.

A second yellow card for the same offence in the same game ends the player's game. A carded player must leave the field immediately. In a junior team that plays with a goalkeeper, a card to the goalkeeper means the nominated captain sits out the suspension, although the card is recorded against the goalkeeper (Bylaw 18.4(d)). Cards cannot be contested after the game except for mistaken identity. For a red card, the umpire reports to the Hockey WA office within 72 hours.

Blood rule. A bleeding player, or one wearing blood-contaminated clothing, must leave the field at once. They can return only when the bleeding is controlled, the wound is covered and any contaminated clothing is replaced. The team must have spare uniforms. If the player will not leave, the umpire may suspend them for misconduct.

Face masks. All field players defending a penalty corner must wear an approved face mask. A defender without one must stand behind the half line until the corner is taken.

A junior team forfeits a game if:

• it does not have at least 7 players on the field at any time
• it does not take the field within 10 minutes of the scheduled start
• it has no goalkeeper (except in J 9/10 and J 11/12 Divisions 1 and 2, which may play without one)
• it leaves the venue before the umpires abandon the game.

A forfeit is a 0-5 loss, and the opposition gets 3 premiership points. If a team forfeits after the game has started and the other side is further ahead than 5 goals, the team loses by the actual margin. A team that forfeits 3 or more games in a winter season is withdrawn from its division with no refund of team fees.

Planned forfeit. A team with fewer than 7 players available can forfeit without attending, but only if the club phones Hockey WA, the venue, the umpires (or the club arranging them) and the opposing club before the earlier of 12:00pm on the business day before the game and at least 48 hours before the game. Otherwise the club pays the cost of the opposition's umpire and, on grass fields, a $150 fine (on turf, the turf fee plus game fee for both teams).

Format. There are no finals in Junior 5/6. In Junior 7/8, 9/10 and 11/12 the top four teams on the premiership table play finals over two weeks:

Eligibility. A player must have played at least 4 games in any junior division during the qualifying season (3 games if their team had a bye or was forfeited against). In finals a player can only play in their Regular Team or a higher division. A team can field up to 3 players whose Regular Team is lower in the club's hierarchy (4 if one is a goalkeeper). In Junior 11/12 that limit is 5.

A player who has played more than seven games in the Senior Turf or Metropolitan competitions must also have played at least seven junior games to be finals-eligible, unless Hockey WA grants a permit.