Diagram of a Canadian football
field.
Canadian football is a form
of gridiron football played almost
exclusively in Canada
in which two
teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field
of play long and wide (100 m × 60 m),
attempting to advance a pointed prolate
spheroid ball into the opposing team's scoring area (end zone). In Canada, the term
football usually refers to Canadian football and
American football collectively, or
either sport specifically, depending on the context. The two sports
have shared origins and are closely related,
but with
significant differences.
Rugby football in Canada had its
origins in the early 1860s, and over time, the unique game known as
Canadian football developed. Both the
Canadian Football League (CFL), the
sport's top professional league, and
Football Canada, the governing body for
amateur play, trace their roots to 1884 and the founding of the
Canadian Rugby Football Union. Currently active teams such as the
Toronto Argonauts and
Hamilton Tiger-Cats have similar
longevity. The CFL is the most popular and only major professional
Canadian football league. Its championship game, the
Grey Cup, is the country's single largest sporting
event and is watched by nearly one third of Canadian television
households. Canadian football is also played at the high school,
junior, collegiate, and semi-professional levels: the
Canadian Junior Football
League and
Quebec
Junior Football League are leagues for players aged 18–22, many
post-secondary institutions compete in
Canadian Interuniversity Sport for the
Vanier Cup, and senior leagues such as the
Alberta Football League have
grown in popularity in recent years. Great achievements in Canadian
football are enshrined in the
Canadian Football Hall of
Fame.
Other organizations across Canada perform senior league Canadian
football during the summer.
History
The first
documented gridiron football match
was a game played at University
College
, University of Toronto
on November 9, 1861. A football club was
formed at the university soon afterwards, although its rules of
play at this stage are unclear.
In 1864,
at Trinity
College
, Toronto, F. Barlow Cumberland and Frederick
A. Bethune devised rules based on
rugby
football.
However, modern Canadian football is widely
regarded as having originated with a game of rugby played in
Montreal
, in 1865,
when British Army officers played local
civilians. The game gradually gained a following, and the
Montreal Football Club was
formed in 1868, the
first recorded
non-university football club in Canada.
This
rugby-football soon became popular at Montreal's McGill
University
.
McGill
challenged Harvard
University
to a game, in 1874. It is through this
varsity play, that the game now known as
American football entered the United
States.
Predecessors of the
Canadian
Football League include the
Canadian Rugby Football Union
(CRFU), and the
Canadian Rugby
Union. The CRFU, original forerunner to the current Canadian
Football League, was established in 1882.
As the rules of
American football
are very similar to Canadian football, the CFL has maintained a
close relationship with its American counterpart, the
National Football League (NFL).
Many American players come to the CFL after failed bids to catch on
in the NFL or play in the NFL after playing in the CFL (
Joe Theismann,
Warren
Moon,
Doug Flutie,
Mervyn Fernandez).
Image:Ottawa and Hamilton Tigers football
game 5.jpg|A game between the Hamilton Tigers and an unknown Ottawa
team,
1910.Image:Football game between the 4th Canadian
Armoured Division Atoms and the 1st Canadian Army Red and Blue
Bombers.jpg|A game between the 4th Canadian Armoured
Division Atoms and 1st Canadian
Army Red and Blue Bombers, in Utrecht
, Netherlands
, October 1945.Image:Statute
touchdown cfhof.jpg|Touchdown monument outside the
Canadian Football Hall of
Fame in Hamilton,
Ontario
.
League play
Canadian football is played at several levels in Canada. The
professional league in which the sport is played is the eight-team
Canadian Football League
(CFL), and its champion is awarded the
Grey
Cup, the oldest trophy in professional football. The CFL
regular season begins in June, and playoffs are completed by
mid-November.
In cities with outdoor stadiums such as
Calgary
, Edmonton
, Winnipeg
, Montreal, Hamilton, and Regina
, low temperatures and icy field conditions can
seriously affect the outcome of a game.
Amateur football is governed by
Football
Canada. At the university level, 27 teams play in four
conferences under the auspices of
Canadian Interuniversity
Sport; the CIS champion is awarded the
Vanier Cup. Junior football is played by many
after high school before joining the university ranks. There are
twenty junior teams in three divisions in the
Canadian Junior Football
League competing for the
Canadian
Bowl. The
Quebec
Junior Football League includes teams from Ontario and Quebec
who battle for the Manson Cup.
Semi-professional leagues have
grown in popularity in recent years, with the
Alberta Football League becoming
especially popular. The Northern Football Conference formed in
Ontario in 1954 has also surged in popularity as College players
that do not continue to or get drafted to a professional team but
still want to continue playing football. The Ontario champion plays
against the Alberta Football league champion for the "National
Championship". The
Canadian Major Football
League is the governing body for the semi-professional
game.
The field
The Canadian football field is long and wide with
end zones deep. At each goal line is a set of high
goalposts, which consist of two
uprights joined by a 18½-foot long crossbar which is above
the goal line. The goalposts may be H-shaped (both posts fixed in
the ground) although in the higher-calibre competitions the
tuning-fork design (supported by a single curved post behind the
goal line, so that each post starts above the ground) is preferred.
The sides of the field are marked by white sidelines, the goal line
is marked in white, and white lines are drawn laterally across the
field every from the goal line. "Hash marks" are painted in white,
perpendicular to the yardage lines, from the sidelines.
Play of the game
Teams advance across the field through the execution of quick,
distinct plays, which involve the possession of a brown,
prolate spheroid ball with ends tapered to
a point. The ball has two one-inch-wide white stripes.
Kickoff
Play begins with one team place-kicking the ball from its own line.
Both teams then attempt to catch the ball. The player who recovers
the ball may run while holding the ball, or lateral throw the ball
to a teammate.
Stoppage of play
Play stops when the ball carrier's knee, elbow, or any other body
part aside from the feet and hands, is forced to the ground (a
tackle); when a forward pass is not caught on the fly
(during live play); when a touchdown (see below) or a field goal is
scored; when the ball leaves the playing area by any means (being
carried, thrown, or fumbled out of bounds); or when the ball
carrier is in a standing position but can no longer move. If no
score has been made, the next play starts from
scrimmage.
Scrimmage
Before scrimmage, an official places the ball at the spot it was at
the stop of clock, but no nearer than from the sideline or from the
goal line. The line parallel to the goal line passing through the
ball (line from sideline to sideline for the length of the ball) is
referred to as the line of scrimmage. This line is a sort of
"no-man's land"; players must stay on their respective sides of
this line until the play has begun again. For a scrimmage to be
valid the team in possession of the football must have seven
players, excluding the quarterback, within one yard of the line of
scrimmage. The defending team must stay a yard or more back from
the line of scrimmage.
Live play
On the field at the beginning of a play are two teams of 12 (unlike
11 in American football). The team in possession of the ball is the
offence and the team defending is referred to as the defence. Play
begins with a backwards pass through the legs (the snap) by a
member of the offensive team, to the quarterback or punter. If the
quarterback or punter receives the ball, he may then do any of the
following:
- run with the ball, attempting to run farther down field
(gaining yardage). The ball-carrier may run in any direction he
sees fit (including backwards).
- drop-kick the ball, dropping it onto the ground and
kicking it on the bounce. (This play is exceedingly rare in both
Canadian and American football, although in the Canadian game it is
sometimes used as a last-second "desperation play" if the team is
behind by less than three points.)
- pass the ball laterally or backwards to a teammate. This play
is known as a lateral, and may come at any time on the
play. A pass which has any amount of forward momentum is a
forward pass (see below); forward passes are subject to
many restrictions which do not apply to laterals.
- hand-off—hand the ball off to a teammate, typically a
halfback or the fullback.
- punt the ball; dropping it in the air and kicking it
before it touches the ground. When the ball is punted,
only opposing players (the receiving team), the kicker, and anyone
behind the kicker when he punted the ball are able to touch the
ball, or even go within five yards of the ball until it is touched
by an eligible player (the No Yards rule, which is applied to all
kicking plays).
- place the ball on the ground for a place kick
- throw a forward pass,
where the ball is thrown to a receiver located farther down field
(closer to the opponent's goal) than the thrower is. Forward passes
are subject to the following restrictions:
- They must be made from behind the line of
scrimmage
- Only one forward pass may be made on a play
- The pass must be made in the direction of an eligible receiver
or pass 10 yards after the line of scrimmage
Each play constitutes a
down. The offence must advance the
ball at least ten yards towards the opponents' goal line within
three downs or forfeit the ball to their opponents. Once ten yards
have been gained the offence gains a new set of three downs (rather
than the four downs given in American football). Downs do not
accumulate. If the offensive team completes on their first play,
they lose the other two downs and are granted another set of three.
If a team fails to gain ten yards in two downs they usually punt
the ball on third down or try to kick a
field goal (see below), depending on
their position on the field.
Change in possession
The ball changes possession in the following instances:
- If the offence scores a field goal, the scoring team must
kickoff from their own line.
- If the offence scores a touchdown, the scoring team must
kickoff from their own line. This also applies when the defence
scores on a turnover which is returned for a touchdown —
technically, they become the offence until the conclusion of the
play, and the scoring team must still kickoff.
- If the defence scores on a safety (bringing the ball down in
the offence's own end zone), they have the right to claim
possession.
- If one team kicks the ball; the other team has the right to
recover the ball and attempt a return. If a kicked ball goes out of
bounds, or the kicking team scores a single or field goal as a
result of the kick, the other team likewise gets possession.
- If the offence fails to make ten yards in three plays, the
defence takes over on downs.
- If the offence attempts a forward pass and it is
intercepted by the defence; the defence takes possession
immediately (and may try and advance the ball on the play). Note
that incomplete forward passes (those which go out of bounds, or
which touch the ground without being first cleanly caught by a
player) result in the end of the play, and are not returnable by
either team.
- If the offence fumbles (a ball carrier drops the
football, or has it dislodged by an opponent, or if the intended
player fails to catch a lateral pass or a snap from centre, or a
kick attempt is blocked by an opponent), the ball may be recovered
(and advanced) by either team. If a fumbled ball goes out of
bounds, the team whose player last touched it is awarded possession
at the spot where it went out of bounds. A fumble by the offence in
their own end zone, which goes out of bounds, results in a
safety.
- When the first half ends, the team which kicked to start the
first half may receive a kickoff to start the second half.
Rules of contact
There are many rules to contact in this type of football. First,
the only player on the field who may be legally tackled is the
player currently in possession of the football (the ball carrier).
Second, a receiver, that is to say, an offensive player sent down
the field to receive a pass, may not be interfered with (have his
motion impeded, be blocked, etc.) unless he is within one yard of
the line of scrimmage (instead of in American football). Any player
may block another player's passage, so long as he does not hold or
trip the player he intends to block. The kicker may not be
contacted after the kick but before his kicking leg returns to the
ground (this rule is not enforced upon a player who has blocked a
kick), and the quarterback, having already thrown the ball, may not
be hit or tackled.
Infractions and penalties
Infractions of the rules are punished with
penalties,
typically a loss of yardage of 5, 10 or against the penalized team.
Minor violations such as
offside (a player from either
side encroaching into scrimmage zone before the play starts) are
penalized five yards, more serious penalties (such as holding) are
penalized , and severe violations (such as face-masking) of the
rules are typically penalized . Depending on the penalty, the
penalty yardage may be assessed from the original line of
scrimmage, the spot the violation occurred, or the place the ball
ended after the play. Penalties on the offence may, or may not,
result in a loss of down; penalties on the defence may result in a
first down being automatically awarded to the offence. For
particularly severe conduct, the game official(s) may eject players
(ejected players may be substituted for), or in exceptional cases,
declare the game over and award victory to one side or the other.
Penalties do not affect the yard line which the offence must reach
in order to reach first down (unless the penalty results in a first
down being awarded); if a penalty against the defence results in
the first down yardage being attained, then the offence is awarded
a first down.
Penalties may occur before a play starts (such as offsides), during
the play (such as holding), or in a dead-ball situation (such as
unsportsmanlike
conduct).
Penalties never result in a score for the offence (a penalty by the
defence committed in their end zone is not ruled a touchdown); on
rare occasions, penalties against the offence in their own end zone
may result in a safety being scored by the defence. If the penalty
yardage, once assessed would move the ball into an end zone (or
further than half the distance between the end zone and the spot
the penalty is assessed from), a penalty of half-the-distance is
assessed instead. Note that in Canadian football (unlike American
football), no scrimmage may start inside either one-yard
line.
In most cases, the non-penalized team will have the option of
declining the penalty; in which case the results of the
previous play stand as if the penalty had not been called. One
notable exception to this rule is if the kicking team on a 3rd down
punt play is penalized before the kick occurs; the receiving team
may not decline the penalty and take over on downs. (After the kick
is made, change of possession occurs and subsequent penalties are
assessed against either the spot where the ball is caught, or the
runback).
Kicking
Canadian football distinguishes three ways of kicking the
ball:
- Place kick
- Kicking a ball held on the ground by a teammate, or, on a
kickoff (resuming play following a score), placed on a tee.
- Drop kick
- Kicking a ball after bouncing it on the ground. Although rarely
used today, it has the same status in scoring as a place kick. This
play is part of the game's rugby
heritage, and was largely made obsolete when the ball with pointed
ends was adapted. Unlike the American game, Canadian rules allow a
drop kick to be attempted at any time by any player, but the move
is very rare.
- Punt
- Kicking the ball after it has been released from the kicker's
hand and before it hits the ground. Punts may not score a field
goal, even if one should travel through the uprights. As with drop
kicks, players may punt at any time.
On punts and field goal attempts (but not kickoffs), members of the
kicking team, other than the kicker and any teammates who are
onside (behind the kicker at the time of the kick), may not
approach within five yards of the ball until it has been touched by
the receiving team.
Scoring
The methods of scoring are:
- Touchdown
- Achieved when the ball is in possession of a player in the
opponent's goal area, or when the ball in the possession of a
player crosses or touches the plane of the opponent's goal-line,
worth 6 points (5 points until 1956). A touchdown in Canadian
football is often referred to as a "major score" or simply a
"major."
- Conversion (or Convert)
- After a touchdown, the team that scored attempts one scrimmage
play from any point between the hash marks on or outside the
opponents' line. If they make what would normally be a field goal,
they score one point; what would normally be a touchdown scores two
points (a "two-point conversion"). No matter what happens on the
convert attempt, play then continues with a kickoff (see
below).
- Field goal
- Scored by a drop kick or place kick (except on a kickoff) when
the ball, after being kicked and without again touching the ground,
goes over the cross bar and between the goal posts (or between
lines extended from the top of the goal posts) of the opponent's
goal, worth three points.
- Safety
- Scored when the ball becomes dead in the possession of a team
in its own goal area, or when the ball touches or crosses the
dead-line, or side-line-in-goal and touches the ground, a player,
or some object beyond these lines as a result of the team scored
against making a play. It is worth two points. This is different
from a single (see below) in that the team scored against
begins with possession of the ball. The most common safety is on a
third down punt from the end zone, in which the kicker decides not
to punt and keeps the ball in his team's own goal area. The ball is
then turned over to the receiving team (who gained the two points),
and they begin their first down possession play from their own line
on their side of the field.
- Single
- Scored when the ball becomes dead in the possession of a team
in its own goal area, or when the ball touches or crosses the
dead-line, or side-line-in-goal, and touches the ground, a player,
or some object beyond these lines as a result of the ball having
been kicked from the field of play into the goal area by the
scoring team. It is worth one point. This is different from a
Safety (see above) in that team scored against receives possession
of the ball after the score.
- Officially, the single is called a rouge (French for "red") but is often referred to
as a single. The exact derivation of the term is unknown but it has
been thought that in early Canadian football, the scoring of a
single was signalled with a red flag.
Resumption of play
Resumption of play following a score is conducted under procedures
which vary with the type of score.
- Following a touchdown and convert attempt (successful or not),
play resumes with the scoring team kicking off from its own line
(45-yard line in amateur leagues).
- Following a field goal, the non-scoring team may choose for
play to resume either with a kickoff as above, or by scrimmaging
the ball from its own line.
- Following a safety, the scoring team may choose for play to
resume in either of the above ways, or it may choose to kick off
from its own line.
- Following a single or rouge, play resumes
with the non-scoring team scrimmaging from its own line, unless the
single is awarded on a missed field goal, in which case the
non-scoring team scrimmages from either the line or the yard line
from which the field goal was attempted, whichever is greater.
Game timing
The game consists of two 30-minute halves, each of which is divided
into two 15-minute quarters. The clock counts down from 15:00 in
each quarter. Timing rules change when there are three minutes
remaining in a half.A short break interval occurs after the end of
each quarter (a longer break at halftime), and the two teams then
change goals.
In the first 27 minutes of a half, the clock stops when:
- points are scored,
- the ball goes out of bounds,
- a forward pass is incomplete,
- the ball is dead and a penalty flag has been thrown,
- the ball is dead and teams are making substitutions (e.g.,
possession has changed, punting situation, short yardage
situation),
- the ball is dead and a player is injured, or
- the ball is dead and a captain calls a time-out.
The clock starts again when the referee determines the ball is
ready for scrimmage, except for team time-outs (where the clock
starts at the snap), after a time count foul (at the snap) and
kickoffs (where the clock starts not at the kick but when the ball
is first touched after the kick).
In the last three minutes of a half, the clock stops whenever the
ball becomes dead. On kickoffs, the clock starts when the ball is
first touched after the kick. On scrimmages, when it starts depends
on what ended the previous play. The clock starts when the ball is
ready for scrimmage except that it starts on the snap when on the
previous play
- the ball was kicked off,
- the ball was punted,
- the ball changed possession,
- the ball went out of bounds,
- there were points scored,
- there was an incomplete forward pass,
- there was a penalty applied (not declined), or
- there was a team time-out.
The clock does not run during convert attempts in the last three
minutes of a half. If the 15 minutes of a quarter expire while the
ball is live, the quarter is extended until the ball becomes dead.
If a quarter's time expires while the ball is dead, the quarter is
extended for one more scrimmage. A quarter cannot end while a
penalty is pending: after the penalty yardage is applied, the
quarter is extended one scrimmage. Note that the non-penalized team
has the option to
decline any penalty it considers
disadvantageous, so a losing team cannot indefinitely prolong a
game by repeatedly committing penalties.
Players
Offence
The offensive positions found in Canadian football have, for the
most part, evolved throughout the years, and are not officially
defined in the rules. However, among offensive players, the rules
recognize three different types of players:
- Down linemen: Down linemen are players who, at the start of
every play, line up at the line of scrimmage; once in their stance
they may not move until the play begins. The offence must have at
least seven players lined up at the line of scrimmage on every
play. The exception to this rule is the player (typically the
centre) who snaps the ball to the quarterback. Linemen
generally do not run with the ball (unless they recover it on a
fumble) or receive a hand-off or lateral pass, but there is no rule
against it. Interior linemen (that is, excluding the two players at
either end of the scrimmage line) are ineligible
receivers; they may not receive a forward pass either.
(The two offensive ends on the line of
scrimmage may receive forward passes.)
- Backs: Backs line up behind the linemen; they may run with the
ball, receive handoffs, laterals, and forward passes. They may also
be in motion before the play starts.
Specific offensive positions include:
- Backs/Receivers:
- Quarterback: Generally the leader of the offence. Calls all
plays to teammates, receives the ball off of snap, and initiates
the action usually by running the ball himself, passing the ball to
a receiver, or handing the ball off to another back.
- Fullback: Multiple roles including pass protection, receiving,
and blocking for the running back. On short yardage situations may
also carry the ball.
- Running back/Tailback: As the name implies, the main runner on
the team. Also an eligible receiver and blocker on pass plays.
- Wide receiver: Lines up on the line of scrimmage, usually at a
distance from the centre. Runs down the field in order to catch a
forward pass from the quarterback.
- Slotback: Similar to the wide receiver,
but lines up closer to the offensive line.
- Down linemen:
- Centre: Snaps the ball to the quarterback. Most important pass
blocker on pass plays. Calls offensive-line plays.
- Left/right guard: Stands to the left and right of the centre
helps protect the quarterback, Usually very good run blockers to
open holes up the middle for runners.
- Left/right tackle: Stands on the ends of the offensive line,
The biggest men on the line, usually well over 300 pounds (140 kg). Usually very good pass
blockers.
- Offensive lineman: Collective name for centre, guards, and
tackles.
Defence
The rules do not constrain how the defence may arrange itself
(other than the requirement that they must remain one yard behind
the line of scrimmage until the play starts).
- Cornerback: Covers the wide receivers on most plays.
- Safety: Covers deep. Last line of defence, can offer run
support or blitz.
- Defensive halfback: Covers the slotback and helps contain the
run from going to the outside.
- Defensive back: Collective term for cornerback, safety, and
defensive halfback.
- Nose tackle: Lineman across from centre, tries to get past the
offensive-line or take double team and open holes for blitzes.
- Defensive tackle: Inside defensive linemen try to break through
the offensive line and open holes for linebackers.
- Defensive end: Main rushing lineman. Rushes the quarterback and
try to contain rushers behind the line of scrimmage.
- Middle linebacker: Lines up across from the centre 3 to back.
Quarterback of the defence. Calls plays for lineman and
linebackers.
- Weak-side linebacker: Lines up on the short side of field, and
can drop into pass coverage or contain.
- Strong-side linebacker: Lines up on the opposite side and
usually rushes.
Special teams
Special teams generally refers to kicking plays, which
typically involve a change in possession.
- Holder: Receives the snap on field goal tries and converts;
places the ball in position and holds it to be kicked by the
kicker. This position is generally filled by a reserve quarterback;
occasionally the starting quarterback or punter will fill in as
holder.
- Kicker: Kicks field goals, converts, kick-offs
- Punter: Punts ball, usually on third downs
- Returners: Fast, agile runners who specialize in fielding punts
and kickoffs, attempting to advance them for better field position
or a score.
See also
Notes and references
Bibliography
Stebbins, Robert A. (1993)
Canadian Football: The View from the
Helmet. Toronto, ON: Canadian Scholars Press.
External links
in 2006.
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