Beach handball

Beach handball is ateam sport where two teams pass and bounce or roll a ball, trying to throw it in the goal of the opposing team. The game is similar to standardhandball, but it is played on sand instead of on a solid floor. Because the ball loses most of its bounce on sand, there is little to nodribbling, and players instead perform more passing as the rules oftravelling still apply.

Beach handball
Characteristics
Greek women's team members spread out to cover the Spanish player who is holding the ball.
Highestgoverning body	International Handball Federation
Contact	No
Team members	4 per side
Mixed-sex	Single and mixed
Type	Outdoor
Presence
Country or region	Worldwide
World Games	2001

Men dive during a goal attempt in a beach handball game.

Description

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Beach handball field

Matches are played as two 10-minute sets, with a half-time of 5 minutes. If teams are tied at the end of a regular set then the teams play for agolden goal. If the teams are tied at the end of 2 sets then the teams will participate in a tiebreaker. The tie break involves a goalie throwing the ball to their own player while that player attempts to score one-on-one with the opposing goalie. During regular play, if the goalkeeper scores a goal this counts as two points, compared to a normal goal scored by an outfield player which counts as 1 point. Creative or spectacular goals, such as 360-degree jumps and alley-oops, are awarded with two points, as well as in-flights and 6-meter throws.

The first European Championships was played in the year 2000.

As of September 2014^[update], Brazil is ranked the number 1 country in the world, and is the winner of the world championship in both men's and women's divisions at the2014 Beach Handball World Championships.^[1]

Attire

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In 2021, theNorway women's national beach handball team was fined €1500 for being improperly dressed after the women worebike shorts instead ofbikini bottoms at a European championship match in Bulgaria.^[2] Critics derided the fine and the underlying rule. Although theNorwegian Handball Federation announced they would pay the fines, pop singerPink offered to pay for them.^[3] Later, in November 2021, theInternational Handball Federation changed their dress rules to allow female players to wear some kinds of shorts, specifying "Female athletes must wear short tight pants with a close fit".^[4]