Ball

The ball is spherical and must be made either of leather or a synthetic material. It is not allowed to have a shiny or slippery surface. As the ball is intended to be operated by a single hand, its official sizes vary depending on age and gender of the participating teams.

Awarded throws

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The referees may award a special throw to a team. This usually happens after certain events such as scored goals, off-court balls, turnovers and timeouts. All of these special throws require the thrower to obtain a certain position, and pose restrictions on the positions of all other players. Sometimes the execution must wait for a whistle blow by the referee.

Throw-off

A throw-off takes place from the center of the court. The thrower must touch the middle line with one foot, and all the other offensive players must stay in their half until the referee restarts the game. The defending players must keep a distance of at least three metres from the thrower until the ball leaves his hand. A throw-off occurs at the beginning of each period and after the opposing team scores a goal. It must be cleared by the referees.

Modern handball introduced the "fast throw-off" concept; i.e., the play will be immediately restarted by the referees as soon as the executing team fulfills its requirements. Many teams leverage this rule to score easy goals before the opposition has time to form a stable defense line.

Throw-in

The team which did not touch the ball last is awarded a throw-in when the ball fully crosses the side line or touches the ceiling. If the ball crosses the outer goal line, a throw-in is awarded only if the defending court players touched the ball last. Execution requires the thrower to place one foot on the nearest outer line to the cause. All defending players must keep a distance of three metres (9.8 ft). However, they are allowed to stand immediately outside their own goal area even when the distance is less than three metres.

Goalkeeper-throw

If the ball crosses the outer goal line without interference from the defending team or when deflected by the defending team's goalkeeper, or when the attacking team violates the D-zone as described above, a goalkeeper-throw is awarded to the defending team. This is the most common turnover. The goalkeeper resumes the play with a throw from anywhere within the goal area.

Free-throw

A free-throw restarts the play after an interruption by the referees. It takes places from the spot where the interruption was caused, as long as this spot is outside of the free-throw line of the opposing team. In the latter case, the throw is deferred to the nearest spot on the free-throw line. Free-throws are the equivalent to free-kicks in association football; however, conceding them is typically not seen as poor sportsmanship for the defending side, and in itself, they carry no major disadvantages. (In particular, being awarded a free throw while being on warning for passive play will not reset the warning, whereas a shot on goal will.) The thrower may take a direct attempt for a goal which, however, is rarely feasible if the defending team has organised a defense. However, if a free throw is awarded and the half or game ends, a direct throw at the goal is typically attempted, which occasionally goes in.

Seven-metre throw

A seven-metre throw is awarded when a clear chance of scoring is illegally prevented anywhere on the court by an opposing team player, official, or spectator. It is awarded also when the referees have interrupted a legitimate scoring chance for any reason. The thrower steps with one foot behind the 7-metre line with only the defending goalkeeper between him and the goal. The goalkeeper must keep a distance of 3 metres away, which is marked by a short tick on the floor. All other players must remain behind the free-throw line until execution and the defending court players must keep a distance of three metres. The thrower must await the whistle blow of the referee. A seven-metre throw is the equivalent to a penalty kick in association football; however, it is far more common and typically occurs several times in a single game. It is thus tactically similar to free throw percentage in basketball and teams will try to have their best seven metre throwers execute those throws.