Posted on April 9, 2010.
Air Hockey for Beginners Air Hockey Tables
An air hockey table normally consists of a large soft play area, surrounded by a rail to prevent the puck and mallets from leaving the table, and slots in the rail at each end of the table that serve as goals. On the ends of the table, behind and below target, there is an area to retrieve the puck after a goal. In addition, the tables usually have a mechanism that produces a cushion of air over the playing surface through small holes in order to reduce friction and increasing play speed.
Sometimes the machine is completely removed in favor of a slick table surface, usually plastic, in general what are your cheaper models. One thing to note is that there are also washers that use a battery and a fan to produce their own cushion of air, but they tend to break as they are commonly marketed as toys.
USAA (United States Air-Table-Hockey Association) is approving the 8-foot tables manufactured by Dynamo for tournaments. Approved tables include the Photon, Pro-style, older Blue Top, Brown Top, Purple Top or Black Top with unpainted rails.
A mallet is usually nothing more than a handle attached to a flat surface that is flush with the surface of the table.
thin disks of Lexan polycarbonate resin is used as hockey pucks. USAA approved washers must be either lexan yellow, red or green lexan dynamo.
Ground rules
Here are some basic rules as defined by the USAA:
* A face to face or draw decides which player gets the first possession of the puck.
* The first person to score 7 points by shooting the puck into the opponents goal wins the game. When the puck breaks the horizontal plane inside the goal, a point is counted, whether or not captured by the electronic scoring device.
* Once the puck at the side of a median line player, he / she has 7 seconds to hit the puck across the midline. Otherwise a foul is committed and the opponent receives possession of the puck.
* Place a mallet on top of the puck, known as the head is a fault. Here, the opponent receives possession of the puck.
* A player may touch or hit the puck with any part of his body or any object other than the mallet. In doing so, an error and change of ownership hands.
* If the puck is on a clear path into the goal and the player stops it with anything other than the mallet, is the goal behind it. Here, the opponent gets a free kick.
* Hitting the puck when he is on the opposite side of the center line, or crossing the center line completely with his mallet causes a foul. Here, the opponent receives possession of the puck.
* If the puck leaves the table, a foul is called on the player who caused the puck to leave the game because the offensive movement and the opposing player takes the puck. In general, when a player makes the puck to leave the table with a forward motion of the mallet, even defensively (known as charging), the fault is charged on them. A bench results because the opponent receives possession of the puck.
Game
The competition (tournament) the game is usually distinguished by the following:
* The mallet is in the grip behind the button of his fingertips, not above it. This allows a more wrist and allows the player to move the mallet around the table faster.
* For the base defense, the mallet is maintained centered at least 8 inches from the goal. In this position, movement slightly to the left and righ.
