Handball
Handball, also known as Team Handball or Olympic Handball, is a fast-paced game played in its modern conception in a seven-a-side contest of sixty minutes, divided into two periods of thirty minutes. The objective is to throw a ball into a goal and whichever team scores more goals wins. Handball’s current configuration, however, is notably different from its original form.
1. Handball in ancient times
It is of general agreement that the ball is one of the most ancient items related to sport. It is reasonable to assert that throwing objects played an important role in human evolution, bearing direct connection to the differentiation between primates and the first hominids not only from a bipedal standpoint, but specifically to the use of the hands and tools (Young, 2003). Consequently, it is possible to infer that games played with the hands, conversely to those played with feet, appeared first in history.
The ancient Greek played one ‘Urania Game’, a ball game mentioned in the Odissey. The game was described by Homer as being played with a ball made of wool in which players would throw it up to be caught by the opponent in mid-air, who would then, in its turn, throw it up again. A scene of this antique game engraved in stone was discovered in 1926 in the city of Athens, evidencing Homer’s’ tale (International Olympic Committee, 1986).
The Romans also had a ball game, called Harpaston, accordingly to the writings of Roman doctor Claudius Galenus (130-200 A.D). Descriptions of games using hands and balls were also found in France and Greenland. The latter dates of the late 1700s and was registered and illustrated by Eskimos, whilst the former’s period is that of the turning of the 15th to the 16th century, portrayed as a game played using a ball and the palm of the hands (International Olympic Committee, 1986).
The forerunner of the present game of handball – to use the International Olympic Committee’s expression – is perhaps the Fangballspiel, or ‘catch ball game’, described by German lyrical poet Walther von der Vogelwide (1170 - 1230). The game involved passing a decorated ball amongst players (International Olympic Committee, 1986).
2. The evolution of the game
Despite the existence of old games involving passing and throwing a ball, handball only started to become the sport it is today in Europe in the end of the 19th Century. Three games are likely forbearers of handball and helped it to grow, although other similar but less popular or organized handball-like practices were being played around Europe at that time (International Olympic Committee, 1986).
In Denmark, sports administrator Holger Nielsen prohibited students from playing soccer due to the high number of injuries, but allowed them to play a ‘handball game’ with a soccer ball (British Columbia Handball Federation, n.d.). Following his permission to the students, Nielsen would then lay down the rules for such game, naming it Haandbold (International Olympic Committee, 2003).
The date on which Nielsen’s invention happened is, however, controversial. While some documents issued by the IOC state that this happened in 1848 (International Olympic Committee, 1986), the British Columbia Handball Federation argues that it took place in the 1890s (British Columbia Handball Federation, n.d.). The latter is more accurate[1].
Besides Haandbold, a game named Hazena was developing in Bohemia – a region that today comprises the territories of Germany and the Czech Republic – mainly in schools in the city of Prague. One of the teachers of the game, Vaclav Karas, published its rules in a Bernese journal in 1905 (British Columbia Handball Federation, n.d.).
Haandbold and Hazena had similar rules, as both were played in a 45x30 meters court between two teams of seven players. In fact, the differences among the sports were merely on size of goals and shape of goal areas. In addition, both appeared around the same time in history. Haandbold was introduced in a student sport festival in Denmark in the early 1900s and its first rulebook was published in 1906. Hazena’s own rulebook was published in 1908. (British Columbia Handball Federation, n.d.).
A third game would appear a few years later. Torball grew popular around 1915 and it was, conversely to Haandbold and Hazena, played in a 20x40 meters field. Although the IOC and the British Columbia Handball Federation disagree on the man responsible for introducing the sport[2], both agree that it was a women’s game (International Olympic Committee, 1986) (British Columbia Handball Federation, n.d.). It was Karl Schelenz (1890 - 1956) that made Torball suitable for men’s practice in 1919 (British Columbia Handball Federation, n.d.), which is why he is deemed the founder of handball as a modern sport (International Olympic Committee, 1986).
Handball was officially recognized as a sport in 1920 due to the efforts of Carl Diem, then Principal of the German High School for Phyical Education with, however, a significant change: the game begun to be played in a 11-a-side variety instead of the original 7-a-side (International Olympic Committee, 1986). This was due to the notorious influence of soccer. The first international contests happened shortly after, between Germany and Austria: the men’s in 1925 and the women’s in 1930 (British Columbia Handball Federation, n.d.).
The growth of the sport led to the first application for handball’s inclusion in the Olympic Program in 1927. The application’s rejection by the IOC demonstrated the need of better organization, so the International Amateur Handball Federation – IAHF was founded on August 4, 1928, its first President a US Citizen, Avery Brundage (International Olympic Committee, 1986) (International Olympic Committee, 2015)
3. The modern sport
Handball debuted as an Olympic sport in the XI Olympiad, in Berlin 1936 – yet under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federation – IAAF (International Olympic Committee, 2015). The first world championship took place in 1938. However, the game would only reappear in an Olympic event in Helsinki 1952, but solely as a demonstration sport (International Olympic Committee, 2015).
From 1938 to the 1960s, the game developed in two formats: indoor, in a 7-a-side contest, and outdoor, with 11 players on each team (International Olympic Committee, n.d.). Consequently, two separate world championships would take place.
At that time, the sport had already consolidated itself and the number of fans and athletes was growing. Hence, there was need of a new organizational structure, so the International Handball Federation – IHF was founded on July 11, 1946, with headquarters in Copenhagen (International Olympic Committee, 1986) (International Olympic Committee, 2003).
The indoor version, however, started to prevail after 1952, due particularly to its popularity as a fast game that did not need large fields and could be played during winter, which was a great advantage in Scandinavia and other Northern countries such as Germany (International Olympic Committee, 1986) (International Olympic Committee, 2003) (International Handball Federation, n.d.). This prevalence would ultimately lead to the disappearing of outdoor handball, whose last world championship took place in Austria in 1966 (International Handball Federation, n.d.).
One year before, the IOC had decided to increase the number of sports on the program for the XXI Olympiad, featuring handball amongst the prospected sports. Consequently, in 1972, men’s handball re-entered the Olympic Games, as well as women’s handball for the following Olympiad (International Olympic Committee, 2015). Both versions have been played in the Olympics since then, with world championships being held every two years.
Since 1972, the dominance of European teams is clear on men’s handball, as no other nation outside Europe has claimed an Olympic gold medal or world champion title. In the women’s variety, however, Brazil and South Korea have been able to beat the European supremacy and claim Olympic (South Korea) or world titles (Brazil).
Finally, it is important to note that the sport has been growing a lot more recently. In Rio 2016 Olympic Games, Handball was the second most popular sport after soccer (USA Team Handball, 2016). The success is not only seen in national teams’ championships but also in what refers to clubs. Since 1993, the European Handball Federation Champions League has attracted a growing number every year (Velux Group, 2015). This growth has also led to the creation of a new outdoor variation of the sport, Beach Handball, played on the sands of a beach. IHF accepts and recognizes this handball variety. (Handball Australia, n.d.)
British Columbia Handball Federation. (n.d.). Origins of Handball. Retrieved September 10, 2016, from the BC Team Handball Federation Website: http://bchandball.ca/index.php/about/whatisteamhandball/history-of-handball
Handball Australia. (n.d.). History of Handball. Retrieved September 12, 2016, from Handball Australia Website: http://www.handballaustralia.org.au/content/history-handball
International Handball Federation. (n.d.). History of Men’s Handball World Championships Part II 1961-1970. Retrieved September 12, 2016, from the International Handball Federation Website: http://www.ihf.info/upload/statistics/Part2.pdf
International Olympic Committee. (1986, March). Supplement to the Olympic Review: Handball. Olympic Encyclopedia. Retrieved September 9, 2016, from http://library.la84.org/OlympicInformationCenter/OlympicReview/1986/ore221/ore221handball.pdf
International Olympic Committee. (2003). Sports Profiles. Olympic Review, 66-68. Retrieved September 11, 2016, from http://library.la84.org/OlympicInformationCenter/OlympicReview/2003/OREXXVIII49/OREXXVIII49z.pdf
International Olympic Committee. (2015, March). Handball: History of Handball at the Olympic Games. Retrieved September 12, 2016, from https://stillmed.olympic.org/AssetsDocs/OSC%20Section/pdf/QR_sports_summer/Sports_Olympiques_handball_eng.pdf
International Olympic Committee. (n.d.). Handball equipament and history. Retrieved September 12, 2016, from the International Olympic Committee Website: https://www.olympic.org/handball-equipment-and-history
International Olympic Committee. (n.d.). Holger Nielsen. Retrieved September 12, 2016, from the International Olympic Committe Website: https://www.olympic.org/holger-nielsen
USA Team Handball. (2016, August 31). RIO 2016 Handball was the most popular after football. Retrieved September 12, 2016, from the USA Team Handball Website: http://www.teamusa.org/USA-Team-Handball/News/2016/August/31/RIO-2016-Handball-was-the-most-popular-after-football
Velux Group. (2015, May 31). Sponsorship of EHF Champions League extended. Retrieved September 12, 2016, from Velux Media Centre: http://press.velux.com/the-velux-group-extends-title-sponsorship-of-velux-ehf-champions-league-to-2020
Young, R. (2003). Evolution of the human hand: the role of throwing and clubbing. Journal of Anatomy. Retrieved September 9, 2016, from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1571064/
[1] According to the British Columbia Handball Federation, Holger Nielsen was a schoolteacher and an Olympian medalist in fencing and target shooting who attended the 1896 Olympiad in Athens, Greece. Pursuant to the records available on the IOC’s website that statement is correct (International Olympic Commitee, n.d.). Given the fact that the same IOC records show that Nielsen was born in 1866, it is highly unlikely – if not impossible, given the data available – that he developed a handball-like sport in 1848 for he would not had been born by then. In addition, the British Columbia Handball Federation and the IOC have a different spelling for Holger Nielsen’s name (e.g. Nielsen or Nilson), which implies a possible question of homonymy. However, it is simple to solve this problem by assessing the linguistic distinction between English and Danish on suffixes, hence setting aside any questioning to this extent.
[2] In spite of the general acknowledgement of Karl Schelenz (1890 - 1956) as the founder of Handball, the IOC finds Max Heiser (1879 - 1921) the one responsible for creating outdoor handball games for the female workers at the Siemens company and hence the real creator of the new competitive game. Conversely, the British Columbia Handball Federation states that ‘Bachmann Hermann, a physical education teacher created a new game that was played by hands’, naming it ‘Torball’.
[3] In spite of having developed as a women’s sport, the first international handball competition for females would only take place after the men’s one and after the foundation of the IAHF, which indicates both the preference for male sport at the time and the sexism that is intrinsic to sport still today.