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Two ice hockey stick fouls mimed with the same two hands, distinguished by the direction of the motion.
Cross-checking is signalled by thrusting both fists forward from the chest, miming a stick driven into an opponent. Hooking is signalled by drawing both arms backward toward the waist, miming a stick pulled against them. Same equipment, opposite direction, different offence — and at the speed the signal is given, direction is the only thing separating them.
Cross-checking thrusts the stick forward; hooking pulls it backward.
| Cross-checking signal | Hooking signal | |
|---|---|---|
| Direction of the motion | Forward, away from the body. | Backward, toward the waist. |
| Offence mimed | Striking with the shaft held in both hands. | Impeding by pulling with the blade. |
| Relationship (from Symbolwise's records) | Commonly confused with Hooking signal — Cross-checking thrusts the stick forward; hooking pulls it backward. | Commonly confused with Cross-checking signal — Hooking pulls backward with the stick; cross-checking thrusts it forward. |
Officiating signals of the court and rink sports
FIBA, FIVB, IIHF and comparable governing bodies · retrieved 2026-08-27
The governing bodies of basketball, volleyball and ice hockey, cited for their published officiating signals. National and professional leagues vary these and a record describing a league variation says which league.
Both arms sweeping forward means play continues and no kick is coming. One arm straight up means a kick is coming and cannot score directly. Confusing them changes whether players expect a stoppage.
The plain black flag excludes the competitor: their race is over. The black flag with an orange disc reports a mechanical problem that endangers others and sends the driver to the pits to have it fixed, after which they may rejoin. Both are shown with a number board, both are black, and confusing them costs a competitor a race they could have finished.
A cross means all ten pins fell to the first ball; a forward slash means it took two. The cross carries two deliveries of bonus and the slash only one, which is why three strikes are needed for a frame to reach thirty.
The exclamation mark praises a move, the question mark criticises it. Neither is defined by FIDE: unlike the rest of chess notation these are publishing convention, and two annotators may disagree about the same move.