Street Handball Rules

How to play street handball

(Click the flag to see the street handball rules in your language.)

united-kingdom-156243_150saint-barthelemy-156200_150spain-156236_150germany-156642_150brazil-156205_150portugal-156344_150italy-156275_150greece-156254_150 india-156270_150china-156219_150japan-156278_150denmark-156228_150

Short description>>  –  Extended description>>

(Short description – Updated 2018.31.01)

The game that can be played by everyone across sexes, ages, and in line with fair-play rules.

– Play fair with no physical contact.

– No dribbling. Max. 3 steps.

– Four-a-side = 4 vs 4 players, Depending on pitch size.

(Three-a-side, five-a-side, six-a-side, Max. seven-a-side.)

– Played against 2 goals*. With two goal areas.

– After a score, the game is set to start from the goal.

– Anyone can be goalkeeper, goalkeeper takes part in the attack.

(See the video click the play button.)

– After an attack, the team must return home

and touch the line of the goal area before they can defend.

– Non-aggressive defence is recommended.

– Let the game “flow”, avoid too many stops, e.g. in case of slightly overstepping lines, 4 steps, etc.

– A 7-meter (penalty) throw is awarded in case of physical contact with an opponent, or a push, etc.

– – –

After the match, shake hands with the opponent and say, “Thank you for a good match”.

– Any handballs may be used, especially soft, foam balls and street handballs.

– – –

– Rules / arbitrations are settled through dialogue among the players

or through a Match Instructor**.

– The scoring system***: For very young children we recommend not to count the goals/points scored. The most important thing is to have fun.

– – –

“Keep it simple” – Few rules.

– Play and have Fun (Mix girls and boys) – Perhaps with music / DJ ;D

– The above rules are only for inspiration; it is up to you to determine

how to play Street Handball in your neighbourhood.

– Have a great time, enjoy the team spirit, and observe fair play.

*A pitch / court with 2 goals

provides more fun for everybody and it might even improve your overall fitness and let new handball players see how much fun the ´real´ game is. Playing towards 1 goal is “fine”, but one might wonder why football has become such a widespread sport? We Do Not think it would have been, had it been played with only 1 goal frame.

**The Match Instructor: (May be a coach/parent or any third person)

Together with the team coaches, it is the task of the Match Instructor to ensure the good experience, and that all participants feel ownership of the game. The Instructor should remove the players’ attention from the result and instead focus on the good handball experience, presence in the match, the flow of the match, and avoid too many interruptions of the match. So, the Instructor is not the referee; his task is to guide the players on the rules and make the players focus on what they did well, etc.

***The scoring system:  For very young children we recommend not to count the goals/points scored. The most important thing is to have fun. This also means without a scoreboard.

Quote from a street-handball event in Denmark, “We were counting goals up to around 3 and it seemed that the Instructor and later the players forgot to keep track of the score, but the match continued, and the kids enjoyed it and had fun. Finally, prizes were awarded by way of a draw.”

– – –

Pitch dimensions: You decide pitch size yourselves; 10 meters wide x 20 meters long.

– 2 goal areas at opposite ends, preferable dotted lines forming a crescent or a straight line.

(4 meters from goal line to line in front of goal and 3 meters from the post to the side line.)

– Mini goal, 2.4 meters wide x 1.6 meters long.

Short description>>  –  Extended description>>

(Short description – Updated 2018.31.01)

2 Responses