FOOTBALL, CANADIAN

game played between two 12-member teams on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. It originated in English rugby, but changes in rules over the years have made the sport more closely resemble U.S. football. Additional reading The history of the game is surveyed in Gordon Currie, 100 Years of Canadian Football: The Dramatic History of Football's First Century in Canada, and the Story of the Canadian Football League (1968); Jack Sullivan, The Grey Cup Story, rev. ed. (1974); and Gordon Walker and Douglas Mitchell, Grey Cup Tradition (1987). For current information, see Canadian Football League, Facts, Figures, and Records (annual). John F. Iaboni Play of the game Although Canadian football stems from English rugby, modern rules changes have brought it closer and closer to U.S. football. The playing field is larger, being 110 yards (100 metres) long and 65 yards (59.4 metres) wide. The end zones are 20 yards (18.6 metres) deep. The wide field encourages lateral passing, and the deep end zones, forward passing for touchdowns. There are 12 men on a team. The extra man is invariably used in the backfield or as a wide receiver on offense and as a back on defense. The other positions are the same as those in U.S. football and have the same names. A team has only three downs in which to make a first down in the Canadian game. Teams must try for the big gain, which makes the play more open than in U.S. football. To offset the lack of a down, defensive linemen must be one yard away from the ball when they take their stance. Also, all offensive backs may be in motion before the ball is snapped. Blocking is unlimited on rushing plays and is permitted downfield after a pass has been completed. Blocking above the waist is allowed only on punt returns, and a kicked ball still in bounds must be played; tacklers, however, cannot come within five yards of the safety back fielding the punt until he has touched the ball. One point is scored if the team in possession kicks the ball over the defending team's goal line and the defending team fails to return the ball out of the goal area, 20 yards beyond the goal line, or if the defending team's safety back is tackled or run out of bounds in his own end zone or he chooses to concede the point after receiving a kick. After scoring a touchdown, the scoring team may choose to kick for a one-point convert (conversion in U.S. football) or, scrimmaging from the five-yard line, to attempt a two-point convert by either running or passing the ball over the goal line. The defending team on all convert plays can score two points if, by blocking a one-point convert attempt and recovering the ball, or intercepting a pass, or recovering a fumbled ball on all convert attempts, it returns the ball over the other team's goal line. Other scoring is exactly the same as that of the U.S. professional game. Offensive and defensive formations are also similar to those in U.S. football. Douglas Stuart Gilbert John F. Iaboni