We explain what handball is, what its court is like, rules and positions. In addition, we tell you its history and what the objective of the game is.
What is handball?
Handball is a sport in which two teams compete for control of an inflated ball, using their hands to control it and throw it into the opponent’s goal, which is equivalent to scoring a goal. It is played both outdoors and indoors and each team is made up of around 7 people.
Handball is a very popular sport in Europe, but is rather rare in the rest of the world, with the exception of some American countries such as Brazil and Argentina, African countries such as Tunisia, Egypt and Algeria, and the only Asian exception being South Korea. There are professional leagues for both men and women in these countries, and national, regional and even world competitions organised by the International Handball Federation (IHF), based in Basel, Switzerland. You must read about Characteristic once.
This sport should not be confused with wall handball, also called fronton, wallball or 1-wall, a sport in which two players compete for control of a ball by bouncing it against a wall. In English-speaking countries, it is common to refer to this sport as handball and to handball as team handball.
History of handball
Handball has important antecedents in various games played in ancient Greece and ancient Rome, such as the “game of Urania” mentioned in Homer’s Odyssey, and of which paintings were found in Athens in 1926.
However, the sport itself is very young and its first professional groups emerged in central and northern Europe in the 20th century. At that time it was played in a similar way to football, in teams of 11 players, as it is still played in some European countries. Its creation is attributed to the German physical education teacher Karl Schelenz (1890-1956).
In 1926, the international rules of the sport were established and in 1928 the International Amateur Handball Federation was founded during the IX Summer Olympic Games. This organisation later became the International Handball Federation, and in 1954 it organised its first world competition for men, and three years later its first for women.
In the 1960s, the International Olympic Committee approved the practice of handball, and from 1972 it was incorporated into the Olympic Games. Maybe you should definitely read about Double Entry Table once.
Handball game objective
The objective of handball is to score as many goals as possible, while preventing the opponent from doing the same. To do this, the ball must be controlled most of the time and must be made to enter the opposing team’s goal as many times as possible. At the end of the match, the team that has scored the most goals is declared the winner.
Duration and result
A typical handball game lasts about an hour, divided into two periods of thirty minutes each. For youth teams, this period can be shortened to 25 or 20 minutes per period. Between periods there is a mandatory 10-minute break.
At the end of this period, whoever has scored the most goals is declared the winner. In the event of a tie, a further 5-minute break is granted and then extra time is played in two 5-minute periods, with a minute’s break between the two. If the score is still tied, the procedure will be repeated. If there is still no decisive result, the winning team will be determined by five successive throws of seven meters (7 m) per team, until a winner is determined.
Handball court and positions
Positions in Handball:
- Goalkeeper
- Left wing
- Left back
- Middle back
- Line player
- Right back
- Right wing
The typical handball court is 40 meters long and 20 meters wide (for 7 players, usually indoors) or 90-110 meters long and 55-65 meters long (for 11 players, usually outdoors).
The goals are usually 2 meters high and 3 meters wide, although in the 11-player version they can be even larger, and the goal line (which limits the closest point to the goal from which the ball can be thrown towards the goal) varies between 6 and 13 meters from the goal, depending on the version of the game.
Each goal is in the possession of a goalkeeper, who is able to touch the ball with any part of his body and whose mission is to prevent the opponent from scoring goals. The other players, who can only touch the ball with their hands, are organized according to different positions:
- Center: A leading position in the construction of the play, which serves as the team’s articulator both in defense and attack. Normally, he is the one who receives the ball from the goalkeeper to start the attack, and what is important, more than his strength and skill, is his ability to observe and plan the game.
- Extreme: An attacking position, located on each side of the field, his mission is to sneak past the opposing defenses, which is why they are usually agile, fast and lightweight players.
- Side: An assisting position for goals, they are located on the sides of the center and are usually very tall, corpulent players with a powerful shot. They play a key role in defense.
- Forward: Offensive position, equivalent to the forward in football, whose mission is to open spaces in the rival defence. They are usually robust players and skilled in hand-to-hand combat.
Handball rules
The rules of the game are simple: players must control the ball using only their hands and advance by passing and running within the opponent’s court, until they achieve an advantageous position to throw the ball towards the goal. Only goalkeepers can use any part of their body to intercept the ball.
However, players in possession of the ball can only take three steps before making a pass or shooting towards the goal. If they wish to take more continuous steps, they must bounce the ball against the ground. The game is fluid and is only interrupted when the referee decides so.
Contact between players is continuous and frequent, and players are allowed to face each other face to face and obstruct the opponent’s progress, but at no time can they hit, push or attack each other. Players who act in an unlawful manner may be sanctioned with a yellow card and 2 minutes offside; if sanctioned three times in the same match, the player must leave the match (red card).
