Olympic Handball

Handball is a combination of Basketball, Soccer and Netball.   It is played indoors on a court about the size of two basketball courts.  At the each end of the court is a net which is 9 feet wide by 6 1/2 feet high.  The objective of the game is simply to score more goals than the other team.

The ball is generally moved around the court by passing to each other.  However, the ball can be bounce, but like in basketball you cannot double- bounce. You can bounce for as long as you want .You can only take at most three steps after catching a pass.  You cannot keep the ball for more than three seconds without passing it.  If a player is fouled he is allowed a free zone 9 feet wide to restart play.  Each team has 12 members, two of which are goalkeepers.  7 team members’ play and substitutions can be made at any time.  There is a halfway line on the court.  There is also a safety area that extends about 20 feet around the goal.  A player is not allowed to be in this area.  Shooters may leap into this area if they shoot before they land.

If there is a penalty a player is warned.  The next two penalties are two-minute suspensions.  After that players can be ineligible (which means they are detached, but can be replaced after two minutes).  They can also be excluded, which means they cannot be replaced and the team will have one less player on the court.

Each goal counts as 1 point.  Usually 20 goals are scored in a game.   The games consists of two 30 minute halves with a 10 minute rest period in between the halves.  The handball weighs 16 ounces (13 ounces for women) and is about the size of a cantaloupe.

The handball game of today was shaped by the end of the 19th century in northern Europe, mainly Denmark, Germany, Norway and Sweden. The first written set of team handball rules was published in 1906 by the Danish gym teacher. The modern set of rules was available on 29 October 1917 by Max Heiser, Karl Schelenz, and Erich Konigh from Germany. After 1919 these rules were improved by Karl Schelenz. The first international games were played under these rules, between Germany and Belgium for men in 1925 and between Germany and Austria for women in 1930. Therefore modern handball is generally seen as a game of German origins.

Men's field handball was played at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. Women's team handball was added at the 1976 Summer Olympics.

London 2012 Olympic will see Handball being contested in Copper Box– Olympic Park Basketball Arena from Saturday 28 July – Sunday 12 August. Handball fans can get their Olympic Handball Tickets from Global Ticket Market. Handball Tickets are now available for reservation at Global Ticket Market at affordable price. Olympic Games fans should be active fast to guarantee their London Olympic Tickets from Global Ticket Market.