Players and handicap
Who can play, how many a side, who speaks for the team and how substitutes come on, as each rulebook sets it. Then the handicap: the limits a team must keep to and how the goals given on handicap are worked out.
10 of 11 rows differ
| Fact | HPA UK | AAP Argentina | USPA USA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Players per team Differs | At most 4 on the field | 4 a side | 4 a side at the start Unless a team starts short under rule 1d. |
| Team not ready at the start time Differs | Not specified HPA 2026 r.11checked | Loses the match after 30 minutes In official or sponsored tournaments. The organisers may waive the loss for good reason. | Forfeit after 15 minutes Before that, the umpires may give a penalty, and a yellow card to the players who are not ready. |
| Captain Differs | Named at the start; the only player who may speak to the umpires | May raise matters other than fouls with the umpires Captains may also take a dispute to the organising committee, whose decision is final. The rule does not say how a captain is named. | Named by each team; the only player who takes procedural matters to the umpires Any player may still ask for a time out where the rules allow one. |
| Captain's armband Differs | Yes: supplied by the team The umpires should check it before the throw-in that starts the game. | Not specified AAP 2026 r.4.2.2cchecked | Not specified USPA 2026 r.1achecked |
| Hand that holds the stick Differs | Right hand only | Never the left hand | Right hand only Except left-handers registered with the USPA before 1 January 1974. |
| Substitute during a chukka Differs | For an injured player, within the 10 minutes allowed After a red flag, a substitute may come on after 2 minutes of playing time, except when the player left without permission. | Only if a player cannot go on: physical reasons, force majeure or a sanction The umpire judges the cause. | At any time if a player cannot finish For an injury during a period, the team may replace the injured player and one other. |
| Cap on one player's handicap Differs | Not specified HPA 2026 r.2achecked | Not specified AAP 2026 r.2.1gchecked | At most three quarters of the event's upper limit In events with an upper limit of 4 goals or more. At 3 goals or less, the best player may be at most one goal above the limit. |
| Goals given on handicap Differs | Handicap difference × chukkas in the game ÷ 6 Given to the lower-rated team. | The full difference in a full-length match; scaled by Table 1 in shorter ones | Handicap difference × regular periods ÷ 6 Overtime periods do not count. |
| A fraction of a handicap goal | Same in HPA, AAP, and USPA Counts as half a goal USPA: The half goal also breaks ties and counts in net and gross goal totals. | ||
| Players rated in half goals Differs | Not specified HPA 2026 r.7bchecked | Not specified AAP 2026 r.7.2checked | Rounded down when adding up the team, above 6 goals -0.5, 0.5 and 1.5 count as -1, 0 and 1 in events with an upper limit above 6 goals. |
| Higher-rated substitute Differs | Not specified HPA 2026 r.22checked | Handicap added in proportion to the chukkas each player played Worked out with Tables 2a to 2c; 0.25 goal or more counts as a goal. A lower-rated substitute changes nothing. | The highest team handicap on the field counts for the whole game After the change the team may not go above the event's upper limit. |
≈ marks a figure we converted; the rulebook gives only the other unit.