Backyard rink lines: hockey markings scaled to your rink
A full-size hockey rink is 200 by 85 ft. A backyard rink is much smaller, so the markings need shrinking. This page lists the full-size numbers from the NHL rulebook, then scales them to three common backyard sizes and explains how. The scaling is my own choice, since no rulebook covers backyard rinks. It also works for choosing where to place a goal or paint a few lines on the ice.
Full-size markings
Source: NHL Official Rules 2022-2023, Rule 1 (Rink). I opened the PDF and the quotes below are from rules 1.2, 1.5, 1.7 and 1.9. The other hockey rulebooks (USA Hockey, Hockey Canada, IIHF) are not used here, so their numbers may differ.
| Marking | Rulebook text |
|---|---|
| Rink size (1.2) | “two hundred feet (200') long and eighty-five feet (85') wide”. Corners: “a radius of twenty-eight feet (28')”. |
| Goal line (1.5) | “Eleven feet (11') from each end of the rink”, a red line “two inches (2") wide” across the ice. |
| Blue lines (1.5) | “twelve inches (12'') in width, and blue in color, drawn sixty-four feet (64') out from the goal lines”. |
| Center line (1.5) | “twelve inches (12'') in width and red in color, drawn completely across the rink in center ice”. |
| Center circle (1.9) | A 12 in blue spot in the center, “a circle of fifteen feet (15') radius” around it, “a blue line two inches (2'') in width”. |
| Neutral-zone spots (1.9) | Red spots two feet in diameter “in the neutral zone five feet (5') from each blue line”, “forty-four feet (44') apart” (across the rink). |
| End-zone spots (1.9) | “Along a line twenty feet (20') from each goal line and parallel to it, mark two points twenty-two feet (22') on both sides of the straight line joining the center of the two goals.” Circles are “a radius of fifteen feet (15')”. |
| Goal crease (1.7) | “A semi-circle line six feet (6') in radius and two inches (2") in width”, centered on the middle of the goal line. |
Two readings are mine. The rulebook does not say which edge of a line the distances run to, so I measure to the line's center. And the end-zone spot sits 11 + 20 = 31 ft from the end boards, which I added up from the quotes above.
How I scale it
These are my choices, labeled so you can pick differently.
- Along the rink, every distance is multiplied by your length divided by 200. A 40 ft rink uses 0.2, so the blue line at 75 ft becomes 15 ft.
- Across the rink, the 22 ft face-off spot offset is multiplied by your width divided by 85.
- Circles and the crease use the smaller of those two factors, so a circle stays a circle and fits the rink. That makes them a little smaller than the width factor alone would.
- Line widths are left alone. A 12 in blue line on a 20 by 40 ft rink would be 2.4 in if scaled; use whatever width your marker or paint roller gives you.
- Corners are skipped. The rulebook corner radius of 28 ft would be about 5.6 ft at 0.2, which only matters if your boards are curved.
Pwice gives 20 by 40 ft as the minimum for family recreation (see the rink size guide). At that size the goal line is only 2 ft 2 in from the boards, and the end-zone circle ends up 3 ft in radius, so you may want to leave out the end-zone circles and mark only the lines.
Scaled to common backyard sizes
Distances are rounded to the nearest inch. Sizes are width by length in feet.
| Marking | Full size | 20 × 40 ft | 30 × 60 ft | 40 × 80 ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goal line, from the end boards | 11 ft | 2 ft 2 in | 3 ft 4 in | 4 ft 5 in |
| Blue line, from the end boards (11 + 64) | 75 ft | 15 ft | 22 ft 6 in | 30 ft |
| Center red line, from the end boards | 100 ft | 20 ft | 30 ft | 40 ft |
| End-zone face-off spots, from the end boards (11 + 20) | 31 ft | 6 ft 2 in | 9 ft 4 in | 12 ft 5 in |
| Neutral-zone spots, from the nearest blue line | 5 ft | 1 ft | 1 ft 6 in | 2 ft |
| Face-off spots, each side of the rink center line | 22 ft | 5 ft 2 in | 7 ft 9 in | 10 ft 4 in |
| Face-off circle radius | 15 ft | 3 ft | 4 ft 6 in | 6 ft |
| Goal crease semicircle radius | 6 ft | 1 ft 2 in | 1 ft 10 in | 2 ft 5 in |
Scale factors: 20 × 40 ft uses 0.2 along, 0.235 across and 0.2 for circles; 30 × 60 ft uses 0.3 along, 0.353 across and 0.3 for circles; 40 × 80 ft uses 0.4 along, 0.471 across and 0.4 for circles.
Paint and dye amounts
I found no source I could open that gives coverage for ice paint or dye, so this page gives no amounts. Check the label of whatever product you buy. The rulebook names paint codes for full-size rinks (PMS 286 for blue lines, PMS 186 for red), which is as far as it goes.
Marking out the numbers
- Find the center. Measure half the length and half the width, and mark where they cross.
- Run the long lines first. Stretch a tape from the end boards to the goal line distance, the blue line distance and the center. Mark each at both side boards and join them with a string.
- Add the spots. Measure the spot distance from the end boards along the center line, then the sideways offset to each side.
- Draw circles with a string. Tie a loop at the spot, hold the other end at the radius and trace around.
Related
- What size backyard rink to build
- How to resurface a backyard rink: smooth the ice before you mark it
- Backyard rink calculator: water and liner for your size