Field handball
Field handball (also known as outdoor handball or grass handball) was a soccer-like outdoor form of what is now (indoor) handball. It was played at the Olympics once, at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. It was dominated by Germany, winning all World Championships (except when banned in 1948), with German teams (two of them post-war) never been beaten or tied by a non-German squad.
The sport is played on a
The game is played with the same ball as the indoor type, by two teams of 11 players (plus 2 reserves), and in two periods of 30 minutes each. Compared to soccer and American football, a forward handball pass is slower and shorter with the round ball being thrown rather than getting kicked like the soccer ball, or being aerodynamically shaped like the gridiron football.
Indoor handball used to be the winter alternative only. With quicker action and spectators being closer to it, similar to basketball, it gradually grew in popularity to replace field handball also in summer. The last IHF World Men's Outdoor Handball Championship was played in 1966 as the teams from both German states dominated the sport.
See also
- Handball at the 1936 Summer Olympics
- IHF World Men's Outdoor Handball Championship
- IHF World Women's Outdoor Handball Championship
References
External links
Media related to Field handball at Wikimedia Commons