Olympic handball rules explained

Handball is a mixture of soccer, basketball and hockey, but so much more fun to watch. We explain the ins and outs of Olympic Handball here. 

When I was in the sixth grade, my PE teacher was an Olympian. She played on the US Olympic  Handball Team in 1996 and showed us her game footage for all of our little 11-year old selves to gawk at. But… we didn’t know what handball was.

So, she showed us and it is, to this day, one of the most fun sports I’ve ever played. Also one of the most random sports I’m knowledgable of. Shout out to you, Coach Neder.

What are the rules of Olympic Handball?

You could compare it to a healthy mix of soccer (without kicking) and basketball (without constant dribbling).

There are 14 players on the court (six players and a goalie) and the objective is to put the ball in the net. Within each 30-minute half, players are able dribble the ball, but not like we see in basketball. The expectation is to dribble once, and take three steps before passing it off to another player.

Passing is the only effective way to get the ball down the court on offense, but defense is a bit more tricky. Defenders can’t defend like we see in basketball or soccer, they’re restrained to stopping advancement of the ball with their hands or by literally just standing in their way. Anything more physical can result in yellow cards for said defender.

NBC Olympics provides an in depth rulebook if you’re interested in fouls, subs and things in between. But now you have the knowledge of handball as I did when I was a little tyke.