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This image is from the Sochi Winter Olympics:
Why is Women Body Checking different from a regular Body Check?
I mean, pretty sure not every penalty was preceded by Women's in the match (like Women High Sticking or Women Hooking) so why is Body Checking seemingly in a different category?
In short, body checking in women's hockey is prohibited while body checking in men's hockey is not.
In essence, while the act of body checking is self-explanatory, a Woman's Body Check denotes an illegal act while a Body Check denotes the act itself, which is common in men's hockey.
Rule 604 in USA Hockey states:
Body checking is prohibited in the 12 & under youth age classification and below and all Girls’/Women’s age classifications.
Body checking is also prohibited in all non-check Adult classifications.
A local governing body may prohibit body checking in any classification.
