What Are Field Hockey Arm Bands?

International Hockey Federation Rule

• The International Hockey Federation (FIH) mandates that "captains must wear a distinctive arm-band or similar distinguishing article on an upper arm or shoulder."
  
  

Appointing a Captain

• Each team must appoint one player as captain. A replacement captain must be available in the event that the captain is unavailable or suspended.
  
  

Captain's Responsibility

• The FIH maintains that captains "are responsible for the behavior of all players on their team and for ensuring that substitutions of players on their team are carried out correctly."
  
  

Significance

• Captains must be easily identified by umpires because failure to carry out any of the aforementioned responsibilities results in a personal foul against the captain.
  
  

U.S. Field Hockey Rules

• Field hockey in the United States is governed by the rules published by the FIH. There are special modifications for the NCAA, but there is no difference regarding regulations on captains and the requirement of arm bands.