There are many variations of handball, and in this website we’ll always refer to land handball, which is the same as beach handball.
For starters, let’s get a lay of the land and show everyone a basic outline of a handball court.
A typical layout of a beach handball court.
The game is best played on packed (hard, so you don’t sink) sand on a level area of any beach. Goals are to be 3 x 2 and are best when they use square posts.
Rules of Brasilian Beach Handball:
A typical handball match lasts 20 minutes, with two 10 minute sides. A five minute break is had at halftime. If the match is tied (or all square) after regulation, a sudden death overtime will take place to decide a winner.
Basic rules call for an 8 man roster, but this can be changed if necessary. Goals are counted as one point, unless the act of catching and receiving and throwing the ball in one subsequent motion is achieved. In this case a goal is worth two points.
The game is very basic and there are few variations. However, one constant is that sportsmanship is a MUST. In the case that a team is not being good sports, the end result can end up with the opposing side earning a point for the erratic behavior. Brazilian beach handball is supposed to be a fun, relaxing, entertaining match, and not one of hot heads and bad behavior. Please respect the game!