By Zachary Flynn
We asked athletes: If you could change any rule in your sport, what would you change?
Photo via NAIT Athletics
Women’s Soccer
“I can only really think of 2 that could be worked on. 1 would be the number of match officials. The field we play on is larger than a football field but we only have 1 main referee. Even with the linesmen, I feel like there is plenty that is missed or ones called incorrectly. Another rule we have is indirect vs. direct kicks. Direct means you can score directly off of the free-kick but on an indirect kick, it has to touch someone before you can score. I think having two types of free kicks is useless just because there’s an easy way around “getting out of” an indirect kick through having a player stand beside the one taking the free-kick and rolling it to them. It makes the rule pretty much useless.”
– Brittani Bogdane, NAIT Women’s Soccer Alum, 2019
Photo via NAIT Athletics
Women’s Hockey
“I would say the rules about icing! Allowing more chances for foot races rather than calls for icing. I think this would allow more opportunity for game time rather than stopping play. Also would allow an advantage for quick players to use their speed and gain more zone time.”
-Cass Lyttle, 4th-year women’s hockey
Photo via NAIT Athletics
Women’s Basketball
“I’m gonna have to say not taking the ball out of bounds after the other team scores. I just think it would be interesting and speed up the game in some situations! I think it would be fun. I mean it would be super tiring too.”
-Katherine McDougall, 3rd-year women’s basketball
Photo via NAIT Athletics
Men’s Basketball
“The 1 rule I’d change is kind of unofficial and has a lot of room for discretion from player to player, and official to official. But I would change the way and the number of fouls that are called in the current game. As someone who loves the physical aspect of the game and plays with a ton of aggression and physicality, I hate the number of soft fouls that get called in today’s game. My style of play fits in very well with how the game was played in the ’90s where things like the hand-check rule didn’t exist and it took a lot more to get hit with unsportsmanlike and flagrant fouls. I would love to play where you can get away with a lot more physicality like you used to be able to.”
-Keilan Dobish, 5th-year men’s basketball
Photo via NAIT Athletics
Women’s Volleyball
“I would change the rule that does not allow liberos to serve. In Canada, a libero is a back-row player that comes in after a front-row player (usually the middle) has served. They are usually really good at serve receive and defence. But sometimes in practice, liberos can be some of our best serving players. In the US, they allow the libero to not only play defence and serve-receive but to serve as well. Lots of post-secondary players that I know of have actually had the chance to play in the US at some point. It’s a different way of playing for sure but changes the game in a good way.”
-Anna Atcheynum, 3rd-year women’s volleyball
Photo via NAIT Athletics
Men’s Volleyball
“I’d probably have to say implementing the NCAA libero rules into the ACAC. Basically, it’s just that the libero can serve whereas here they can’t.”
-Jonathan Shapka, 3rd-year men’s volleyball
Photo via NAIT Athletics
Curling
“Based on our current return to play rules, we can only have one sweeper. I’d love to have the second sweeper back.”
-Ryan Saville, 4th year curling
