1. Team Handball Basic Rules
The Basics
The Playing Court: The court measures 20 meters (65' 7") by 40 meters (131' 3"). The court is larger than a basketball court, but the length may be shortened when space is limited. The goal area line, or 6-meter line (19' 8"), is the most important line. No one except the goalie is allowed to stand in the goal area. The goal opening is 2 meters by 3 meters. Players may jump into the area if the ball is released before landing in the area.
The Ball: Team handball is played with a 32-panel leather ball. For women, the ball is 54 to 56 centimeters and 325 to 400 grams. For men, it is 58 to 60 centimeters and 425 to 475 grams.
Number of Players: There are seven players on each team (six court players and one goalie). A maximum of 12 players may dress and participate in a game for each team. Substitutes may enter the game at any time through own substitution area as long as the player they are replacing has left the court.
Uniform of the Players: Player numbers are 1 to 20. Uniform shirts and shorts are the same colour. The goalkeeper must wear a different colour shirt from team mates and opponents. No jewellery is allowed.
Referees: There are two referees, a court referee and a goal line referee. Referees have complete authority: Their decisions are final. The referees are assisted by a timer and a scorer.
or 2, 20- minute halves. This is running time except for injury or one team time-out per half. The teams change benches at half-time. The game ends in a tie unless the game demands a winner. (Tournament rules dictate that a winner must be determined.) Overtime consists of 2, 5-minute periods).
Passive Play: It is illegal to keep the ball in a team's possession without making a recognizable attempt to attack and to try to score. In other words, a team cannot stall (free-throw awarded to the other team).
Throw-Off: A throw-off is taken by the team that wins the coin toss and chooses to start the game with the ball. Each team must be in its own half of the court with the defense 3 meters away from the ball. Following a whistle, the ball is passed from center court to a teammate and play begins. Throw-off is repeated after every goal scored and after half-time.
Scoring: A goal is scored when the entire ball crosses the goal line inside the goal. A goal may be scored from any throw (free-throw, throw-in, throw-off, goal-throw).
Playing The Ball
A player is allowed . . . To run with the ball for 3 steps To hold the ball for 3 seconds -Unlimited dribble with 3 steps allowed before and after dribbling (no double-dribble).
A player is NOT allowed . . .
* To endanger an opponent with the ball.
* To pull, hit or punch the ball out of the hands of an opponent. * To contact the ball below the knee.
* To dive on the floor for a rolling or stationary ball.
Defending the Opponent: A player is allowed to use the torso of the body to obstruct an opponent with or without the ball. However, using the outstretched arms or legs to obstruct, push, hold, trip or hit is NOT allowed. The attacking player is not allowed to charge into a defensive player.
Throw-In: A throw-in is awarded when ball goes out of bounds on the sideline or when the ball is last touched by a defensive player (excluding the goalie) and goes out of bounds over the endline. The throw-in is taken from the spot where the ball crossed the sideline, or if it crossed the endline, from the nearest corner. The thrower must place one foot on the sideline to execute the throw. All opposing players must stay 3 meters away from the ball.
Referee Throw: A referee throw is awarded when . . . The ball touches anything above the court after a simultaneous infringement of the rules after simultaneous possession of the ball.
Free-Throw: For a minor foul or violation, a free-throw is awarded to the opponent at the exact spot it took place. If the foul or violation occurs between the goal area line and the 9-meter line, the throw is taken from the nearest post outside the 9-meter line. The thrower must keep one foot in contact with the floor, then pass or shoot.
7-Meter Throw: The 7-meter throw is awarded when . . .
* A foul destroys a clear chance to score
* The goalie carries the ball back into his or her own goal area
* A court player intentionally plays the ball to his or her own goalie in the goal area and the goalie touches the ball
* A defensive player enters his or her goal area to gain an advantage over an attacking player in possession of the ball.
All players must be outside the free-throw line when the throw is taken. The player taking the throw has 3 seconds to shoot after referee's whistle. Any player may take the 7-meter throw.
Goal-Throw: A goal-throw is awarded when . . . The ball rebounds off the goalkeeper over the end line The ball is thrown over the end line by the attacking team.
The goalie takes the throw inside the goal area and is not restricted by the 3-step/3-second rule.
Progressive Punishments
Progressive Punishments: Pertain to fouls that require more punishment than just a free-throw. "Actions" directed mainly at the opponent and not the ball (such as reaching around, holding, pushing, hitting, tripping and jumping into an opponent) are to be punished progressively.
Warnings (yellow card): The referee gives only one warning to a player for rule violations and a total of three to a team. Exceeding these limits results in 2-minute suspensions thereafter. Warnings are not required prior to giving out a 2-minute
suspension. 2minute suspensions awarded for . . . Serious or repeated rules violations -Unsportsmanlike conduct -Illegal substitution. -The suspended player's team plays short for 2 minutes.
Disqualification and Exclusion (red card): A disqualification is the equivalent of three, 2-minute suspensions. A disqualified player must leave court and bench, but the team can replace player after the 2-minute suspension expires. An exclusion is given for assault. The excluded player's team continues short one player for the rest of the game.
There are 14 players in each team in handball, with seven on the pitch at any one time. They consist of a goalkeeper, two full backs, two wingers, a circle runner and a centre.
2. Playing positions:
Centre – a creative player who directs play in both defence and attack. Also known as the ‘playmaker’ and sets up the tactics and the players in shooting positions.
Left and right back – usually the largest players on the team. When defending, they try to block shots, and in attack they are the long-range shooters.
Circle runner – the creative force in attack and disruption to opponents when defending. The circle runner is quick and gets in among opposing defenders to either create openings for teammates or to get into a good scoring position themselves.
Left and right wingers – the fast players who patrol the sides of the court. They counter opposing wingers and in attack look to create openings for others, or shoot from the more difficult angles.
Substitutes – substitution is allowed at any moment, without limit and without time stoppage. There are seven substitutes on the sidelines for each side.
The officials – there are four officials: a scorekeeper; a timekeeper, and two referees who control the play at close quarters.
3. Game Phases
Attacking: It takes place when a player of the team has the ball
Defense: It takes place when the other team enjoys the possession of the ball
Counterattack: A game situation during which a team tries a quick attack right after recovering the possession of the ball, taking advantage of a non-organized defense. Backing up: Defensive tactic that enables the defenders to go back to their defending positions without letting the other team members score as result of a counterattack.
4. Game roles when attacking and defending
Keep the possesion of the ball Get the ball
Attack with width Avoid the opponent’s progression
Score Shield the goal
5.- Systems of playing
Attacking Defending
ATTACKING
BA
C
KI
N
G
U
P
DEFENSE CO U NT ER AT TA CK
Attacking
Open spaces make it easier for the attacking team to score. If the circulation of the ball is smart and quick the defenders will find some difficulties in closing those spaces. There usually are some variations to the attacking system of playing. In both offense and defense the players have assigned positions on the court which have been previously trained. It is very important to know the other team’s tactics and to be able to meet the different game situations during a match.
System 3-3
It’s a classical system, often used when attacking a 6:0 defense. The circle runner moves along the 6 meter line while back and wing players move the ball quickly..
System 2-4
It’s a 2 lines system where back players try to break through by a triangle mode.
Counterattack
Defending
The defending team must be constantly moving in order to avoid the opponents breaking through.
Defense 6-0
This system is simple and fundamental. You can use it against any attacking line up. The objective is avoiding easy throwings to the defended goal. Each player covers an area of the court and he/she helps the other players sliding back and forth to close open spaces.
Defense 5-1
Thanks to this system the defenders shield the goal from center throwings, which have a wider angle at the goal. It is an advisable defending resource in case the opponent has good throwers.
Defense 3-3
You see this distribution of players when the defense is backing up after loosing the ball. This system is good for setting the marks on certain players and individual actions are often demonstrated.
Defense 1 on 1
Team Handball Glossary
Advantage: The referee's decision not to call a foul if it would be to the advantage of the team that committed the foul.
Backcourt Player: There is a Left and a Right Backcourt Player. On defense they try to cover the circle and get in-between the goal and the attacking players to prevent shots on goal. On offense they stay back away from the opposing teams players so they have a chance to make a running throw.
Ball: The ball has a leather covering and has a circumference, in the men's game of 58-60 centimeters and for the women's game 54-56 centimeters.
Center: On offense this player directs the offense and on defense directs his / her teams defensive strategy.
Center Line: This is a line that goes across the field at mid-field. This line divides the court into two halves.
Circle Runner: They are primarily an offensive player who tries to get past the opposing sides defenses and score goals, or else force defenders to guard them and thereby creates scoring opportunities for his / her teammates.
Coach: They coach the team, substituting players, etc. The coach is the only person who is allowed to talk to the referee, the timekeeper or the secretary.
Corner Throw: When a defender, other than the goalkeeper, has knocked the ball over the back line, the team on offense throws the ball back inbounds from a corner closest to where the ball went out of bounds.
Court: What the playing field in team handball is called. The Court is 40 meters (44 yards) long and 20 meters (22 yards) wide.
Disqualification: When a player is asked to leave the game and the court and to not return. This happens when a player commits a serious infraction of the rules. The referee holds up a red card to indicate the player is out of the game. The team the player plays for then must choose a player to serve a two-minute suspension thus reducing the team's strength by one player for two minutes.
Dribble: A player is only allowed to take three steps before they must pass or shoot the ball. If however a player takes three steps and then bounces the ball, they can take another three steps then they must pass the ball. See Three Step / Three Second Rule.
Duration: See Length of Game.
Exclusion: See Suspension.
Extra Time: These are two five-minute periods that are added on to the end of the game if the game is tied after regulation time has ended.
Fallaway Throw: When a player jumps in the air and while in the air turns their body so that they are horizontal in the air. Thus, hopefully, being able to get around the defender and get a clean shot on goal.
Field (Court): See Court.
Four Meter Line: This line is four meters in front of the goal indicating the outermost distance a goalkeeper is allowed go away from the goal when an opponent is taking a 7-meter penalty throw.
Free Throw: A Free Throw given to a team after a violation of the rules by the other team. The Free Throw is taken from where the foul took place or from the nine-meter line. The defensive players must stand at least three meters away from the shooter.
this is the nine-meter line. The nine-meter line is the free throw line and is where free throws are taken from. See Basics of the Game for complete details.
Goal: The Goal is 3 meters (9 feet 9 inches) wide and 2 meters (6 feet 6 inches) tall. The two front goal posts are on the goal line, and a net is attached to the frame of the goal to catch balls that are scored on goal.
Goal Area: This is the area defined by the solid semi-circle line that is six meters in front of the goal.
Goal Area Line: See Six-Meter Line.
Goal Line: The line that is in-between the goal posts that the ball must go entirely over for a goal to be a legal score.
Goal Throw: The goalkeeper throws the ball back in-bounds after they or an opposing player has knocked the ball over the back line.
Goalkeeper: The player who protects the goal and tries to keep the opposition from scoring.
Goalkeeper's Restraining Line: See Four-Meter Line.
Green Card: This card is shown by a team to ask for a time out. See Team Time-out
Jump Throw: A running shot where an offensive player will leap above defenders, with the objective of being above the defenders so they can get a clean shot at the goal.
Length of Game: Handball has two 30-minutes halves and a ten-minute halftime.
Nine-meter Line: The broken semi-circle line that is nine meters in front of the goal, it is from this line the offensive team will take a free throw if they have been fouled inside the line.
Officials: See Referees
Pass: To throw the ball to a teammate. Because of the three step / three second rule passing the ball to teammates is a very important skill in team handball.
Penalty Line: This is a line one-meter long, which is seven meters in front of the goal. It is from this line that penalty throws are taken. See also Seven-meter line.
Penalty Throw: A Penalty shot is awarded for serious violations of the rules or illegal disruption of scoring chances by the offense. A Penalty Shot is taken from the seven-meter line with the goal being defended only by the goalkeeper. See also Seven-meter throw.
Pivot: See Center.
Players: See Team
Red Card: A Red Card is given out by the referee to expel a player from the game.
Referees: There are 2 referees and they control the game and enforce the rules. As the two teams move up and down the field the referees switch back and forth between being a goal referee and a center referee.
Referee Throw: Like a jump ball in basketball. The referee throws the ball in the air between two players who can try to tip it only after it reaches its highest point. The Referee Throw takes place when a player on each violates the rules simultaneously, the ball touches a piece of fixed equipment on the court or other instances when neither team can be blamed for the ball going out of play.
Running Shot: When a player is running with the ball and takes a shot on goal.
Secretary: He / she helps the referees, keeps the scorecard and controls the player list.
Seven-meter Line: This is a line one-meter long, which is seven meters in front of the goal. It is from this line that penalty throws are taken. See also Penalty line.
Seven-meter Throw: A Seven-meter Throw is awarded for serious violations of the rules or illegal disruption of scoring chances by the offense. A Seven-meter Throw is taken from the seven-meter line with the goal being defended only by the goalkeeper. See also Penalty Shot.
Shoot-out: A method for breaking tie games. Players take penalty throws and when one makes a goal and the other team misses, then the scoring team wins. Shoot-outs come about if a game is still tied after extra time.
Sideline: The line that runs lengthwise down the side of the court.
Six-meter Line: The semi-circle that is in front of the goal that is six meters from the goal.
Standing Throw: A standing throw is a throw where the offensive player is standing with both feet on the ground. This is a hard throw taken by a player who is a fair distance away from the goal. But because he is not close to the goal he might be able to surprise the goalkeeper by shooting the ball.
Start Of Game: The two captains of the teams toss a coin to determine which team will get the ball first. A player from the winning team will start the ball at center court and pass it to a teammate.
Suspension: A player is suspended from the game for a period of two-minutes, for a serious rules violation or for un-sportsmanlike conduct. The player is usually given a warning first. The referee raises his arm with two fingers extended to indicate the player has been suspended.
Team: There can be up to twelve members on a handball team. There can only be 7 players on the court at one time per team six fielders and one goalkeeper.
Team Time-Out: A team asks for a one-minute time-out by holding up a green card.
Three Step / Three Second Rule: This is a rule in handball that says you can take three steps and then shoot or pass the ball, or have the ball three seconds and then either shoot or pass the ball. The exception to this is if you dribble the ball. See Dribble
Throw-In: A team gets a throw-in if their opponents have knocked the ball out of bounds over the sideline or if the defensive team knocks the ball over its own back line. The throw-in takes place from the spot where the ball went out of bounds, except for corner throws.
Throw-Off: This is used to start play at the beginning of each half or after a goal has been scored. A player at the centerline throws the ball back to a teammate, who is behind the line,
Timekeeper: This is the official who keeps track of playing time, and who also helps the scorekeeper keep track of suspensions and substitutions.
Time-Out: A stoppage of play called at the referee's judgment and signaled with three short blows on their whistle, while at the same time making a "T" sign with their hands.
Wing Right and Left: When a team is attacking the "wingers" run down the side of the field to try and create scoring opportunities for themselves. On defense they play against the opposing teams wingers and always try to keep them from getting behind them because it would be easier for them to score if they got the ball.
