When Australians hear the word “handball”, many will think back to their days in primary school: four squares, a bouncy ball and a group of boys chanting “Hack It” after getting you out by some made-up rule.
But others will think of the actual sport, where players bounce and throw a slightly bigger ball on a much larger court.
Think soccer, meets basketball, meets netball – but like, heaps faster.
Handball is one of the 32 sports at this year’s Paris Olympic Games, and one of the 32 sports I watch pretending to know the rules, before yelling “oh come on, ref” at the TV.
Australia hasn’t sent a team to compete in the 2024 Games. The national women’s handball team has only ever played in the Olympics once – at the Sydney 2000 Games – but have played in eight world championships and seven Oceania Nations Cup tournaments since the late 1990’s.
Sally Potocki is a veteran of the sport. She’s the former captain of the Australian indoor handball team, played in three World Championships, was one of the top three goal scorers at the 2013 World Championships and the top scorer in the 2018 Asian Championships.
She moved to Germany in 2012 to play handball professionally for nearly eight years, and is now back in Australia, captaining the beach handball national team, who are hoping to be included in the Brisbane 2032 Games.
Potocki hasn’t always played handball – in fact, she didn’t start playing until she was 22. Before that, she played basketball in the WNBL, and even represented Australia at the World Uni Games.
In this special Olympics Q+A, I speak with Sally Potocki about what it’s like playing handball.
What are the most important rules of handball that people new to the game should know?
That’s a tough one, but here’s what I think are the most important rules:
The Goal Area: Only the goalkeeper is allowed inside the goal area (6-meter line). All players must shoot from outside this area and if a player steps into the goal area while in possession of the ball, it’s a turnover and change of possession.
Ball Handling: Players are allowed to hold the ball for up to 3 seconds and can take up to 3 steps while holding it. After the three steps you have to dribble, pass, or shoot (similar to basketball).
Fouls and Free Throws: Physical contact is allowed, but only to a certain extent. You cannot hit, pull, or punch your opponents, but you can be quite physical in trying to stop them from getting toward the goal. Fouls (which are not counted like in basketball) result in free throws for the opposing team, which are taken from the spot where the foul occurred or from the 9-meter line if the foul occurs within this range. If a player is shooting and they are fouled in a way that is deemed to be dangerous – this results in a 7m penalty shot.
7 Player Rule: The game usually consists of 6 field players and one goalkeeper on the court at any one time. The 7 player rule in handball allows a team to substitute their goalkeeper with an additional field player, increasing offensive pressure but then leaving the goal unprotected.
What’s your favourite part of handball?
My favourite part of handball would be the speed, the tactics, and also the physical side of the game. Even though to people who have never played it may look like fouls are called pretty quickly, that’s actually the exact opposite and you tend to always walk about with some bruises and sore muscles.
What’s the most challenging part?
Trying to explain the game to people who have never seen it! In terms of the actual sport, I think it would be the physical fitness level and the speed of the game. You’re really needing to be active (sprinting, jumping, quickly moving back and forth) on your feet, non-stop for 60 minutes. What’s also really challenging is that you need to be able to have that combination of speed in terms of running, agility in terms of being able to move your feet quickly to get around your defender, or when you are the defender to stop the attacking player, you need to be able to jump high. Then that needs to all be coordinated with being able to pass or then jump and throw the ball into the goal.
What’s one thing that might surprise people who are new to the sport?
I think the thing that surprises people the most is the physicality within the sport and when you watch it live, the speed of which the game is played. Also the coordination it takes to be able to jump off one leg and to be able to generate all that power through your body, before shooting with the opposite arm. Also it’s played by approximately 30 million people worldwide – which is about 20 times more players than AFL.