Hash mark (sports)


A hash mark in sports is a short line, running perpendicular to sidelines or sideboards, that is used to mark locations.

Usage in ice hockey

In ice hockey, the hash marks are two pairs of parallel lines on either side of the face-off circles in both ends of the rink. Players must remain on their team's side of the hash mark nearest their own goal during a face-off until the puck hits the ice.

Usage in gridiron football

In American football and Canadian football, the hash marks are two rows of lines near the middle of the field that are parallel to the side lines. These small lines are used to mark the 1-yard sections between each of the 5-yard lines, which go from sideline to sideline. All plays start with the ball on or between the hash marks. That is, if the ball is downed in between a hash mark and the nearest sideline, it must be placed on that hash mark for the next play.
Prior to the adoption of hash marks, all plays began where the ball was declared dead, including extra point attempts.
The hashmarks in that indoor 1932 playoff game were originally 30 feet from the sideline, and that width was adopted by the NFL for the season. It was increased to 45 feet from the sideline in, 60 feet from the sideline in, and to the current 70 feet + 9 inches from the sideline in.
In most forms of professional football in the U.S., including the National Football League and most forms of indoor football, the hash marks are in line with the goal posts, both being 18 feet 6 inches apart in the NFL and between 9 and 10 feet in indoor football. High school football, college football and Canadian football have hash marks significantly wider than the goal posts. The college football standard, which was the previous standard in the NFL, is 40 feet apart, introduced in 1993. Previously, the college width was the same as the high school standard , at one-third of the width of the field.
The Canadian standard is 51 feet in width, 24 yards from each sideline. A Canadian football field width is 65 yards, 35 feet wider than those in the United States.