How to Play

• Unlike in other games, where players from each team line up in their own half, Hurlers players start a game positioned on either side of the half, and pair themselves with an opposing team’s player. For example, the midfielders from each team will line up together at the centre-line of the field. The forwards will position themselves in front of the opposing team’s goal, and the fullbacks will line up beside the opposing team’s forwards. Defensively speaking, you are now paired with a player from the opposing team, and you will be “covering” that person for the duration of the game

• The game begins with the Sliotar being thrown in between all four midfielders in the centre. Players will attempt to play the ball along the ground in either direction, and towards a teammate.

• The player must use their Hurley to raise the ball of the ground and into their hands, they are not permitted to pick the ball up off the ground.

• Players are given only four seconds or four steps to advance the ball.

• After four steps, the player must either play the ball by striking the ball with their Hurley, or slapped with an open hand (the hand pass), or kicking it. Alternatively they can opt to bounce or balance the sliotar on the end of the Hurley and may move with the ball like this for as long as they like.

• However – the player may only handle the ball twice with it is in their possession. Once the player has taken the ball into their hand a second time, they must play the ball without handling it again.

Tackling

the “block”, where one player attempts to smother an opposing player’s strike by trapping the ball between their hurley and the opponent’s swinging hurl

• the “hook”, where a player approaches another player from a rear angle and attempts to catch the opponent’s hurley with their own at the top of the swing

• the “side pull”, where two players running together for the sliotar will collide at the shoulders and swing together to win the tackle and “pull” (name given to swing the hurley) with extreme force

How to score In the game, two types of scores are possible: points and goals.

• A point is awarded for pucking the ball over the crossbar, signalled by the umpire raising a white flag.

• A goal is awarded for striking the ball under the crossbar into the net, signalled by the umpire raising a green flag.