🤾

Handball

✨ The Battle of agile hands

Handball is a team sport played between two teams of seven players, including a goalkeeper. The aim is to score by throwing the ball into the opponents’ goal. A standard indoor match has two 30-minute halves, with a halftime interval. The court measures 40 metres by 20 metres, and each goal is 3 metres wide and 2 metres high. Players may pass, catch, dribble and throw the ball, but they cannot deliberately use their feet or legs below the knee to play it.

The goalkeeper has specific privileges inside the goal area, while court players must respect the 6-metre goal-area line. A goal counts when the whole ball has crossed the goal line between the posts and below the crossbar. The game combines attacking and defensive phases, with rapid transitions between them. Players need to coordinate their movements with teammates while observing opponents and the position of the ball.

Handball places repeated demands on the body because players alternate between running, stopping, changing direction, jumping, throwing and physical defensive actions. Short, intense efforts depend strongly on rapid energy production, while the aerobic system contributes to sustained activity and recovery between demanding actions. Throwing performance is influenced by the coordinated movement of the legs, trunk, shoulder and arm, as well as by the speed and direction of the ball at release.

Jump shots also require precise control of body position before and during flight. Regular training can improve endurance, sprinting ability, strength, balance, coordination and technical skills such as passing and shooting. Because players repeatedly accelerate and decelerate, the muscles and joints experience substantial mechanical loads. Appropriate warm-ups, progressive training, sound technique and sufficient recovery can help reduce injury risk. The sport also develops attention and rapid decision-making, since players must constantly adapt to changing situations on the court.

💡 Did you know?

Do you know what the 'crease' (or goal area) is in handball? It's the 6-meter semi-circle in front of the goal. No player except the goalkeeper is allowed to touch the ground inside! To score, attackers must jump high and far before the line and shoot before landing. This is called a jump shot.

Modern handball was born in Northern Europe, in Denmark and Germany, at the end of the 19th century. Originally, it was played 11v11 on a large outdoor soccer field! Only later was the game moved into gyms and reduced to 7 players to become the fast-paced sport we know today.

Handball players use a special glue called 'resin' on their hands. Why? The ball is small and moves fast, so the resin helps players catch it better with one hand and apply incredible spin when shooting. By the end of the match, players' hands are often black from the dust sticking to the resin!