Beach handball from A to Z

On 9 July the 2013 European Beach Handball Championships will throw off in the Danish city of Randers.

While already 1,600 fans came to the event area to watch the Women's 19 event's final on Sunday (7 July), another spectacular event can be expected once the senior teams take to the court.

To give a closer insight into the exciting summer sport, we had a look at the rules and at the game itself to tell you what all the action on the sandy courts ia about.

A for attempt
It is not permitted to keep the ball in the team’s possession without making any recognisable attempt to attack or to shoot on goal. This is regarded as passive play, which is to be penalised with a free-throw against the team in possession of the ball

B for ball
The game is played with a round, non-slippery rubber ball. The men‘s ball weighs 350 to 370 g and has a circumference of 54 to 56 cm; the women‘s ball weighs 280 to 300 g and has a circumference of 50 to 52 cm.

C for coin toss
Before the match the referees undertake a coin toss to determine the choice of ends and substitution areas. The winning team shall then choose either one of the ends of the court or the respective side of the substitution area. The other team makes its choice in accordance with the first team‘s decision. After the half-time break the teams change ends. They do not change the substitution areas.

D for diving
Diving for the ball when it is lying or rolling on the ground is permitted. However, the ‘most common’ way to play is to either throw, catch, stop, push or hit the ball, by using hands (open or closed),arms head, torso, thighs and knees

E for equipment
All the court players of a team must wear identical sleeveless shirts. The combinations of colors and design for the two teams must be clearly distinguishable from each other.

F for free throw
In principle, the referees interrupt the game and have it restarted with a free-throw for the opponents when: a) the team in possession of the ball commits a violation of the rules that must lead to a loss of possession; the defending team commits a violation of the rules that causes the team in possession of the ball to lose it

G for goal and goal area
A goal is placed in the center of each (outer) goal line. It has an interior width of 3 meters and a height of 2 meters.

In front of each goal there is a goal area.The goal area is defined by the goal-area line, and is created as follows: A band or rope is attached parallel to the (outer) goal line and 6 meters away from it. Only the goalkeeper is allowed to enter the goal area.

H for half
If the score is even at the end of a half, the “Golden Goal” is used. If both halves are won by the same team, this team is the overall winner, with the score 2:0. If each team wins a half, the result is a tie. As there must always be a winner, the “Shoot-out” (“One player against the goalkeeper“) is used

I for infraction
An infraction or infringement is a violation of a rule of the game

J for jumping
Jumping plays an integral part in beach handball. However, it is not permitted and therefore considered a violation of the rules to jump into an opponent or to push an opponent who is jumping or running.

K for knockout match
The 2013 European Beach Handball Championship start with a group phase consisting of two groups with six teams in one and seven teams in the other group for both the men’s and the women’s event. This is followed by a main round before knockout matches will determine the champion from the quarter-finals onwards.

L for Lindberg (Hans)
Danish top player, Hans Lindberg, will arguably be one of the stars at the 2013 European Beach Handball Championship. The 31-year-old right wing won the EHF EURO 2012 with Denmark and only recently the VELUX EHF Champions League with HSV Hamburg.

M for maximum
A player is only permitted to make a maximum of three steps with the ball.

N for number of players
In principle a team consists of up to 8 players. At least 6 players must be present at the beginning of the game. If the number of players eligible to play drops below 4, the game is discontinued and the other team is deemed the winner of the match.

A maximum of 4 players per team (3 court players and 1 goalkeeper) may be on the playing court. The remaining players are substitutes who remain in their own substitution area.

O for “One player against the goalkeeper”
If both teams have won a half, a “Shoot-out” (One player against the goalkeeper) is used.
Five players who are eligible to play take throws alternating with the opposing team. The winner is the team that has scored more points after five throws.

P for playing court
The playing court is a 27 meters long and 12 meters wide rectangle, consisting of a playing area and two goal areas.

Q for qualification
The teams ranked 1 to 4 in the preliminary round of the 2013 European Beach Handball Championship qualify for the event’s main round. The teams ranked 5, 6 and 7 in groups A and B play the consolation round.

R for referee-throw
Each half, and also the “Golden Goal”, begins with a referee-throw. The referee–throw is taken in the center of the court. One referee throws the ball vertically following a whistle signal from the other referee. The two players who are jumping for the ball shall stand next to the referee each on the side nearest to his own goal.

S for sand and surface
Sand is the surface that beach handball is played on. The surface of the playing court must consist of a layer of sand that is at least 40 cm deep.

T for time and team time-out
The game consists of two halves, which are scored separately. Each half lasts 10 minutes. The half-time break lasts 5 minutes.

Each team has the right to receive a 1-minute team time-out in each half of the regular playing time. A team official of the team that wishes to request a team time-out must do so by showing clearly a “Green card“.

U for unsportsmanlike conduct
Physical and verbal expressions that are incompatible with the spirit of good sportsmanship are regarded as constituting unsportsmanlike conduct. This applies to both players and team officials, on or outside the playing court.

V for victory
The victory is what every team strives for at the 2013 European Beach Handball Championship. To win a match, you have to either win the two halves of a match or the shoot-out should each team have won a half each. 66 matches each in the men’s and women’s event will have been played before the victorious team, aka the new European champions, will be crowned.

W for wow-factor
In beach handball creative or spectacular goals are awarded with two points. The same amount of points is awarded when a goal is scored by 6m-throw and also if the goalkeeper scores a goal.

X (referee sign)
If a referee crosses his arms above his head, forming an ‘X’, it means that a player has been excluded from the game. Exclusion, for example, must be given when a player is guilty of an assault during the playing time on or outside the playing court. An exclusion is always for the entire remainder of the playing time, and the team must continue with one player less on the court.

Y for Younger Age Category
The Women’s 19 and Men’s 19 European Beach Handball Championships take place prior to the senior national teams’ tournament from 5 to 7 July also in Randers, Denmark.

Z
Z is last the 26th letter of the alphabet. There are also 26 teams (13 in the men’s, 13 in the women’s event) at the 2013 European Beach Handball Championship.

Information about the European Championship

The 2013 European Beach Handball Championship throws off in Randers, Denmark, from 9 to 14 July 2013.

Entry to the event area for spectators is free. There are no tickets necessary.

Defending champions in both the men's and the women's event are the teams from Croatia.

Matches from the main court are streamed live via www.kanalsport.dk/livestream. A live ticker is also available.

For more information and to keep up to date visit also the event's official website and become a fan of the EHF's beach handball Facebook page.