In
sports
Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, th ...
, running out the clock (also known as running down the clock, stonewalling, killing the clock, chewing the clock, stalling, time-wasting (or timewasting) or eating clock
) is the practice of a winning team allowing the clock to expire through a series of preselected plays, either to preserve a lead or hasten the end of a one-sided contest. Such measures expend time but do not otherwise have a tactical purpose. This is usually done by a team that is winning by a slim margin (or, occasionally,
tied) near the end of a game, in order to reduce the time available for the opposing team to
score. Generally, it is the opposite strategy of
running up the score
Running up the score occurs when a competitor continues to play in such a way as to score additional points after the outcome of the game is no longer in significant question and the team is all but assured of winning. Sporting alternatives inc ...
.
The process of running out the clock generally involves low-risk, low-event play, intending to minimize the ability of the other team to interfere or counter. As this produces unexciting sport for spectators, many rulebooks attempt to counteract this; some include a time limit for completing a play, such as a
play clock
A play clock, also called a delay-of-game timer, is a countdown clock intended to speed up the pace of the game in gridiron football. The offensive team must put the ball in play by either snapping the ball during a scrimmage down or kicking the b ...
or
shot clock
A shot clock is a countdown timer used in a variety of games and sports, proving a set amount of time that a team may possess the object of play before attempting to score a goal. Shot clocks are used in several sports including basketball, wat ...
.
Approaches to running out the clock differ, particularly between sports. In some cases it is considered a normal aspect of the game, whereas in others it is considered
unsporting. The term "time-wasting" has pejorative implications and is generally reserved for varieties of
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
.
In other timed sports, including
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
,
, and
hockey
Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...
, the more neutral term "running out the clock" is more commonly used.
Gridiron football
American football
In
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
, each quarter of a game is measured with a 15-minute game clock, or 12-minute clock in many
high school football
High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...
codes and the
German Football League
The German Football League (GFL) is an American football league in Germany and was formed in 1979. Playing rules are based on those of the American National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA. In 1999, the league switched its name from ''Ameri ...
. A team in possession of the lead and the ball will attempt to use up as much of the game clock as possible in order to bring the game to an end more quickly, thus denying the opposition another chance on offense.
Typically, the leading team will execute a series of simple
rushing plays (the clock does not stop moving at the conclusion of a rushing play unless the rusher steps out of bounds) or one or more
quarterback kneel
In American football and Canadian football, a quarterback kneel, also called taking a knee, genuflect offense, kneel-down offense, or victory formation, occurs when the quarterback immediately kneels to the ground, ending the play on contact, ...
s. A team will often accept minimal prospect for a large gain in yardage (or even, particularly with quarterback kneels, a modest loss of yardage) in order to drain more time from the game clock, as time elapsed is considered more valuable than yardage to a team with the lead. Passing plays are not typically used by a team running out the clock, as an incomplete pass will cause the game clock to stop. Passing plays always carry the risk of interception, and spread the offense widely across the field, which makes tackling after an interception much harder compared to a fumble. If the ball passes out of bounds, the clock will also stop. This leads to teams running plays in the middle of the field in order to minimize the chance that the ball will travel out of bounds. Running plays also carry a much lower chance of turning the ball over and of a turnover resulting in a score or significant gain for the defense. Relatively safe, short,
West Coast offense
In American football, the West Coast offense is an offense that places a greater emphasis on passing than on running.
There are two similar but distinct offensive strategic systems that are commonly referred to as "West Coast offenses". Original ...
-type passes can be, and sometimes are, included in attempts to run out the clock, especially if more yardage is needed to earn a first down and maintain possession.
In both professional and college football, the offense has 40 seconds from the end of the previous play to run the next play. A team running out the clock will allow the
play clock
A play clock, also called a delay-of-game timer, is a countdown clock intended to speed up the pace of the game in gridiron football. The offensive team must put the ball in play by either snapping the ball during a scrimmage down or kicking the b ...
(which records the time remaining until a play must be run) to drain as much as possible before running its next play. In the NFL, this is particularly noteworthy due to the existence of the
two-minute warning
In most levels of professional American football, the two-minute warning is a suspension of play that occurs when two minutes remain on the game clock in each half of a game, i.e., near the end of the second and fourth quarters, and overtime. It ...
. If the trailing team has no
timeout
Time-out, Time Out, or timeout may refer to:
Time
* Time-out (sport), in various sports, a break in play, called by a team
* Television timeout, a break in sporting action so that a commercial break may be taken
* Timeout (computing), an enginee ...
s remaining and the leading team is in possession of the ball with a first down at the two-minute warning, they can effectively run out the clock and win the game without running another positive play. With two minutes to go (120 seconds), the offense can take three "knees", one each on 1st, 2nd, and 3rd down (using all 40 seconds from the play clock on each), and allow the game clock to expire before having to run a play for fourth down. A similar situation can be had by also achieving a first down inside the two-minute warning. This practice is commonly known as the "Victory Formation", as the offense lines up in a tightly-protective "V" formation to minimize the chances of a fumble or other turnover.
Conversely, a team that faces the risk of the other team running out the clock may attempt to force its opponent to score so it can quickly get the ball back. In
Super Bowl XLVI
Super Bowl XLVI was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion New York Giants and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...
, for example, the
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...
were ahead of the
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...
17–15 with 1:04 left in the fourth quarter. The Giants were at the Patriots' six-yard line, however, the Patriots had only one time-out left. The Giants elected to run out as much time as possible and then kick a relatively short
field goal
A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. The entire ba ...
to take a late lead. Had the Giants been successful in this strategy it would have left the Patriots with no timeouts and less than 10 seconds remaining to score. The Patriots thus let
Ahmad Bradshaw
Ahmad Bradshaw (born March 19, 1986) is a former American football running back. He was drafted in the seventh round of the 2007 NFL Draft by the New York Giants. He played college football at Marshall. He is a two-time Super Bowl champion, ...
score a touchdown in hopes of scoring a touchdown of their own before the game's end. Bradshaw, aware of the Patriots' strategy, attempted to stop himself from crossing the
goal line but was unsuccessful as his momentum carried him forward. The Patriots then received the ball with 57 seconds remaining, but failed to score, and the Giants won 21–17.
Canadian football
Rule differences between the two codes mean that in Canadian football running out the clock is much more limited. The specific differences are:
* The offensive team is only allowed three downs to advance the ball 10 yards and thereby maintain possession, as opposed to four downs in the American game.
* The play clock runs for only 20 seconds from the time the ball is whistled into play, compared to 40 seconds from the end of the last play in U.S. college football and the NFL.
* Two major changes in game timing occur in the last 3 minutes of each half:
** The clock stops after each play.
** The penalty for "time count" (equivalent to "delay of game" in American football) is loss of down on first or second down, and 10 yards on third down with the down repeated. The referee has the right to penalize repeated third-down time counts during the last 3 minutes with loss of possession.
* Finally, if the game clock runs out during a play, or while the ball is dead, the quarter is extended by one final untimed play.
A Canadian football side on offense with a full set of downs can run just over 40 seconds off the game clock, a third of what is possible in American football. The
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...
is proud of this distinction, with "No Lead Is Safe" being one of the league's catchphrases.
Association football
Time-wasting in association football consists of two forms, extending the length of stoppages when the
ball is out of play, and, while the ball is in play, playing in a way as to keep possession of the ball as long as possible rather than attempting to score.
;Extending the length of stoppages
A common time-wasting tactic is to make
substitutions late in the game, lengthening the duration of stoppages while the change is made. Players may also feign injury, kick the ball away, obstruct the taking of a quick
free kick
A free kick is an action used in several codes of football to restart play with the kicking of a ball into the field of play.
Association football
In association football, the free kick is a method of restarting the game following an offence ...
by an opposing player, or delay the taking of their own free kicks or
throw in
A throw-in is a method of restarting play in a game of association football when the ball has exited the side of the field of play. It is governed by Law 15 of The Laws of the Game.
Award
When the ball goes out of play past the touch-line ...
s. If the referee considers a delay to be unreasonable, the offending player may be given a yellow card.
When playing at
home
A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or many humans, and sometimes various companion animals. It is a fully or semi sheltered space and can have both interior and exterior aspects to it. H ...
, there have been some instances where teams have been accused of time-wasting by instructing (or allowing) their
ball boy
Ball boys and ball girls, also known as ball kids are individuals, usually human youths but sometimes dogs, who retrieve and supply balls for players or officials in sports such as association football, American football, bandy, cricket, tennis ...
s to delay returning the ball to the away team.
These actions should, in theory, be negated by the addition of an equal amount of
stoppage time
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
, but teams nevertheless employ these methods.
;Maintaining possession
A common tactic often involves carrying the ball into the corner of the field and shielding it from the defender. This will commonly lead to a free kick if the frustrated defender budges the player out of the way, or it can also lead to a throw-in by the defender placing a tackle and managing to legally make contact with the ball so close to the line it often rolls out of play. This can be repeated to continue time-wasting.
Laws of the Game
Both types of time-wasting are generally viewed negatively, though only the former is contrary to the game's rules. Referees are empowered to book players whom they feel are delaying the restart of play and several amendments to the
Laws of the Game and guidance to
match officials have been made to prevent time-wasting, including progressively stricter restrictions on how long possession can be maintained by
goalkeepers. The
back-pass rule was introduced in 1992 in order to prevent time-wasting by defenders repeatedly passing the ball back to their goalkeeper.
An amendment to the Laws attempting to mitigate time-wasting substitutions was made in 2019 — players are now required to leave the pitch at the nearest boundary, rather than making an often long and slow walk back to their teams'
technical area
A technical area in association football is an area which a manager, other coaching personnel, and substitutes are allowed to occupy during a match.
The technical area includes the dugout, bench and a marked zone adjacent to the pitch.
History ...
.
Australian rules football
In a close game,
Australian rules football
Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...
players on the leading side will typically run the clock down by kicking the ball between the defenders while having no intention of a forward thrust, or by advancing the ball with short, low-risk kicks. Each time a mark is taken, the player can run approximately eight seconds off the clock before being required to play on – and may continue to run time off the clock if no opponents pressure them after the call of play on is made. Strategically, running down the clock can be stifled by playing man-on-man defence, in an attempt to force the opposition to kick to a contest, creating the chance for a turnover.
Late in a close game, players who have
marked
In linguistics and social sciences, markedness is the state of standing out as nontypical or divergent as opposed to regular or common. In a marked–unmarked relation, one term of an opposition is the broader, dominant one. The dominant defau ...
the ball will often attend to their uniforms by performing actions such as tucking in jerseys or pulling their socks up, along with overzealous stretching, in an effort to "milk" the clock and disguise their intentions as an act of
plausible deniability
Plausible deniability is the ability of people, typically senior officials in a formal or informal chain of command, to denial, deny knowledge of or responsibility for any damnable actions committed by members of their organizational hierarchy. Th ...
. Players kicking for goal are now given a
shot clock
A shot clock is a countdown timer used in a variety of games and sports, proving a set amount of time that a team may possess the object of play before attempting to score a goal. Shot clocks are used in several sports including basketball, wat ...
30 seconds to take their kicks, while in general play they are only given 7 seconds, after which "play on" is called. According to the
laws
Law is a set of rules that are created and are law enforcement, enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. ...
, wasting time is either (a) a free kick to the opposing team (15.10.1.a), (b) a 50-metre penalty (18.1.b), or (c) a reportable offence if it is judged to be intentional, reckless or negligent (19.2.2.g.iv). In reality, though, the umpire will almost always call play on—even if the time on the 30-second shot clock has been depleted. Shot clocks are disregarded for
kicks after the siren.
It is also important to mention that Australian rules football has a scoring concept known as "
rushing a behind". A rushed behind scores one point for the attacking team, but it also prevents the attacking team from scoring a goal, worth six points. As such, it is common for a defending player to deliberately concede a single point. However, while such a tactic was accepted in general play as being part of the game, the tactic was exploited to an extreme degree in two high-profile incidents during the
2008 AFL season
The 2008 AFL season was the 112th season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Australia, which was known as the Victorian Football League until 1989. The season featured si ...
to take valuable time off the clock and deny the trailing team any chance of winning. In Round 16,
Richmond's Joel Bowden
Joel Francis Bowden (born 21 June 1978) is an Australian politician, former union leader and former professional Australian rules footballer. He was elected to the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly at the 2020 Johnston by-election, repres ...
rushed two behinds in a row while
kicking in to use up time towards the end of their game against
Essendon Essendon may refer to:
Australia
*Electoral district of Essendon
*Electoral district of Essendon and Flemington
*Essendon, Victoria
**Essendon railway station
**Essendon Airport
*Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League
United King ...
, reducing the margin from 6 points to 4 points but enabling Richmond to win the game. This tactic was exploited to an absurd degree in the
2008 AFL Grand Final
The 2008 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football match contested between the Geelong Football Club and the Hawthorn Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 27 September 2008. It was the 112th annual grand fi ...
, which saw
Hawthorn
Hawthorn or Hawthorns may refer to:
Plants
* '' Crataegus'' (hawthorn), a large genus of shrubs and trees in the family Rosaceae
* ''Rhaphiolepis'' (hawthorn), a genus of about 15 species of evergreen shrubs and small trees in the family Rosace ...
rush a record 11 behinds against
Geelong
Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...
.
Since 2009, it has been illegal in AFL matches for a defender to deliberately concede a rushed behind when he is not under any pressure from the attacking team. In the event that a defender does this, the umpire awards a free kick to the attacking team on the goal-line at the spot where the defender conceded the score. The defender may still deliberately concede a rushed behind if he is under pressure from an attacker.
Rugby union
In
rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...
, it often takes place by one team deliberately collapsing a
scrum
Scrum may refer to:
Sport
* Scrum (rugby), a method of restarting play in rugby union and rugby league
** Scrum (rugby union), scrum in rugby union
* Scrum, an offensive melee formation in Japanese game Bo-taoshi
Media and popular culture
* M ...
. The penalty is a
free kick
A free kick is an action used in several codes of football to restart play with the kicking of a ball into the field of play.
Association football
In association football, the free kick is a method of restarting the game following an offence ...
, as it is considered a technical offence.
Rugby league
In the
National Rugby League
The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...
(rugby league), anti-time wasting measures include countdown clocks to achieve timely formations of the
scrum
Scrum may refer to:
Sport
* Scrum (rugby), a method of restarting play in rugby union and rugby league
** Scrum (rugby union), scrum in rugby union
* Scrum, an offensive melee formation in Japanese game Bo-taoshi
Media and popular culture
* M ...
and execution of
line drop-outs, calling of time-off during the last five minutes of the match when a try has been scored, or when a
conversion
Conversion or convert may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* "Conversion" (''Doctor Who'' audio), an episode of the audio drama ''Cyberman''
* "Conversion" (''Stargate Atlantis''), an episode of the television series
* "The Conversion" ...
attempt runs longer than 80 seconds.
Basketball
In basketball game clock stops when the ball is dead and runs when it is live.
Running out the clock was a major problem in the early days of the
NBA
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...
. Ofttimes, once a team grabbed the lead, they would spend the remainder of the game just passing the ball back and forth, in what was called stall ball. The only hope for the other team was to commit fouls and to score on
free throw
In basketball, free throws or foul shots are unopposed attempts to score points by shooting from behind the free-throw line (informally known as the foul line or the charity stripe), a line situated at the end of the Key (basketball), restricted ...
s. The worst example was a 1950 game with a final score of 19-18. Another game the same year had six overtime periods with only a single shot attempted in each.
The NBA responded to these problems when
Danny Biasone
Daniel Biasone (22 February 1909 – 25 May 1992) was the founding owner of the Syracuse Nationals, an NBA team now known as the Philadelphia 76ers. Biasone, who was a childhood immigrant to the United States from Italy, was mostly known for advo ...
invented the
shot clock
A shot clock is a countdown timer used in a variety of games and sports, proving a set amount of time that a team may possess the object of play before attempting to score a goal. Shot clocks are used in several sports including basketball, wat ...
. The shot clock gives teams 24 seconds (30 seconds in NCAA) to make a shot that hits the basket rim or scores, with the team losing possession if it fails to do so. This effectively eliminated stall ball and in the NBA's own words, "Biasone's invention rescue
the league."
[1954–55 SEASON OVERVIEW]
NBA. Today, shot clocks are used in nearly all basketball leagues.
Most clock management in modern basketball centers around both the game clock and the shot clock. An offense nearing the end of a game and holding a slim lead will attempt to use up as much of both clocks as possible before shooting the ball, to give the opposing team as little time as possible to respond.
A team trailing by a small margin near the end of regulation or overtime may counter their opponent's attempt to run out the clock by intentionally committing
personal fouls while on defense. This stops the clock, and if the fouling team is in the
penalty situation, it forces the fouled team to shoot
free throw
In basketball, free throws or foul shots are unopposed attempts to score points by shooting from behind the free-throw line (informally known as the foul line or the charity stripe), a line situated at the end of the Key (basketball), restricted ...
s (usually two). The fouling team will regain possession without any additional clock time lost if the last free throw is successful or if they get the rebound from a missed last free throw, but this strategy carries the obvious risk of giving the fouled team an opportunity to extend its lead if it makes the free throw(s). Fouls intentionally committed in this way are usually tolerated with no penalty beyond the normal penalties assessed for personal fouls, as long as the fouls are not
flagrant.
The use of the shot clock in
high school basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
can vary by state or league, and stall ball is able to be used as an offensive strategy if specific circumstances call for it, though some state athletic associations or game referees can prohibit it as an unsportsmanlike act throughout an entire quarter or game.
Other sports
;
Lacrosse
Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensively ...
A team must advance the ball from its defensive square to the midfield line within 20 seconds and then into the offensive square within 10 additional seconds or lose possession; additionally, a team in possession that appears to be stonewalling by not attacking the goal may be ordered by the referee to stay within the attacking box or lose possession. Additionally, the
Premier Lacrosse League
Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) is an American professional field lacrosse league, composed of 8 teams. The league's inaugural season debuted on June 1, 2019, and included a 14-week tour-based schedule taking place in 12 major-market cities. The le ...
and most forms of
indoor lacrosse
Box lacrosse, also known as boxla, box, or indoor lacrosse, is an indoor version of lacrosse played mostly in North America. The game originated in Canada in the 1930s, where it is more popular than field lacrosse. Lacrosse is Canada's official ...
employ a shot clock as with basketball.
;
Ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...
A team which shoots the
puck forward from their half of the ice over the opposing team's goal line in an effort to stonewall is guilty of icing, and the puck is brought to the other end of the ice for a
face-off
A face-off is the method used to begin and restart play after goals in some sports using sticks, primarily ice hockey, bandy, floorball, broomball, rinkball, and lacrosse.
During a face-off, two teams line up in opposition to each other, and the ...
. The rule is not in effect when a team is playing shorthanded due to a penalty. Additionally, a player (usually a
goalkeeper
In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...
) may be charged with a minor (two-minute) penalty for
delay of game
Delay of game is an action in a sports game in which a player or team deliberately stalls the game, usually with the intention of using the delay to its advantage. In some sports, the delay of game is considered an infraction if it is longer than ...
for shooting the puck over the glass and out of play. A leading team may pass the puck to the defense who will then retreat in his zone. During a
power play
Power play or powerplay or their plurals may refer to:
Sports
* Power play (sporting term), a sporting term used in various games
* Powerplay (cricket), a rule concerning fielding restrictions in one-day international cricket
* Power play (cur ...
, the shorthanded team will try to ice the puck in order to gain time until the penalty time ends.
;
Water polo
Water polo is a competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the ball into the opposing team's goal. The team with the ...
A 30-second shot clock is employed, in much the same manner as college basketball.
See also
*
Garbage time
In sports, garbage time is the period toward the end of a timed sports competition that has become a blowout when the outcome of the game has effectively already been decided, and the coaches of one or both teams will decide to replace their best ...
*
Delay of game
Delay of game is an action in a sports game in which a player or team deliberately stalls the game, usually with the intention of using the delay to its advantage. In some sports, the delay of game is considered an infraction if it is longer than ...
*
Mercy rule
A mercy rule, slaughter rule, knockout rule, or skunk rule ends a two-competitor sports competition earlier than the scheduled endpoint if one competitor has a very large and presumably insurmountable scoring lead over the other. It is called th ...
References
{{portalbar, Sports
Terminology used in multiple sports
American football terminology