The International Hockey Federation will continue to monitor safety and injury numbers on either the runners or penalty corner attack before any new trials are put in place.
World hockey abandoned trials for its mooted penalty corner rule change last August just a few weeks after announcing plans. FIH chief Tayyab Ikram said that the trial wouldn’t be sidelined completely but had ordered “an evaluation on further options”.
With a safety-first mantra, the problem facing the FIH is the lack of data collection below its own sanctioned tournaments.
“If the data shows that the PC is more dangerous than the rest of the sport, we will potentially do trials,” said Jon Wyatt, the FIH’s sports director.
“The jury is still out on that and whether it’s more dangerous or a similar level to shooting or attacking during open play.
READ MORE: Sam Ward: Why we shouldn’t get rid of penalty corner rule
“The issue is lower down in the game where players don’t have reactions, speed or getting as close, or the protection is not as good. That was where we were getting the groundswell.”
Hockey certainly needs more global data from leagues and competitions across the globe in each of its confederation regions.
“We need data from more grassroots level, the domestic club game and junior club game,” added Wyatt. “We can only get that through the national associations.”
In December, the World Grand Masters Association (WGMA) president spoke out over the safety aspect of the volley and tomahawk shots in hockey and believes a “disaster is waiting to happen”.
Wyatt said: “There is a group of people who believe that it [the rule] shouldn’t come in until a certain age. Kids are starting to do it when they don’t know what they are doing.
“The problem is if you say you can’t do that until you are 15 you are then learning how to do it and you are stronger by then. It’s the same in rugby and tackling. At what point do you bring in tackling?
“If you wait until too late, people can’t learn how to do it properly. It’s all about a balance.”
