handball

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Gaelic handball (known in Ireland simply as handball;^[1][2][3][4] Irish: liathróid láimhe) is a sport played in Ireland that is similar to American handball (a related and almost identical game), Basque pelota, racquetball and squash. It is one of the four Gaelic games organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA).^[5] The game may be played with two (singles) or four players (doubles) and the players hit the ball with a hand or fist against a wall in such a way as to make a shot the opposition cannot return.^[6] In 2009, Irish Handball was rebranded as GAA Handball.

Rules

A typical Handball court

Handball is played in a court, or "alley". Originally, an alley measuring 18.3 m by 9.15 m (60 feet by 30 feet) was used with a front wall of 30 feet, off which the ball must be struck.

A smaller alley was also introduced, measuring 12.2 m by 6.1 m (40 feet by 20 feet) with a front wall 6.1 m (20 ft) high. The first alley of this size was built in Ireland in 1969. This smaller size is now the standard in the international version of the game, but both alleys are still used in the Gaelic game, with two separate championships ran by the GAA in the two codes.^[7]

The objective of a game is to score a set total of points before your opponent does. Points are only scored by the person serving the ball. In other words, if a player wins a rally but did not serve at the start of that rally they only win the right to serve, and thus the chance to score after a subsequent rally. The serving player has two opportunities to hit the ball, from the "service area" (between the two parallel lines), off the "front wall" and across the "short line" (which is located exactly half-way down the court from the front wall).

Players take turns at hitting the ball off the "front wall" before the ball bounces twice following their opponent's previous shot. Most handball games take place in a four-walled court but there are also three-walled and one-wall versions of the game.

History

Handball-like games have originated in several places at different times. Hieroglyphs in the temple of Osiris in Egypt portray priests taking part in a game very similar to handball. Mesoamerican civilizations in South and Central America had a form of handball-like game, which was a large part of pre-Columbian culture.

The first recorded game of striking a ball with a hand against a wall was in Scotland in 1427, when it was recorded that King James I ordered a cellar window in his palace courtyard blocked up, as it was interfering with his game.^[8] In Ireland, the earliest written record of a similar ball game is contained in the town statutes of Galway in 1527, which forbade the playing of ball games [generic] against the walls of the town. The first depiction of an Irish form of handball does not appear till 1785.^[9] On the west coast of Ireland, Galway had many trading links with Spain, especially the Basque regions, where the similar game of pelota is played.

The rules are simple. All you have to do is hit the ball with or without fulls (depends on location).

Both Scottish and Irish immigrants brought the game to many countries in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. It is still played in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Wales, Africa and England.^[10]

The G.A.A. wrote the first rules for the modern game of handball. Handball was included in the G.A.A. Charter of 1884 as one of the sports to be promoted by the new Association. In 1924 Comhairle Liathróid Láimhe na hÉireann ( the Irish Handball Council) was established to promote, develop and organise the sport. By 1974 Comhairle Liathróid Láimhe na mBan was founded to administer the sport for female competitions.In 1998 the amalgamation of Comhairle Liathróid Láimhe na hEireann and Comhairle Liathróid Láimhe na mBan saw a single national administration. The Irish Handball Council was rebranded as the GAA Irish Handball Council (C.L.G. Comhairle Liathróid Láimhe na hÉireann) in 2009.^[11][12]

Types of Handball

In Ireland, there are four main types of handball. There is 40x20 (small court), the traditional 60x30 Softball & Hardball (big alley) and One-wall handball. One-wall handball has become very popular over the past 3 years and it is the most popular version of international handball. It is played in over 35 countries and it is hoped that it will become an Olympic sport soon.

Irish competitions

There are many handball competitions that are run in Ireland. In 40x20, the main competitions are County, Province, and All-Ireland Championships plus the 40x20 Irish Nationals. In 60x30 Softball and Hardball, the main competitions are County, Province, and All-Ireland Championships. In 2011 GAA Handball Ireland launched the 60x30 Nationals and this competition will be held in July. In One-Wall handball, the main competition in Ireland is the Irish One-Wall Nationals, and this is now held in Breaffy House, Castlebar. There are also many competitions during the year held by various handball clubs around the country.

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Gaelic handball

• Irish Collegiate Handball Association

Other modalities

• American handball
• Australian handball
• Basque Pelota
• International fronton
• Valencian frontó
• Fives

References

1. ^ http://www.irishtimes.com/blogs/ultach/2010/03/
2. ^ http://www.rte.ie/sport/gaa/championship/2010/0316/handball.html
3. ^ http://www.independent.ie/sport/other-sports/handball-model-stars-see-off-alley-cats-1966204.html
4. ^ http://www.gaahandball.ie/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=749:one-wall-nationals-2010-news&catid=34:news-archive
5. ^ http://gaa.ie/about-the-gaa/our-games/
6. ^ http://stcomans.handball.gaa.ie/abouthandball.html
7. ^ http://handball.gaa.ie/irishhandballmilestones.html
8. ^ Crego, Robert (2003), Sports and games of the 18th and 19th centuries, Greenwood Publishing Group, ISBN 9780313316104 
9. ^ The History of the Gaelic Athletic Association in Canada By John O'Flynn, Ainsley Baldwin Trafford Publishing, 2008 p176
10. ^ http://dublin.handball.gaa.ie/abouthandball.html
11. ^ http://handball.gaa.ie/irishhandballmilestones.html
12. ^ http://www.jwha.jp/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/worlds_2012_poster.pdf

External links

• GAA Handball
• World Handball Council
•  Chisholm, Hugh, ed (1911). "Fives". Encyclopædia Britannica. 10 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 450,451.