Robert RouseyHandball: The forgotten Olympic Sport
August 12th 2008 12:56
Think Olympics, Summer Olympics. Think Olympic sports. What pops into your head? Athletics, Swimming, Soccer, Gymnastics, Basketball, Equestrian?This blog will mention none of those. When I think of the Olympic game i always think of the sports that make me think 'god, is that really a sport?' or 'since when did that become an OLYMPIC sport?', so the sports i think of are along the lines of fencing, synchronised swimming, beach volleyball, curling (at the winter Olympics) and handball. Today’s Random Sport is focused on the most forgotten sport of the Olympic Games, Handball.
If Soccer and Basketball had a one night stand, I’m quite sure that Handball would be the result.
Handball is played on a court 40 meters long by 20 meters wide, it is played with a ball that is smaller than a soccer ball in order for the players to be able to hold and handle it with a single hand (hence the name Handball). Each team has seven players, and a standard match consists of two periods of 30 minutes.
This fantastic game was introduced as sport for men at the 1936 Summer Olympics, in Berlin, but dropped after that, only to be resumed at the 1972 Summer Olympics. The women’s event was introduced in 1976.
Now I’d place Handball in the ‘random sports’ category simply because it truly is the sport that everyone forgets, in Australia the majority of Olympic coverage is on one television channel, but somehow Handball ends up somewhere else. I mean who even remembers which team won medals in Handball at the previous Olympic Games? Most people wouldn’t even be able to tell you which countries dominate the competition.For the record Croatia won gold in the men’s competition last Olympics and Denmark claimed it for the women.
So if you are watching the Olympics this year, I suggest you keep an eye out for Handball, and perhaps it wont be so forgotten in the future.
If Soccer and Basketball had a one night stand, I’m quite sure that Handball would be the result.
Handball is played on a court 40 meters long by 20 meters wide, it is played with a ball that is smaller than a soccer ball in order for the players to be able to hold and handle it with a single hand (hence the name Handball). Each team has seven players, and a standard match consists of two periods of 30 minutes.
This fantastic game was introduced as sport for men at the 1936 Summer Olympics, in Berlin, but dropped after that, only to be resumed at the 1972 Summer Olympics. The women’s event was introduced in 1976.
Now I’d place Handball in the ‘random sports’ category simply because it truly is the sport that everyone forgets, in Australia the majority of Olympic coverage is on one television channel, but somehow Handball ends up somewhere else. I mean who even remembers which team won medals in Handball at the previous Olympic Games? Most people wouldn’t even be able to tell you which countries dominate the competition.For the record Croatia won gold in the men’s competition last Olympics and Denmark claimed it for the women.
So if you are watching the Olympics this year, I suggest you keep an eye out for Handball, and perhaps it wont be so forgotten in the future.
Handball in action
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