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The Game of Hockey

ISSUE 00110 AUG 2026WINDSOR, NS44°59′N 64°08′W

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Field manual · drawing board

Hockey Pitch Markings and Layout

Eleven markings make a hockey pitch, and only one of them — the goal-line — needs no paint of its own. This is the diagram, the specification for each line, and the order to put them down in.

Pitch diagram with legend

Labelled plan of hockey pitch markings Every marking on a full-size pitch: the side-lines and back-lines forming the perimeter, the centre line, the two 22.90 metre lines, the two circles each made of a 3.66 metre straight and two 14.63 metre quarter arcs, the broken 5 metre lines outside them, the external reference marks along the side-lines and back-lines, and the two penalty spots.

Legend

Select an entry to hold it highlighted on the drawing; select it again, or press Escape, to release it. Every line is also specified in words below.

Line by line

Figures are as the rules state them. Where a length of paint is given it is the length of the line centre at 75 mm, which is what a marking machine actually travels.

  1. Side-lines

    Rule 1.3a

    The two 91.40 m perimeter lines. They bound the length of the field of play and, like every line, they belong to the field.

    2 × 91.40 m

  2. Back-lines

    Rule 1.3b

    The two 55.00 m perimeter lines. The ball must wholly cross them to be out of play.

    2 × 55.00 m

  3. Goal-lines

    Rule 1.3c

    Not a separate marking at all: the goal-line is the part of the back-line between the goal-posts. Nothing extra is painted for it.

    3.66 m of the back-line

  4. Centre line

    Rule 1.3d

    Across the middle of the field, side-line to side-line.

    55.00 m

  5. 22.90 m lines

    Rule 1.3e

    Across the field, 22.90 m from each back-line as measured between the furthest edges of each line. The area enclosed by one of them, the back-line and the side-lines is a 23-metre area.

    2 × 55.00 m

  6. Circle lines

    Rule 1.4a–c

    A 3.66 m line parallel to the back-line, its centre in line with the centre of the back-line and its outside edge 14.63 m from the outside edge of the back-line, continued in uninterrupted arcs to meet the back-line as quarter-circles centred on the inside front corner of each nearer goal-post.

    98.71 m of paint, both circles

  7. Broken 5 m lines

    Rule 1.4d

    Outer edges 5 m outside the outer edge of each circle-line. Each starts with a solid section at the top centre of the circle-line; solids are 300 mm long with 3 m gaps. Mandatory for senior international matches; for other matches, adoption is at the discretion of the national association.

    19 solid sections per circle

  8. Side-line reference marks

    Rule 1.3f

    300 mm marks outside the field on each side-line, their further edge 14.63 m from and parallel to the outer edge of the back-line.

    4 × 300 mm

  9. Back-line reference marks

    Rule 1.3g

    300 mm marks outside the field on each back-line, both sides of the goal, at 5 m and 10 m from the outer edge of the nearer goal-post, measured between the furthest edges of each mark.

    8 × 300 mm

  10. Centre reference marks

    Rule 1.3h

    150 mm marks outside the field on each back-line, 1.83 m from the centre of the back-line, measured between the nearest edges of the marks.

    4 × 150 mm

  11. Penalty spots

    Rule 1.3i

    150 mm in diameter, marked in front of the centre of each goal with the centre of the spot 6.475 m from the outer edge of the goal-line.

    2 spots, 150 mm across

Setting out, in order

  1. Square the field. Set the centre line and one back-line, then build the rectangle off them and check both diagonals at 106.68 m before anything is painted.
  2. String the perimeter. Pin the four corners to the outside edges of the side-lines and back-lines — the quoted 91.40 × 55.00 is the outside of the paint, not its centre.
  3. Mark the perimeter first. Every crossing line then stops at a band that already exists, which is also how the paint estimate avoids counting the same metre twice.
  4. Set the centre line and the two 22.90 m lines, measuring the latter between furthest edges from each back-line.
  5. Strike the circles. Pin the two arc centres at the inside front corners of the goal-posts, sweep 14.63 m to the back-line at each side, then join the sweeps with the 3.66 m straight.
  6. Add the broken 5 m lines if the match grade requires them, starting with a solid section at the top centre of the circle-line and working outwards in both directions.
  7. Finish with the external marks and the two penalty spots, then walk the whole set and check nothing has crept while the paint was going down.

Taking this to the pitch

Download the original two-sheet field plan and setting-out checklist, or use your browser’s print command — Ctrl+P, or ⌘+P on a Mac — to print this full specification. There is no email gate.

Download the pitch marking plan PDF · 2 pages · A4 landscape