HANDBALL

Handball is a ball sport played by two teams one against the other. Each team has got seven players (six players and one goal keeper). The objective is to score a goal with the ball in the opposite goal throwing the ball from outside of the goalkeeper area. Its a relatively new sport which dates back to the first quarter of the 20th century. In ancient Greece there was a game called Uranas game, which was played with a ball as small as an apple, that had to be in the air during the entire game.

In 1965 the Olympic Committee recognised indoor handball as an olympic sport. The 1972 Olympic Games was the first time this sport was played but only by men. Womens discipline of handball appeared in 1976 in the Montreal Olympic Games.

BASIC RULES

TIME OF THE GAME

A handball match length two times of 30 minutes each, with a short break of ten minutes.

PLAYERS
There are 12 players on each team. Seven are playing (six players and one goalkeeper), the other five players would be on the bench.

ROLES OF PLAYERS

Goalkeeper: They are the first defender of his/her team. The goalkeeper can play the game outside the goal area are but if he/she does so, he will have to play with the same rules as if he were an ordinary player.

Pivot: this player is fighting against the opposite defense trying to clear the way to the area and pass the ball easily to his/her mates.

Lateral players: they are excellent good throwers and they move very fast with a good control of the ball.

Extreme players: They allow the game to take place on both sides of the court.

Central player: This player organizes the offensive game setting up the rhythm of the match and assign the game.

SCORE
Each time the ball gets past the goalkeeper and into the goal, one point is scored.

START OF THE GAME

In order to decide who start the game, a draw is done. The team who wins will start the game in the next three seconds.

THE COURT OF THE GAME

HOW TO PLAY THE GAME YOU ARE ALLOWED TO:

Play the ball with your body, from your knee up to the head. Throw, hit and push the ball. Hold it in your arms 3 seconds mximum. Three steps with the ball in your hands (you could bound the ball and take three more steps). Take the ball from your opponent hands, without violence and open palm. Obstruct with your body the way of the opponent.

YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO:

Make the ball hit the ground by using your knee. Throw oneself over the ball. Throw the ball strongly to an opponent..

 Enter inside the goal area. Neither to step on the line of the goal area. Just in case the player jumps and throws the ball in the air he/she could step into the goal area. The goalkeeper is the only player who is allowed to be inside this area. Rob the ball with violence. Obstruct the way of the opponent with arms or legs. Push the opponent, grab him or her Steps: more than three steps without bouncing the ball. Double fault: To bounce the ball after you took it in your hands. 3 seconds: when you receive the ball you have three seconds to pass, throw or bound the ball. Passive game: If a team deliberately delays the game or are too slow in throwing a goal, they are punished.

BALL OUT OF THE COURT

If the goalkeeper sends the ball out from the goal line, he will start the game again. In this case it would be the defender who sends the ball out from the goal line, it will be the other team that will start the game from the corner. If the team sends the ball out from the side line, it will be the other team that will start from that place.

PENALTY
When a player is going to score a goal with a good opportunity to score and a fault is committed to him/her, the referee will set a penalty. The penalty is thrown from the seven meters line. The goalkeeper will be four meters from the goal. All players will be in the nine meters line (free throw line).

FOUL
All fouls are drawn from the place they were committed. If the foul is commited between the six and nine meters line, it will be drawn from the nine meters line.

DISCIPLINE SANCTIONS
Golpe franco: Its like a foul that is drawn from the discontinuous line. Booking: Yellow card, it means a warning. A second booking would be an exclusion. Each team has got three exclusions. Exclusion: Two minutes out of the court for that player. It will be shown by the referee with his hand. Disqualification: Red card. The player has to leave the match and also the bench. Two minutes later another player will replace his/her place in the match. Sending-off: The referee crosses his hands over his head, meaning that the player will have to leave the court absolutely. His/her team will play the rest of the match with one player less.

BASIC TECHNIQUES IN HANDBALL

GRABBING THE BALL: except when we receive the ball, we hold the ball with one hand. RECEPTION: receive the ball flexing both hands. Hold it with both hands and take it near to your chest. THE PASS: Try to pass fast and straight, directly to the chest of your mate. BOUND: It is used by a player to move with the ball, mainly in the counterattack. DUMMY: These are movements to fool or to deceive some player from the opposite team. It is used to slip the coverage, to throw or to pass the ball. THROWING: This action is made to goal. There are many kinds of throws.

BASIC TACTICS IN HANDBALL The tactic is the strategy that the player and the team use to achieve their objectives. It is used in attack and also in defense. These are the phases in handball:

ATTACK >>>> FALL BACK >>>> DEFENSE >>>> COUNTERATTACK

HOW TO ATTACK?
IF YOU HAVE POSSESSION OF THE BALL: ... and you dont have any defender close to you Throw to goal! ... but if the defender is near, try to beat your opponent, bound the ball, using dummies, passing and throwing IF YOU DONT HAVE THE BALL: You can help: be close to your teammates (but not too close) so youll be able to receive a pass if they need it. To slip ones marker: Get free from your defender with a dummy to be alone and receive a pass and be able to throw to goal.

HOW TO DEFEND?
TO THE PLAYER WITH THE BALL Stay between the player and your goal.

 Hold up your hand and put it in front of your opponents hand-ball. Place the other hand on his/her waist to avoid him to advance. The Block: It means to block or tackle, to stop the ball when an opponent is throwing towards the goal. We raise both arms when the player is throwing. We must joint both hands and turn our fingers as tight as a stone to avoid hurting ourselves.

ATACK SYSTEMS
The team playing in attack has got a bigger opportunity to penetrate the goal if players are spread and separated, and also when the movement of the ball is fluid, because defenders have to move all the time. Some common systems atack are the 3-3, the 2-4, as well as the counter atack.

DEFENSE SYSTEMS
The objective of the defense is to avoid a goal and try to recover the ball as soon as possible. The defender team has to move constantly around the goalkeeper area. The thickness of the defense

is made to avoid the penetration of the atack players. There are many ways of organising the defence. The 6-0, 3-3 (in two rows) and 5-1 . These are very common systems , although there are variations depending on the type of atack.