Throwball is a non-contact

ball sport This is a list of ball games and ball sports that include a ball as a key element in the activity, usually for scoring points. Ball games Ball sports fall within many sport categories, some sports within multiple categories, including: * Bat-a ...

played across a net between two teams of nine players on a rectangular court. Throwball is popular in Asia, especially on the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...

, and was first played in India as a

women's sport The participation of women and girls in sports, physical fitness and exercise, has been recorded to have existed throughout history. However, participation rates and activities vary in accordance with nation, era, geography, and stage of econ ...

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

during the 1940s. Like

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

, the game's roots are linked with the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

(Young Men's Christian Association). Both volleyball and

Newcomb ball Newcomb ball (also known simply as Newcomb, and sometimes spelled Newcombe (ball))As the game is named after Sophie Newcomb College, its name has been typically capitalized. is a ball game played in a gymnasium or court using two opposing teams ...

, while older games, share many similarities with throwball. Throwball rules were first drafted in 1955 and India's first national level championship was played in 1980. The

International Throwball Federation International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * International (Kevin Michael album), ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * International (New Order album), ' ...

is the highest governing body for the sport.

History

According to the Throwball Federation of India (TFI), throwball is thought to derive from a recreational sport popular among women in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

during the 1930s. The

brought the game to

, where it was played as a

in the 1940s. Harry Crowe Buck, who founded the YMCA College of Physical Education in

, drafted guidelines for throwball rules and regulations in 1955. In addition, Mr. Jagat Singh Chauhan was the founder/father of throwball,

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 ...

, and

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a court by two teams of seven players. It is among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for female competitors. The sport is played on indoor and outdoor netball courts and is specifical ...

in India. The game reached

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

in the 1950s. Throwball Federation of India (TFI) was formed along with the

Indian National Throwball Championship Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

. By 1990, Throwball in India developed separate competitions for both men and women.

Rules and play

Court

The playing court is somewhat larger than a volleyball court at with a neutral box on either side of the center. The height of the net is .

Ball

The ball is similar to a volleyball but may be slightly larger. While in volleyball the ball is hit or ''volleyed'' throughout play, in throwball the ball is thrown over the net, where a member of the other team tries to catch the ball and quickly throw it back across the net.

Play

Teams

An official game is played between two teams of nine or seven players. A minimum of three or five substitute players are allowed for each team, which can make a maximum of three substitutions during a set. A team can take two time-outs of 30 seconds each during a set. The first team to score 25 points wins a set. A match is three sets.

Service

Service is within five seconds after the referee whistles and is done from the ''service zone'', without crossing the ''end line''. A player can jump while serving the ball. The ''service ball'' must not touch the net. Double touch is not allowed for receiving the service ball and players stay in 2-3-2 position during the serve.

Rally

During a rally, the ball must be caught at once with both hands, without any movement of the ball within the hands (''dubs'') and the ball should not have contact with the ground. The ball is thrown within three seconds after being caught, only from above the shoulder line and only with one hand. A player can jump when throwing the ball, which can touch the net (but not the antenna). The player should have contact with the ground when catching the ball. However, the ball is not touched by any part of the body other than the palm when catching or throwing (''body touch''). The ball can neither be shifted (passed) to the left or right nor deliberately pushed. Two players are not allowed to catch the ball simultaneously.

Uniforms

In official play, teams wear shorts and jersey uniform with numbers only in the range of 1–12 printed front and back.

Current status

Throwball is gaining popularity in India as a competitive sport. The Indian authorities of throwball were instrumental in organizing the Asian level and later, the world level association for the sport, the

International Throwball Association International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

. Throwball is a popular sport played in

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, and clubs throughout Asian countries such as India,

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

, Japan, China,

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainous ...

and

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

. It has been slowly gaining popularity in other countries such as

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, Australia, Brazil, Canada and the United Kingdom.

Major competitions

Domestic competitions

India

Mr. Jagat Singh Chauhan was founder/father of handball, netball and Throwball in India. In India, the National Throwball Championship is organized by the Throwball Federation of India.

International competitions

Kuala Lampur

A Junior International Throwball Match was conducted in

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia , anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , su ...

in December 2015; eight countries participated.

References

External links

International Throwball FederationPakistan Throwball Federation
{{Team Sport Ball games Team sports Articles containing video clips YMCA Women's sports History of women's sports