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THE TORONTO HANDBALL LEAGUE
OFFICIAL TOURNAMENT RULEBOOK, 1st ED.
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1. Gameplay
It is elimination style hand-racquetball played on a single wall. Whining, apologizing and minging are not permitted.
2. Serving
Whenever a group of handball players are assembled, the order of play is selected at random for the first game (i.e. highest to lowest dice roll). The first to serve is known as the "head" and the last player in the group to play the ball is known as the "tail". A legal serve can either be an open handed hit or a "palmed" throw towards the play wall area. To begin a serve, both of the server's feet must remain on one side of the “half court line” and within all “out of bounds” lines on the ground before the point at which a ball leaves contact with the server's hand.
The first server of a single game selects from which side (the left or right) of the "half court line" to serve from, and then service alternates on either side for the remainder of the game, regardless of who is serving. The ball can hit the ground a maximum of one time before it is released or hit by the server. However, once it is served, it must initially bounce off any part of the ground once, hit within any part of the legal area on the wall and then also hit within the legal play area on the opposite side of the half court line from where the server was standing.
Only on a served ball's first return bounce back to the ground, must it land on the opposite side of the "half court line" from which it was served. A server is issued a single "fault" if the ball is not served within either the legal wall or ground play zones. If the server delivers the serve "out-of-bounds" twice in a row, he or she is issued a "double fault" penalty and is "out" for the remainder of the game. Whenever the "head" player is called "out" on a "double fault" serve or otherwise, the next player in the playing sequence will overtake service duties.
The first person eliminated by being called "out" will be first to serve the subsequent game and the order of elimination will dictate who follows the "head" in that next game. A serve may be rejected and re-played when the phrase "re-serve" or "reject" is called out by the receiving player. This may be called if the player is not yet ready for service, or if a legally served ball is not to the receiver's liking. The phrase "re-serve" or "reject" must be audibly announced only by the receiver between the time the served ball hits the wall and the second bounce on the ground, in which case, play is immediately stopped dead and the server re-attempts a service. If "re-serve" is not made explicitly clear before the second bounce and the player does not attempt to hit the ball, then the receiving player is called "out" on the serve (this also counts as an "ace" for the server).
When the receiving player hits the served ball with his hand legally, play continues onto the next player and cycles through the order from "tail" to "head" and so on, during a round until someone is eliminated through a major penalty, or when a stoppage is called.
3. Legal returns
A legal return is defined as direct contact with the ball solely from the player's hand, which is defined from above the wrist to the tip of the fingers and thumb. The ball can legally be played on either the left or right hand, which can be a fully or partially open palm when in contact with the ball. A legally returned ball can be struck by either the front or back of the hand as well as any part of a fully closed fist. Both hands can legally touch the ball at the same time, so long as both the hands and the ball are in simultaneous contact. Any approach to hitting the ball: side-arm, overhand, underhand as well as between the legs and even blind over-the-shoulder shots are all considered legal.
During a typical round of gameplay, after a legal serve, the ball is struck by the receiving player. On the return shot, after the ball is struck by the returning player, the first bounce may land anywhere on the ground. The next bounce must strike within the legal play area of the wall and subsequently fall within the legal area on the ground, beyond the slice line (5 inches away from the wall). After this bounce, even if the ball travels out of bounds while in mid-air, it still must be returned by the next player in sequence. This continues on through the cycle of players until a penalty or stoppage is called.
4. Major penalties
Major penalties usually result in a player being put "out" of a single game and can only be definitively decided upon by the handball officiator.
"Palming"
A penalty may be issued if at any point during a return, the player's fingers or thumb of any hand wrap around or encircle the ball, or if the player's hand is in contact with the ball for more than half a second. If a ball is illegally played in this fashion, then the player is called on a "palming" penalty, whereby play is immediately stopped and the player is "out" for the remainder of the game.
"Touch" and "Double-touch"
If a ball is touched, rebounded or deflected off any other part of a player's own body, (including another hand or the same hand twice) before or after it has come into contact with that player's hand, then it is classified as an illegal "touch" or "double-touch" penalty and is automatically called "out".
"Double-bounce"
A return shot must be played before the ball hits the ground more than once or be played directly off the wall (known as a fly shot), so long as there is no more than one bounce on any part of the ground before the return ball hits the legal play area on the wall. If the ball bounces twice before a return, the receiving player is called "out" on account of a "double-bounce" penalty. If the ball bounces twice before reaching the wall after a return, the player of that return will be called "out" on account of a "double-bounce" penalty.
"Sides" and "Out-of-bounds"
The returned ball coming off the wall must first strike once within the legal play area on the ground (if not played immediately off the wall by the receiving player). After achieving the first legal bounce, even if the ball travels out of bounds while in mid-air, it still must be returned by the receiving player. If a ball coming off the wall is allowed to bounce once and does not fall within the legal ground play area on its first bounce, then the player who last played the return is called "out" on an "out-of-bounds" or "sides" penalty.
“Impossibles” or “Waterfalls”
If the ball fails to clear the 6” mark away from the wall known as the “slice line” on its first bounce coming off the wall, then the player who last played the ball is automatically called “out” on the play. If the ball is judged to have touched the slice line on its first bounce away from the wall, then it is still a legal ball and must be played by the receiver.
When a legally returned ball rebounds off the wall at a sharp vertical descent and lands before touching the slice line, then the call of "waterfall" is automatically enforced and player who played the ball last is automatically called “out” on the play.
"Direct"
If a returned ball does not bounce against the ground a single time during its approach to the wall, then the player who returned it is immediately issued a "direct" penalty and is called "out".
"Roughing"
Although handball requires excellent physical conditioning, it is not a contact sport. Any undue or intentional physical contact between players is strictly forbidden. Players who are found guilty of any blatant physical altercations will result in being called "out" on a play or even a total ejection from the tournament. This "roughing" penalty is entirely based on the officiator's discretion to enforce.
5. Minor penalties and stoppages in play
Minor penalties mainly occur unintentionally and therefore usually have a neutral effect on the player who is responsible.
"Pockets"
Whenever a ball is returned towards the wall and lands directly into the corner where the wall meets the ground, "pockets" is automatically called, the play is stopped and the ball is re-served by the current "head" player.
“Double-back”
Whenever a ball is legally played off a wall and the ball falls into the legal playing area on the ground, beyond the slice line, and due to wind, excessive spin, or any other external influence which causes it to rebound backwards, into the wall, a call of “double-back” may be drawn, pending the approval of the officiator. If the call is approved, then the play is stopped and the ball is re-served by the current "head" player.
"Inners" or "Interference"
Whenever any player or bystander un-intentionally blocks a receiving player's view or direct line of approach towards returning a ball, the claim of "inners" or "interference" can be asserted by the offended player. The receiving player must clearly and audibly announce "inners" or "interference" before the ball's second bounce in order to be awarded consideration on the call by the officiator. If it is decided by the officiator that the player had a legitimate claim to being impeded from realistically making an attempt at returning the ball, then the call is awarded to the claimant and the ball is re-served by the current "head" player and play resumes.
If a player intentionally and blatantly blocks another player's approach to returning a ball, or is involved in physically interfering (un-intentional or not) on two consecutive "interference" calls, then that player is automatically called "out" for the rest of that game. Also, it is illegal for a player to hit a ball at another player to get them out for interfering.
"Funny bounce"
If a legally played ball hits a gross imperfection in the surface of the wall or ground or hits any obstacle within the legal play area which extremely alters its normal trajectory, then the play may be called a "funny bounce". Any other kind of spin (sidespin, English, etc.) or alteration to a ball’s trajectory will not warrant a “funny bounce” call.
Due to the fact that this call at times can be highly subjective, a player must clearly and audibly announce "funny bounce" before the ball's second bounce in order to be awarded consideration on the call by the officiator. If it is decided by the officiator that the player had a legitimate claim to a “funny bounce”, then the call is awarded to the claimant and the ball is re-served by the current "head" player and play resumes. However, if the player chooses to play the ball, despite the altered trajectory, he or she must make a legal return or risk being called "out" on the play.
"Rollies"
Similar to "pockets", “Rollies” is called whenever an otherwise legally played ball hits the exact corner of the wall and ground, and rolls along the ground with no discernable bounce. When "Rollies" are called, the play immediately stops dead and the ball is re-served.
6. Court dimensions and play areas
Not withstanding the idiosyncratic characteristics which define each individual handball court, there are basic outlines of the dimensions and properties of a sanctioned handball court fit for tournament play. Handball can be played indoor or outdoor, provided the space can supply an even, diffused light source which covers the court and be moderately protected from adverse weather conditions. The court floor should be a non-slip, yet uniformly smooth surface such as concrete, wood flooring or asphalt. The playing wall surface should also be relatively uniform in texture and material (cinderblock walls or bricks without large, deep gaps are usually acceptable). It is absolutely crucial that the playing wall is set on an exact 90 degree angle, perpendicular to the floor.
The court outline dimensions themselves can be illustrated with simple chalk outlines or white paint lines. The dimensions are as follows:
Top Line width: 24 feet (parallel to the floor)
Wall Line height: 16 feet (parallel to the wall)
Slice line placement: 6 inches away from the wall (along the ground, parallel to the wall)
Break line length: 8 feet (at an approx. 45 degree outward angle from where the wall line meets the corner of the wall)
Sides line length: 18 feet (continuing from the outward end of the break line and parallel to the wall line)
Back line width: 36 feet (parallel to the slice line and wall)
Half court line: 28 feet (parallel to the wall line)
The ratio of legal wall play area will be 1(w) : 1.5(h) in scale. The area of the legal ground play area (excluding the break line and slice line) will be greater than the legal wall play area by a ratio of 1 : 1.5. This will result in a legal ground play area that is roughly 50% larger than the legal wall play area.
7. Scoring, officiating and statistics gathering
As mentioned before, an official tournament consists of individual handball games of 2 to 6 players who knock each other out during each round, one at a time until the last player remains to claim the win. Each time a player is the first to win 3 games, he or she is awarded a "set" and then the cumulative wins of all players are reset to zero. The first player to again win 3 games wins another "set" and so on and so forth until the first player achieves a total accumulation of 3 "sets" for a match victory (ideally, 9 game wins).
In addition to tabulating the total amount of wins, sets and matches a player wins. Additional statistics are required of the scorekeeper to log. The amount of times a player "Aces" another player on a serve, the number of times a player eliminates a competitor from a single game ("Chokes"), and also the number of times a player is eliminated from a single game ("Outs"). The accurate tabulation of "wins", "sets", "matches", "aces", "chokes" and "outs" will reflect the true athletic ability and progress of each player.
