Australian handball

Australian handball is a sport in which players strike a small ball against one or more walls using their hands. It is distinct from team handball (the Olympic sport ) and is closely related to other wall-handball sports such as Gaelic handball, Welsh handball, and American handball.^[2] The sport has been played in Australia since at least 1923, when organized forms of the game were recorded^[3]

Australian handball is a ball sport played in an enclosed court in which players strike a small ball directly against a front wall using their hands rather than a racquet. Unlike similar court sports such as squash, no equipment is used; the ball is struck with the palm or fist.

Play begins with a serve in which the ball is hit directly against the front wall without first bouncing on the ground. The opposing player must return the ball before it bounces twice. During play, the ball may also rebound from side walls either before or after striking the front wall; however, after a player strikes the ball, it must contact the front wall before touching the ground.

The game can be played in singles or doubles formats on courts with one, three, or four walls. The three-wall court is the most common configuration used for organized play. Courts used for the sport are found at a number of educational institutions and sporting facilities in Australia, including several private schools and colleges.^[1][2]

Although its formal beginnings in Australia date from 1923,^[4][5] it has been played in some capacity or another since the 19th century.^[6] The first Australian Handball court was built by Melbourne hotel-keeper, Michael Lynch, in 1847.^[1] A similar game is played in Ireland.^[7]

Its early development has been attributed to the work of Christian Brothers' Colleges.^[8]

Handball was very strongly promoted among the students at Christian Brothers' Colleges, driven by the Brothers' view that handball "affords an excellent preparatory training for football, as it calls into play all the resources of the physical man".^[9]

Over most of its history, its primary play has been in Victoria, South Australia, and New South Wales. By 1970, there were about 1,000 players registered within the New South Wales, Victorian, and South Australian state associations.^[1]

For many decades, the Australian Handball Council has held almost annual national championships, and each state has held its own state titles.^[5] During the 1950s' and 1960s, both the Australian Singles Schoolboys Handball Championships and the Australian Doubles Schoolboys Handball Championships were held on a regular basis. Many great champions participated these schoolboy rivalries.^[8] Additionally, over many decades Australians have made regular appearances at the World Junior and World Senior Titles.^[1][2] Within Australia, of more recent decades, the chief rivalries have been between Victoria and South Australia. For the past three decades, the states have generally competed at a 'midpoint' venue, often Warrnambool, Victoria, over one weekend annually, for the national handball championships. In some areas, modern changes to school venues have meant the disappearance of the school's traditional handball courts, making it harder on handballers to access the game.^[5]

The game is nationally run by the Australian Handball Council, formed in 1928,^[1] of which the current executive director is Jim Kiley, and the Secretary/Treasurer is Greg Hay.^[5]

A few highly respected names in the game's history include multi-national champions Jim Flattery,^[10] Tim Tucker^[11], and George Macris^[1][12] in the first half of the 20th century, and John Hughes of Victoria, Paul Fallon of NSW [1], Lou Ravesi of SA, and Vic DeLuzio and Geoff Walsh of Victoria, in the 2nd half.^[5][8][13]

• Hack Slap, an analogous game played with the feet instead of hands.
• Handball (school), a popular game played in schools in Australia — a schoolyard variant of Four square.

• Wallball Australia
• Wallball Australia- Facebook page
• World Handball Council- Facebook page