Playing Court
The playing court in Handball is a 40 meter long and 20 meter wide rectangle, consisting of two goalposts. The longer boundary lines are called side lines, and the shorter ones are called goal lines (between the goalposts) or outer goal lines (on either side of the goal). There should be a safety zone surrounding the playing court, with a width of at least 1 meter along the side lines and 2 meters behind the goal lines.
All lines on the court are fully part of the playing area that they enclose. The goal lines shall be 8 cm wide at the goalposts (see diagram), whereas all the other lines shall be 5 cm wide. Lines between two adjacent areas may be replaced with a difference in colours between the adjacent areas of the floor.
In front of each goal, there is a goal area. The goal area is defined by the goal area line (6 meter line), which is drawn with the following dimensions.
(a) A 3 meter long line directly in front of the goal; this line is parallel to the goal line and 6 metres away from it (measured from the rear edge of the goal line to the front edge of the goal area line).
(b) Two quarter circles, each with a radius of 6 metres (measured from the rear inner corner of the goalposts), connecting the 3 meter long line with the outer goal line.
The free throw line (9 metre line) is a broken line, drawn 3 metres outside the goal area line. Both the segments of the line and the spaces between them measure 15cm.
The 7 meter line is a 1 meter long line, directly in front of the goal. It is parallel to the goal line and 7 meters away from it (measured from the rear edge of the goal line to the front edge of the 7 meter line) see diagram.
The goalkeeper’s restraining line (the 4 meter line) is a 15cm long line, directly in front of the goal. It is parallel to the goal line and 4 metres away from it (measured from the rear edge of the goal line to the front edge of the 4 meter line). The center line connects the midpoints of the two side lines.
The substitution line (a segment of the side line) for each team extends from the center line to a point at a distance of 4.5 meters from the center line. This end point of the substitution line is enhanced by a line which is parallel to the center line, extending 15cm inside the side line and 15cm outside the side line.
Specifications of equipment
A goal is placed in the center of each outer goal line. The goals must be firmly attached to the floor or the walls behind them. They have an interior height of 2 metres and a width of 3 metres.
The goalposts are joined by a horizontal crossbar. The rear side of the goalposts shall be in line with the rear edge of the goal line. The goalposts and the crossbar must have an 8cm square cross section. On the three sides which are visible from the court, they must be painted in bands of two contrasting colors, which also contrast clearly with the background. The goals must have a net, that should be attached in such a way that a ball thrown into the goal normally remains in the goal.
Specifications of goalpost in handball (all dimensions indicated in cm)
The Ball
Handball is played with a 32 panel leather ball.
The ball sizes, to be used by different categories of teams are as follows:
Ball Sizes According to Age Group
Measurement Specifications
