Just as quickness is an advantage in taking the roll-in so it is in the free hit. The halfback in whose territory the foul occurred should take the free hit quickly, before her teammates may be guarded. Every delay means that the opponents have an opportunity to guard more closely. In taking the free hit, be careful to hit to an unguarded player. Make the free hit count. In the corner play the hit should be carefully taken by the halfback, or sometimes it is taken by the wing. The attackers line up around the edge of the striking circle ready to stop the ball and shoot for the goal; the defenders are behind the line ready to rush out and get the ball away from dangerous territory. The player taking the free hit should be careful that the ball goes within the circle; that it is hit hard and cleanly--never send a ball that hops; that the ball is sent to a particular player, preferably the center forward or either of the insides. It is not often advisable for a wing to stop a ball hit in from the corner hit. [Illustration: DIAGRAM OF FIELD WITH NECESSARY MARKINGS AND SHOWING THE PROPER LINE-UP OF TEAMS AT START OF GAME.] To decide a championship or the winner of a hockey tournament, it is advisable to play three games, the winner of two being the winner of the series. If one team wins the first two games it is unnecessary to play the third; if there are more than two teams contesting, it is advisable to have preliminary rounds, the winners meeting the winners, etc. The Field of Play THE FIELD. The dimensions of the field are: maximum length, 100 yards; minimum, 85 yards; maximum breadth, 60 yards; minimum, 55 yards. The field of play is marked by boundary lines; the end are “goal lines,” and the side, “side lines.” Flag posts, four feet in height, one yard outside the field of play, are placed at each of the four corners and at each end of the twenty-five-yard lines. There are three lines across the field, i. e., parallel to the end lines, running from side line to side line--one in the center of field, the fifty-yard line; one at each end of the field, each twenty-five yards from the goal line. THE GOALS. The _goals_ are marked by upright posts, equidistant from the corners of the goal lines, four yards apart, connected by a cross-bar seven feet from the ground. The space between the posts is known as the goal area. The maximum width of the posts and the cross-bars is two inches; the maximum depth, three inches. There is a goal at each end of the field. THE STRIKING CIRCLE. In front of each goal is a striking circle marked by the following lines: A line parallel to goal line, fifteen yards distant from, directly in front of the goal area, four yards in length. The ends of this line are joined to the goal line by a quarter circle fifteen yards in diameter measured from the nearest goal post. A line parallel to the side line, five yards distant, is drawn the length of the field. This is called the alley.