Handball

Handball, any of a family of games played in walled courts or against a single wall, with a small rubber or synthetic ball that is struck with hand or fist against the wall. The object is to cause the ball to rebound with variations of power or speed and at such an angle that the opposition cannot return it. There are three versions of handball: one-wall, three-wall, and four-wall. Each may be played by two (singles) or four (doubles). Cutthroat, a three-player variation of the game, is played informally.

Handball is played today mainly in the United States, Canada, and Ireland and to some extent in Mexico, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, and France. International competition has been stimulated in recent years through invitational events conducted by Canada and the United States.

History and development

One of the oldest of ball games, handball can be traced back to the baths of Rome. Played later as a bare-handed game called pelota in Spain and France, it was the forerunner of modern jai alai. Handball was adapted in the British Isles during the 16th century and called fives.

The immediate forerunner of the modern game was developed in Ireland, where handball was played about 1,000 years ago. In the 1850s Irish town and county championships were regularly played, using a hard leather-covered ball on courts that were about 80 feet (approximately 24 meters) long and 40 feet (approximately 12 meters) wide. Irish emigrants took the game to the United States in the 1880s, and Phil Casey built a walled court in Brooklyn, New York, in 1886. Kicking was permitted, and some players developed unusual skill in returning low balls with their feet. The first international match was played in 1887 between the Irish champion, John Lawlor, and the American champion, Casey. Begun in Ireland on August 4, the match ended on Casey’s American court on November 29. Casey won, 11 games to 6, and then retained his title against all challengers until his retirement in 1897.

During the 1890s in the United States, play began with a soft ball—usually a tennis ball with the outer covering removed. This ball was used in smaller four-wall courts in the New York City area. Then young players began using this larger ball outdoors against the solid wall of a building. The use of the soft ball spread to other cities, mostly for four-wall play. Dissatisfaction with the large, slow ball led to development of a smaller gas-filled ball that proved to be more acceptable to players and stimulated new interest in the game.

The four-wall soft-ball game was taken up avidly in such Midwestern American cities as Detroit, Cleveland, Milwaukee, and Chicago. About the same time, the game underwent changes and courts were reduced in size. A one-wall game was developed in New York City about 1913, and within a few years it was played by both men and women throughout the eastern United States. It was taken indoors by the Young Men’s Christian Association and clubs and, where space in large cities was at a premium, was even installed on roofs. As a forerunner of the three-wall game, some one-wall courts were equipped on each side of the front wall with a hinged triangular wing, which swung out and locked into position along the two sidelines, forming a partial three-wall court and making difficult shots into the front corner possible.

The Irish game of handball was originally played on a hard clay floor, with one wall of stone at the front of the court, against which the ball was struck. The ball, the four-wall court, and the system of scoring were developed during the 18th century, when the game was a popular pastime in many parts of Ireland. The Irish ball has a cork or wood center covered by woolen thread and thin pieces of cork or rubber. The outer cover is of thin sheepskin. This ball is called an alley cracker, or hard ball. Some tournaments or championships are played with a soft rubber ball, but the Irish ball is the recognized championship medium. The standard ball is about 1.9 inch (4.7 cm) in diameter and weighs 1.5–1.75 ounce (43–50 g).

Rules have changed little since the 1880s, when the first Irish championships were played. For many years challenge and championship games for stakes as high as £1,000 were not uncommon. Then the Gaelic Athletic Association took over supervision of the game; betting was abolished in 1924, and Irish handball became an amateur game. Regular county, provincial, and all-Ireland championships were established. There are many courts throughout Ireland and at most schools and colleges, although a soft, rubber ball is now generally used in schools.

Handball terminology

• The wall is a playing surface that is used as part of a legal shot by a player. All three forms of handball require the front wall, while side and back walls are used in different formats.
• The front wall is the main playing wall used in all formats. A serve must reach the front wall first; a return must reach the front wall before touching the floor.
• A short line is a line in the court that determines whether a serve has traveled far enough to be legal.
• Service zone is the designated area between the service lines from which a player puts the ball into play. In four-wall handball, it is the area between the outer boundaries of the short and service lines. In one-wall handball, it is the area inside and including the short, service, and side lines.
• Receiving zone is the area beyond the short line, which lies inside the side and long lines.
• Playing zone is the area between the front wall and the side lines.
• A serve is the stroke that puts the ball into play at the beginning of a rally.
• A short serve occurs when the ball, after first hitting the front wall, rebounds to the floor in front of or on the short line.
• A side out is the end of a player’s or team’s turn of service, after which the opposing side becomes the serving side.
• An ace is a legal serve that is not touched by the receiver’s hand. It results in a point for the serving player or team.
• The rally is the sequence of play beginning with the legal serve being returned and continuing through successive legal returns until one side fails to make a legal return.
• Return is a legal stroke made as a response to an opponent’s serve or previous shot.
• A kill shot is one whose rebound is extremely difficult or impossible for the opponent to return legally.
• A two-bounce or double-bounce is a rally-ending situation in which the ball touches the floor twice before being returned. According to the rules, the ball must be returned before its second bounce.
• Singles is a format of handball played between two players.
• Doubles is a format of handball played by four players divided into two teams of two.
• Cutthroat is an informal or practice three-player format of handball. In cutthroat handball one player competes against the other two.
• An out occurs in a situation in which an individual player loses their serve.
• A fault serve is an illegal serve that does not necessarily result in an out.
• A hinder is interference that prevents a player from having a fair chance to see, reach, or return the ball.

Forms of handball

There are three forms of handball: four-wall, three-wall, and one-wall. The game can be played by two, three, or four players. It is played by striking the ball with players’ hands or fists. To win a rally, a player must serve or return the ball in a way that the opponent is unable to return the shot in accordance with the rules of the game. A game begins with a serve from the service zone. After a legal serve, the receiver returns the ball on the fly or after its first bounce on the floor, but before it bounces a second time. In order for a return to be counted as legal, it must reach the front wall before touching the floor and rebound into the playing area. On each return a player can only strike the ball once using only one hand during a rally. A game is played for 21 points. The first player or team to win two games wins the match. If both players win one game each, an 11-point tiebreaker decides the match. The formats and their courts are discussed below.

Principles of play

The ball is made of rubber or synthetic material; it is about 1.9 inches (4.8 cm) in diameter with a permitted variation of about 0.03 inch (0.08 cm). A ball is about 2.2 ounces (61 grams) in weight. Some balls might weigh less as well. Only one hand may be used in striking the ball; no other part of the body may be used. When attempting to return the ball, the player cannot strike it more than once. Gloves made of light-colored soft material or leather are generally worn to prevent moisture from affecting the ball.

To start the game a server stands anywhere within the serving zone, drops the ball to the floor, and strikes it on the first bounce with one hand, causing it to hit the front wall on the fly. In the four-wall game, the rebounding ball must land on the floor back of the short line, either before or after striking one of the sidewalls. If it does not cross this line, it is a short ball, which is a fault. Two successive faults retire the side. A fault is called if, while serving, the server steps beyond the serving zone or leaves the zone before the rebound passes the short line. In four-wall doubles, the server’s partner must remain within the service box until the rebound passes the short line; in one-wall doubles, the partner must be outside the sidelines straddling the service line. Breaches of these regulations are faults. If a server’s partner enters the playing zone before the served ball passes him, it is a fault.

The receiving side may return the serve (rebound) either on the volley (fly) or on the first bounce; the return may hit the sidewalls and must hit the front wall. In four-wall handball, the receiver or receivers must be at least 5 feet back of the short line until the server strikes the ball; in the one-wall game, the receiver must remain back of the service line until the rebound passes the short line. The rally continues, sides alternating in hitting the ball until one side misses. If a receiver misses, the server scores a point; if the serving side misses, the receiving side wins only the right to serve. The server continues to serve as long as the server scores.

In doubles each side announces its service order at the beginning of each game. Only the designated first server can serve on the first turn of each game. Thereafter, both players on either side serve in the declared order, and the side loses service only after both players have been put out.

Players must be given a fair opportunity to see and play the ball. In case of any interference the ball is called either a dead-ball hinder or an avoidable hinder. A dead-ball hinder stops the current play and the rally is replayed. An avoidable hinder, which includes failing to move sufficiently, intentionally blocking an opponent’s path, or interfering with an opponent’s stroke, results in an out or a point against the offending side.

Three-wall regulations are the same as those for four-wall, with minor differences A serve that hits the front wall but does not touch the floor until after passing the outer edge of the long line is a long serve and a fault. During a rally, a ball that strikes the front wall but does not bounce until after passing the long line is a long ball.

Any shot beyond an opponent’s reach is called a placement. The most effective placement is a kill, in which the ball rebounds at a height so low that it is impossible to return it. An ace is a legal serve that eludes the receiver. The greater variety of angle shots—for example, sidewall to front wall, ceiling to front, side to back—makes the four-wall game the most demanding form of handball. All versions require good physical condition, speed, control, and stamina, and many athletes play handball in order to condition themselves for other sports.

The common strokes used in handball are the underhand, the basic service stroke; the overhand, for high bounding balls or fly balls; and the sidearm, the best stroke for the kill shot. It is important to move into position in the court to be ready to make the return stroke. A player who can strike the ball with either hand can save energy and be a double threat to the opponent. See also Handball (team sport).