LEARN, LIVE & PLAY WITH THE IHF YOUNGSTERS

“Hi Handball Friends!

It’s great that you want to learn moreabout the rules of handball!In this booklet we will explain everything you need to know -

have fun and play fair!

Handball rules

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“Learn, live and play with the IHF-Youngsters”

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Handball is a very fast, dynamic and tricky game. Learn to play handball is very easy and once you have learned it, you canhave a lot of fun playing together with your friends. But whenplaying handball, it is necessary to know some of the rules.

A referee whistles the game and makes sure that all childrenplay according to the rules. He is your friend and always thereto help you. If you have questions, he will be happy to answerthem and he will also explain to you what you are allowed todo and what you are not allowed to do. If you know the rules,maybe you can even act as a referee one day.

In this booklet the IHF Youngsters will explain to you, what isallowed in playing handball, what you need to pay attentionto when playing against others and what you are allowed todo as a goalkeeper. The IHF Youngsters are five girls and boysfrom all five continents, because – as you can see – handball isplayed all over the world and more and more children are becoming handball fans. Talk to your friends about the rules ofhandball and try to play together.

Play handball and have fun – it’s great!

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Handball - The basics

Attacker

Defender

Referees

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Technical facilities:• Not all balls have the same size. There are specialballs for men, women and children. • The playing court is 40 metres long and 20 metre wide. • Handball goals are 2 metres high and 3 metres wide.• The semi-circle around the goal is the goal area, whichcourt players are not allowed to enter.

Basic rules:• 2 teams with 6 court players and 1 goalkeeper each compete.

• All court players of a team wear the same coloureduniform. Only the goalkeeper’s uniform has a different colour.

• The goalkeeper can also act as a court player. • Players can be substituted at any time during the game.

• Two referees lead the match. If players don’t playaccording to the rules, they will be punished by thereferees.

• Referees can punish players by showing the yellowcard as a warning, by giving a 2 minute suspensionor by showing the red card to disqualify the player.

• The playing time is two halves of 30 minutes witha half-time break inbetween.

Mini Handball

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Minihandball 4+1 is the handball game for children. Boys and girls playtogether in one team. The aim of the game is to throw the ball into thegoal of the opposing team and to avoid throws at the own goal.

Children play on a smaller field than adults, they play with a lighterand smaller ball and also the goals are smaller. At the beginning, fourplayers and one goalkeeper of each team are on the field. The otherplayers wait on the bench until it is their time to play. The players onthe field change with the players on the bench on a regular basis, thusmaking sure that all players have a turn.

4 players and a goalkeeper

An older youngster or anadult acts as referee. Now we will explain themost important rules to you.Whenever you see this pic-ture of a referee, we descri-be a breach of the rules,where the referee has towhistle.

If you’ve got the ball,…

…you are allowed to take one, two orthree steps with the ball in your handand then throw the ball at the goal.

... you are allowed to bounce the ball on the ground as many times as you want. If you take the ball in both hands…

…you are allowed to pass it to a teammate.

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If you’ve got the ball,…

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…you are not allowed to hold it inyour hands for more than 3 seconds –otherwise the referee will whistle.

…you are allowed to bounce it onthe ground as many times as youwant. But when you hold the ballin both hands,…

… you are not allowed to startbouncing again, otherwise thereferee will whistle.

If you throw the ball at the goal,…

… you can fly into the goal areawith the ball in your hand, if you jumpoff before entering the goal area.

… you are not allowed to enter thegoal area with the ball in yourhand, otherwise the referee will whistle.

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If you, as an attacking player, have an opponent,

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… you are not allowed to bringthe ball to the face of your opponent. Otherwise the refe-ree will whistle.

…you are allowed to protect theball with your body. But you arenot allowed to…

…run right into your opponentwith the ball in your hand. Other-wise the referee will whistle.

If you are a defence player,…

…you are not allowed to push orhold your opponent, if he/shehas the ball.

…your are not allowed to push orhold your opponent, even ifhe/she doesn’t have the ball.

…your are not allowed to stand inthe goal area or to cross it whiledefending.

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You are a good defence player:

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… you are not allowed to hitthe ball out of your oppo-nent’s hands.

…you are not allowed tosnatch the ball out of yourpponent’s hands.

… you are not allowed to in-terfere your opponent byusing your feet.

You are a good defence player:

Always try to stand in betweenyour opponent and your goal andto prevent your opponent fromthrowing at the goal.

Always play fair on your oppo-nent. If he/she succeeds in thro-wing at the goal – let him/herthrow.

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If you are a goalkeeper,...

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… you are allowed to use allparts of your body to safe theball.

…you are allowed to leavethe goal area, to catch theball and to play along.

…you are allowed to passthe ball out of the goal areato one of your teammates.

…you are not allowed to bringthe ball from outside the goalarea into the goal area. You are also not allowed tocatch a pass of your teammatewhen you are standing in thegoal area. Otherwise the refe-ree will whistle.

… you are not allowed to re-turn to the goal area from thefield with the ball in yourhands.

…you are not allowed to leavethe goal area with the ball inyour hands.

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If you are a goalkeeper,...

Editor: IHFVisit the IHF website

www.ihf.infoto find out more about the rules of the game.