REMINDER: All club defenders required to wear facemasks during penalty corners

Hockey WA wishes to remind all clubs that defenders must wear a facemask when defending penalty corners in all games played in Hockey WA competitions.

The Competition Bylaws were endorsed by clubs at the December General Meeting, which was circulated to all clubs, and posted online on Thursday 11 December, 2025.

This inclusion of mandatory facemasks across all grades and age groups now aligns Hockey WA with other states and territories.

The new Competition Bylaw 3.5 states:

(a) All field players defending a penalty corner must wear an approved facemask.

(b) Any player on a defending team not wearing an approved facemask must stand behind the half line until the penalty corner is taken.

Unlike 2025, this bylaw applies to all games in Hockey WA competitions, including all Junior games from 5/6s to 11/12s. It also applies to all grass, Metro, and Masters games, in addition to all games played on turf.

N.B. "Approved facemask" means a metal or plastic facemask as sold by reputable hockey suppliers.

This regulation will be enforced for all CBH Group Country Championships and Fuel to Go & Play Junior Club Championships. Regional associations are strongly encouraged to adopt this regulation, but the final decision rests with each Association.

More information can be found of the Hockey WA website: Penalty Corners & Facemasks. This includes some rules about the usage of PCD protective equipment, when it can be removed, and when play can continue while a defender is still wearing it.

In preparation for the start of the Junior season in May, clubs are encouraged to guide umpires to use a common-sense approach with 5/6 and 7/8 teams that may be wearing PCD equipment for the first time. There must be no change to the requirement that all field players must wear a facemask when defending a penalty corner, but allowing some extra time to put on the equipment is better than penalising people. This is outlined in the Countdown Clock Regulations in the above document.

For any enquiries, please contact Hockey WA Senior Manager - Operations & Competitions, Cam Brook via email.