Overtime (sports)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Overtime is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport in order to bring the game to a decision and avoid declaring the contest a tie or draw. Some sports refer to additional tie-breaking periods as extra time.
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[edit] Association football
In association football (soccer) matches that require a clear winner (such as in elimination matches in the knockout stages of a tournament), if the score is tied at the end of the two standard playing periods (usually 45min), two periods of extra time (usually 15min) may be played. After this, if the score is still tied penalty shootouts may be used to declare who will proceed to the next stage.
[edit] American and Canadian football
In professional American football, if the score is tied after four quarters, an additional 15-minute period is played. The captains meet with the officials for a coin toss, and then one side kicks off to the other, as at the start of a game. The first side to score by any means wins (called in recent years a "walk-off"). In the regular season, if one overtime period is played without either side scoring, the game ends in a tie. In the playoffs, if the period ends, the teams switch ends of the field and start an additional overtime period.
In college and high school football, as well as the Canadian Football League, an overtime procedure is used to determine the winner. Here is a summary of the rules:
- A coin toss determines which side shall attempt to score first, and at which end zone the scores shall be attempted.
- Each team in turn will receive one possession, starting with first-and-10 from the opponent's 25-yard line (in high school football, it's the 10-yard line, although some states use the 25-yard line; in the CFL, where a single point can be scored on a punt, the 35-yard line is used). The game clock does not run.
- A team's possession ends when it scores; fails to gain a first down; or loses the ball by turnover. As usual, a touchdown by the offense is followed by a try for one or two points.
- In college football the defense may score on a play on which it gains possession by turnover. In high school football the defense is generally not allowed to score if it gains possession, although the Oregon School Activities Association adopted the college rule experimentally in 2005.
- Each team receives one charged time-out per overtime procedure (except in the CFL).
- If the score remains tied at the end of the overtime procedure, an additional overtime procedure is played. The team with the second possession in one overtime procedure will have the first possession in the next overtime procedure.
- In the CFL there is a limit of two overtime procedures in regular-season games (after which the game is a tie), but no limit in playoff games. In American college and high school football, after two overtime procedures any touchdown must be followed by a try for two points.
On three occasions, seven overtime procedures have been required in order to determine the winner of a college football game.
On one occasion, only two plays were required to determine a winner in a NCAA football game (a touchdown followed by a turnover). This occurred on September 27, 2003 when Georgia Tech defeated Vanderbilt 24-17.
[edit] Basketball
In basketball, if the score is tied at the end of regulation play, the teams play a five-minute overtime period (four minutes in high school). As at the start of the game, this period begins with a jump ball between two opponents. The entire overtime period is played (there is no sudden-death provision). All counts of personal fouls against players are carried over for the purpose of disqualifying players. If the score remains tied after an overtime period, an additional overtime period is played.
As many as seven overtime periods have been necessary to determine a winner in the National Basketball Association.
[edit] Ice hockey
Main article: Overtime (hockey)
In ice hockey, if the score is tied at the end of regulation play, certain leagues play overtime.
- NHL (regular season): If a game is tied after regulation time (3 periods), the teams play in a sudden death 5 minute overtime, with four skaters per side (as opposed to the standard five). If nobody scores in the overtime period, the teams engage in a shootout where 3 shooters, selected by the head coaches on the teams, square off. If the shootout remains tied after 3 shooters, the shootout continues in a sudden death fashion. As many as 30 shooters have been necessary to win a game via shootout. That happened during a game with the New York Rangers and Washington Capitals, where defensemen Marek Malik gave New York a 3-2 shootout and game victory on a trick move.
- NHL (post-season): Following an intermission, an additional full 20-minute period is played. Teams remain at full strength unless this is affected by penalties during the third period. A goal ends the game in sudden death; if neither team scores, another intermission is taken, followed by an additional overtime period. The teams change ends of the ice for each period.
- NCAA (regular season): If a game is tied at the end of regulation, the teams play a sudden-death 5-minute overtime. Both teams play at full strength, unless affected by penalties. If neither team scores during overtime, the game ends in a tie.
- NCAA (in-season tournaments): For tournaments held during the season (such as the Beanpot and Great Lakes Invitational), in which advancement or determination of a champion is necessary, organizers have the option of either using the post-season overtime procedure or using the regular-season procedure followed by a penalty shootout. Statistics from a shootout are not counted by the NCAA, and a game decided by a shootout is considered a tie for NCAA tournament selection purposes.
- NCAA (post-season): Same as the NHL overtime procedure above, except that all overtimes are played with the teams defending the same ends as for the third period. Games decided in overtime are considered wins or losses rather than ties, regardless of how many overtimes are played.
- International (round robin): With the exception of the World Cup of Hockey in 2004, no overtime procedure exists for round robin play in international tournaments. If the score was tied after three periods of play, the tie would stand as a tie. In the World Cup of Hockey in 2004, the NHL's tiebreaking procedure at the time was followed: there was a five-minute sudden death period at four skaters per side, and if the score remained tied after the overtime period, it stood as a tie. The game between Sweden and Finland ended in a 4-4 tie after 65 minutes.
- International (medal rounds): Various tiebreaking procedures have been used for international tournaments, with all of them save one (World Cup of Hockey 2004) following a common theme: one period varying in length of sudden-death overtime followed by a shootout of five skaters per side (as opposed to the NHL's three skaters per side). The length of the overtime period has varied between 5, 10, and 20 minutes, and 5-on-5 and 4-on-4 formats have been used. The most recent format used was at the 2006 Olympics; there were 20 minutes of 5-on-5 followed by a shootout. All men's games ended in regulation during the medal rounds, while the women's semifinal between the United States and Sweden required a shootout to determine the winner. At the World Cup of Hockey in 2004, the NHL's postseason tiebreaking procedure was used. The only overtime game in the playoff round was the semifinal between the Czech Republic and Canada. Canada won 4-3 with a goal 2 minutes and 16 seconds into the first overtime period.
As many as six overtime periods have been necessary to determine a winner in the NHL.
