Frisian handball ( fry, keatsen; nl, kaatsen) is a traditional Frisian sport, related to American handball and

fives Fives is an English sport believed to derive from the same origins as many racquet sports. In fives, a ball is propelled against the walls of a 3- or 4-sided special court, using a gloved or bare hand as though it were a racquet, similar to ...

, that is most commonly practiced by people from the northern Dutch province of

Friesland Friesland (, ; official fry, Fryslân ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia, is a province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen, northwest of Drenthe and Overijssel, north of ...

(''Fryslân''). It is believed to be one of the oldest ballgames and was an unofficial demonstration sport at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam. The scoring is similar to tennis. The first team scoring six games wins the match.

Rules

The major Frisian handball tournament, called the P.C. (short for Permanent Committee), has been held in the city of

Franeker Franeker (; fry, Frjentsjer) is one of the eleven historical cities of Friesland and capital of the municipality of Waadhoeke. It is located north of the Van Harinxmakanaal and about 20 km west of Leeuwarden. As of 1 January 2014, it had 12 ...

since 1854 and is considered the oldest regular sports tournament in the world. Frisian handball is played on a rectangular lawn of 10 meters by 32 meters, by two teams composed of 3 players. In the center of one short side of the field is a receiving zone of 5 meters by 19 meters defended by 2 players, the other team member remaining field player. One of the opponents serves the hard leather ball with his bare hand from a serving box at about 30 meters from the receiving zone. If he does not succeed in reaching the receiving zone, the receiving team gets a direct score. When the receiving team, of which the players are allowed to wear a single hardened

leather glove A glove is a garment covering the hand. Gloves usually have separate sheaths or openings for each finger and the thumb. If there is an opening but no (or a short) covering sheath for each finger they are called fingerless gloves. Fingerless glov ...

, returns the ball over the short line behind the serving box (called the upper line, in West Frisian ''boppe'') they also get a direct score. Of course, the serving team is allowed to prevent this happening by hitting or holding the ball before the upper line. The place where the ball remains after such a rally is marked with a small woodblock called a ''kaats'', which is best defined as an undecided score. When two such undecided points occur (or one, if one of the teams is on game point) the teams change places. In the next rally, the team that then has the receiving position, tries to hit the ball past the first ''kaats'' and, if any, in the next rally past the second ''kaats'', so deciding the undecided points. Then they start all over again. In parts of

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, the similar game of jeu de balle-pelote is played. This game is played by teams of 5 players on a trapezium shaped field, mostly located on marketplaces.

External links

KNKB Dutch Federation

Franeker's ''Permanent Committee''

{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070522220835/http://mnjp-ath.site.voila.fr/accueil.htm , date=22 May 2007
1956, Balle Pelote final match, Braine-Gosseli
Ball games Team sports Sport in Friesland Sports originating in the Netherlands

Rules

See also

External links