Czech handball ( Czech: ''česká házená'', also known as ''národní házená'' – ''national handball'') is an outdoor ball game which was created in 1905 in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

and is still played today. This sport is very similar to

team handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball or Olympic handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the g ...

History

Czech handball is first mentioned by Václav Karas, a teacher a Prague, in a sports journal in

Brno Brno ( , ; german: Brünn ) is a city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava and Svratka rivers, Brno has about 380,000 inhabitants, making it the second-largest city in the Czech Republic ...

in 1905. The rules were soon further developed by other teachers, notably Klenka and Kristof. Thanks to Kristof, the first Czech handball association was established (in Prague) and the rules were made public in 1908. Students from

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

and

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

, who had become acquainted with Czech handball in Prague, brought this sport back to their own countries. In Yugoslavia, the sport expanded fast and became very popular. Czech teachers taught Czech handball in Russian middle schools and there was a competition with 14 teams in Charkov in 1915, but efforts to expand the sport ended after the

October Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key moment ...

. In 1921, the ''Czechoslovakian Association of Handball and Women's Sports'' became a member of the ''

International Women's Sports Federation The Fédération Sportive Féminine Internationale (FSFI) – or, in English, the International Women's Sports Federation – was founded in October 1921 by Alice Milliat because of the unwillingness of existing sports organisations, such as ...

''. In this federation, the rules of Czech handball were made official (in those times, there was also one similar sport, Field handball in Germany. Some international federations preferred Czech handball, others preferred Field handball). The first international matches were played. The first women's Czech handball world cup was organised in 1930. Czechoslovakians won this competition, Yugoslavia came in second, and Poland was third. The second World Cup was held in London in 1934, but only two teams participated: Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia. Yugoslavians won the match 6-4 and became the champions. This was the first time that Czech handball was played in England. After this event, the IWSF was abolished. In 1935, there was a training camp for English teachers in

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. 50 female and 20 male players practised the “game of hazena”, the first ever English players. Further training was planned in London. ''The netball and other ball sports' association'' organised the printing and publishing of the rules of Czech handball. The

Civil Service Club The Civil Service Club is a London social club, founded in 1953, for current and former members of the UK Civil Service and His Majesty's Diplomatic Service. In advance of the wedding of the Princess Elizabeth and Lieutenant Philip Mountbat ...

in London was the first Czech handball club in Britain. Czech handball became very popular during the

German occupation of Czechoslovakia German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

in World War II. The sport was originally Czech, so most people understood its play as a show of

patriotism Patriotism is the feeling of love, devotion, and sense of attachment to one's country. This attachment can be a combination of many different feelings, language relating to one's own homeland, including ethnic, cultural, political or histor ...

. In early 1940s, there were 25,884 players in the

Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia The Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia; cs, Protektorát Čechy a Morava; its territory was called by the Nazis ("the rest of Czechia"). was a partially annexed territory of Nazi Germany established on 16 March 1939 following the German oc ...

. In 1947, the International Handball Federation promoted the expansion of the related sport of

, but no further foreign countries would adopt Czech handball. In 1954, there were 26,125 registered players in 447 clubs, the largest number of registered player to date. Since 1941, a men's and women's 1st league have been competing. There is also the men's 2nd league and regional championships.

Rules

The rules are quite similar to those of

, but there are also some major differences: * size of the field: 45 × 30 meters * size of the goal: height 240 cm, width 200 cm * size of the ball: 580 to 605 mm * the field is divided into three areas: defence third, middle third, offence third * player positions are called: goalkeeper (1), defender (1), halfback (2), forward (3) * the player cannot hold the ball longer than three seconds, he or she can throw the ball upon the head or bounce ball back off ground – maximum of two times, no limit in steps * shooting on the goal is made in front of the goal area – leaning out or jumping is possible, but the fall has to be outside the goal area * goalkeeper and defender can step into their own goal area; forwards can step in the opponent's goal area, but they cannot shoot from there * defender and halfbacks cannot step in the offence third, forwards cannot step in the defence third, and there are some more rules for crossing between the thirds * players may be sent off for five (single yellow) or ten minutes (double yellow)

External links

Czech handball federation (cz)Short videoVideo from final tournament of the Czech Cup
{{Team Sport Handball Games and sports introduced in 1905 20th-century establishments in Bohemia