Sports Recommendation

Handball

There are many sports in the world, which are so similar in nature or the way they are played, or have such similar rules that it is easy to get confused. Handball is one of such examples. People always have trouble telling handball apart from tchoukball or basketball. In fact, combining the elements of football and basketball, handball is just as distinctive and exciting as both.

The origin of handball

Originated in Denmark, handball was invented by a Danish man named Holger Nielsen in 1898, when there were no strict restrictions on the equipment, venue and rules in place. The sport was played simply with two teams of seven players passing the ball with their hands and throwing it into the opposing team’s goal set up at the opposite ends of an indoor venue. It was as late as in 1906 that Nielsen was determined to take handball to the next level by formulating a set of rules for handball and commencing promotion, rapidly making the sport popular in the Nordic countries and well-received among fans of winter indoor sports.

After 40 years of sustained promotion of handball, countries such as Denmark and Sweden jointly founded the International Handball Federation (IHF) in 1946, in the hope of actively promoting seven-a-side handball. Thanks to the relatively smaller size of the seven-a-side court, handball games became more fast-paced and exciting, thereby drawing audience attention and players’ interest. Other countries then followed suit in promoting seven-a-side handball, and handball has gained popularity across the world since then. In the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, West Germany, handball debuted as a men’s event, officially making handball an international competitive sport.

The development and promotion of handball in Hong Kong

Handball was introduced to Hong Kong in 1970. In those early days, there were over 10 teachers, all graduating from the Department of Physical Education of National Taiwan Normal University, who believed that Hong Kong was a good place to promote handball. Subsequently, the Hong Kong Amateur Handball Association (Association) was officially founded in December that year. Since then, the Association has undertaken to organise various activities related to handball in Hong Kong, such as handball training classes, referee and coach classes, exhibition matches, handball league tournaments, etc., in a bid to introduce handball to the public and encourage their participation in the sport. Upon years of unrelenting work, the Association was eventually recognised internationally in 1975, being admitted as an official member of the IHF.

In its early years, the Association could not afford to organise activities on a regular basis due to limited budgets. It was not until the 1980s that handball developed rapidly in Hong Kong with strong support from the Government. The then Education Department even listed handball as a core course for team sports in secondary schools. Today, handball has become one of the most popular sports in Hong Kong. To promote the professional development of handball, the Association was officially renamed as the Handball Association of Hong Kong, China Limited in 2002.

In addition to having devoted increasing resources to youth training in recent years, the Association, with better equipment and refined activities, has launched the “Children’s Handball Promotion Scheme” in the 18 districts for children aged 3 to 5 and their parents, with the hope that beginners can enjoy handball from a very young age, develop better concentration, learn the importance of communication and discipline through playing.  Most importantly, they will seek happiness in activities. “Children’s handball” is a modified version of formal handball. For instance, there is no stipulation as to the size of the court, and a sponge ball and inflatable goal are used. There are also changes to the rules. For example, the ball is passed directly, instead of being thrown, to other people to help children grasp the basic skills of handball, while ensuring their safe participation in the sport. The Association hopes that participation in such playful activities will make children fall in love with the sport, thereby nurturing future elite athletes to contribute to sports development in Hong Kong.

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Playing courts and ball regulations

• Handball is played on a rectangular indoor court of 40m by 20m, with goals that are 2m tall and 3m wide.
• According to the ball regulations for competitions, a size 3 ball with a circumference of 58-60cm and weight of 425-475g is used by men’s players aged 16 or above, whereas a size 2 ball with a circumference of 54-56cm and a weight of 325-375g is used by women’s players aged 16 or above.

Regulations on teams and players

• Currently, each team in an official handball competition is comprised of 16 registered players, with their numbers ranging from 1 to 99.
• A game is played seven-a-side, meaning seven players from each team play on the field, one of which is the designated goalkeeper. The goalkeeper has to wear a jersey with distinctly different colours to the other players on the field, and players can freely switch their roles among themselves on the field.
• Each team can only send up to seven players onto the field at any time during a game. The remaining nine players are regarded as substitutes and must stay on the bench. Substitute players can enter the game at any time without notifying the referee, provided that the substituted players have left the field before they enter.
• Only goalkeepers are allowed to defend the goal with any part of their bodies inside the goal perimeter.

Game rules

• A standard match consists of two periods of 30 minutes. One point is awarded for every goal scored, and the team with more points wins.
• Players from either teams are not allowed to enter the goal perimeter. During a game, players may be in possession of the ball for up to three seconds or take three steps only while holding the ball. The ball must then be passed, dribbled or shot. In the case of dribbling, the player is allowed to take another three steps. Violation of any of such rules will result in a free throw for the other team.
• Players are allowed to throw, catch, stop, push or hit the ball with their hands, arms, head, torso, thighs and knees, but are not allowed to touch the ball with their feet or any part below the knees.
• Each team can call three timeouts per game (by the team in possession of the ball only), which lasts one minute each.
• If a 60-minute game ends in a draw and a winning team must be determined, overtimes will be played after a five-minute break.
• Overtimes consist of two 5-minute periods. If winners cannot be decided upon overtimes, a penalty shootout in which five players from each team take turns throwing the ball at the goal from behind the 7-metre line will be held until a winner is determined.

For further details of handball, please visit the website of the Handball Association of Hong Kong, China at http://www.handball.org.hk/.