American football field

Diagram of an American football field.

American football games are played on a rectangular "Field of Play" that measures 100 yards (91.44 m) long between goal lines, and 160 feet (48.8 m) (53 1⁄3 yards) wide. In addition, there are end zones extending another 10 yards (9.144 m) past the goal lines to the "end lines", for a total length of 120 yards (109.7 m). When the "football field" is used as unit of measurement, it is usually understood to mean 100 yards (91.44 m), although technically the full length of the official field, including the end zones, is 120 yards (109.7 m).

White markings on the field identify the distance from the end zone. Inbound lines, or hash marks, are short parallel lines that mark off 1 yard (0.91 m) increments. Yard lines, which can run the width of the field, are marked every 5 yards (4.6 m). A one yard long line is placed near each end of the field; this line is marked at the center of the two-yard line in professional play and at the three-yard line in college play. Numerals that display the distance from the closest goal line in multiples of ten (up to the 50 yard line) are placed on both sides of the field every ten yards, with arrows right by the numerals to indicate the closer goal line.[1][2][3] Weighted pylons are placed on the inside corner of the intersections of the sidelines, goal lines, and end lines. Including the end zones, the total area of an American football field is 57,600 square feet (5,350 m2).

Goalposts are located at the center of the plane of each of the two end lines. The crossbar of these posts is 10 feet (3.048 m) above the ground, with vertical uprights at the end of the crossbar 18 feet 6 inches (5.64 m) apart for professional and collegiate play and 23 feet 4 inches (7.11 m) apart for high school play.[4][5][6] The uprights extend vertically 35 feet on professional fields, a minimum of 10 yards on college fields, and a minimum of ten feet on high school fields. Goal posts are padded at the base, and orange ribbons are normally placed at the tip of each upright.[4][5][6]

According to the high school rulebook recommendations, the field should be angled at approximately 1.2° (rising ​1⁄4 inch per foot, or 1 in 48) upward from each sideline to the center of the field so that the center is 20 inches (51 cm) higher than the sidelines.[3]

References

  1. ↑ NFL Rules 2012, p. v, 1.
  2. ↑ NCAA Rules 2011–2012, pp. 18–19, 23–24.
  3. 1 2 NFHS Rules 2012, pp. 11–12, 13, 28.
  4. 1 2 NFL Rules 2012, p. 2.
  5. 1 2 NCAA Rules 2011–2012, p. 18.
  6. 1 2 NFHS Rules 2012, p. 14.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.