One-wall handball

One-wall handball, also known as 1-wall, wallball or international fronton, is an indirect style of a ball game where the player hits a small rubber ball with their hand against a wall. The goal of the game is to score more points than the opponent. The player then hits the ball, and the ball bounces off the wall and the floor within court lines, if the opponent fails to return the ball, the player scores a point. The sport was created to bring varieties, such as American handball, Basque pelota, Patball, Gaelic handball, Pêl-Law (Welsh handball) and Valencian frontó.

Wallball / One-wall handball / International fronton
Girls playing 1-walled fronton.
Highest governing bodyWorld Wallball Association (WWBA) [Jointly setup by the World Handball Council, the CIJB and GAA Handball[1]]
Characteristics
ContactNon-contact
Team membersSingles or doubles
Mixed-sexNo, separate competitions
TypeOutdoor or indoor
EquipmentSmall, rubber ball (Big ball) or smaller, harder rubber ball (Small ball)
VenueOne-wall handball / wallball court (also known as handball alley or simply "court")
Presence
Country or regionWorldwide
OlympicDemonstration event at 2013 World Games, Colombia[2] (WWBA goal of inclusion in future World Games and then eventual WWBA goal of achieving Olympic status)

Courtfield
International Fronton courtfield

International fronton uses the most basic courtfield layout of the indirect style: one wall where the ball must bounce.

This only wall, the fronton, is 6.1 metres (20 ft) wide and 4.9 metres (16 ft) high. From the left and right corners two lines are drawn on the ground, 1.6 metres (5 ft 3 in) long, that mark the place into which the ball may bounce, this is the courtfield.

There must be some free space out the courtfield 1.8 metres (5 ft 11 in) for the players to play balls that are risking to bounce twice.

At 4.9 metres (16 ft) from the fronton wall there is a line on the ground, the fault line. The serving player must throw the ball before that line, and the ball must surpass it after bouncing on the fronton.

At 10.6 metres (35 ft) from the fronton there is another line on the ground, the back line, which the ball may not bounce from.

In agreement with American handball (and unlike Basque pelota and Valencian frontó) there is no left or back wall, the ball may bounce on the lines, and, specially, there is no line on the fronton for the ball to ball over.

Ball

The One Wall ball / International fronton ball ('big ball') is a synthetic one, without any default colour. According to the GAA Handball 1-Wall playing rules [As of January 2019] (which is in line with United States Handball Association playing rules), the ball used shall be in line with the following:

  1. Material. The material should be rubber or synthetic material.
  2. Colour. Colour is optional.
  3. Size. 1 and 7/8-inch diameter, with a variation of 1/32-inch, +/-
  4. Weight. The ball shall be 61 grams, with a variation of 3 grams, +/-
  5. Rebound. Rebound from free fall, 70-inch drop to a hardwood floor is 48 to 52 inches at a Temperature of 68 degrees F.[3]

This ball is also used in the 'Big Ball' grades at the World Handball Championships organised by the World Handball Council. The One wall ball is widely available - manufacturers of the One Wall ball include O'Neills, Decathlon 'Urball' brand, MacSports 'Challenger' brand & Sky Bounce. The 'small ball' (mainly used in 4-Wall American handball/Gaelic handball competitions) is also used in the 'small ball' one-wall/wallball grades at the World Championships.

Rules

Two players (1 against 1) or four players (2 against 2) play to score points until one of them attain two sets (composed by 21 points).

(In case of a tie, 1-1 sets, a third set is played, where the first service is done by the winner of the previous set)

Players strike the ball with the hand so that it bounces on the fronton and falls into the courtfield. Whoever fails to do so commits a fault and so loses a point, then the opponent serves.

A fault is committed if:

  • The player hits the ball with any other part of the body but the hand,
  • The ball does not bounce on the fronton,
  • The ball's first bounce on the ground is out the courtfield,
  • The player strikes the ball after a second bounce on the ground.

Competitions

There are several major international competitions held in the sport, in addition to clubs/communities/regional associations across the globe hosting their own local/regional tournaments.

The European 1-Wall Tour is a Wallball circuit around Europe. Six to eight nations host an Open each year, each one inclusive and encouraging with grades for top senior players right through to beginners.

The Handball International Championships are organised by the International Ball game Confederation (CIJB) annually with the country federations that are part of the CIJB represented (Argentina, Belgium, Colombia, Ecuador, France, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, Spain, Uruguay and England).

A World Championships for the sport is also organised by the World Handball Council every three years (with the World Handball Council representing the handball federations of USA (United States Handball Association), Ireland (GAA Handball Ireland), Canada (Canadian Handball Association), Australia, Japan, Puerto Rico and Czech Republic) although players representing countries not formally part of the council are welcome to take part in the council's World Championships.

2023 & 2024 events
  • 2023 European Youth 1-Wall Championships, organised by the European 1-Wall Tour
  • 2023 Dutch and UK Opens, organised by the European 1-Wall Tour, which took place in the first half of 2023[4]
  • 2023 GAA World Games taking place in Derry in Northern Ireland.[5] According to the 2023 GAA World Games social media pages, exhibition handball matches are due to take place at the 2023 World Games.[6][7]
  • 2023 Pilota World Cup, Alzira,[8] taking place in Alzira in the province of Valencia, Spain, organised by the CIJB
  • 2023 US Wallball Nationals [big ball], organised by the United States Handball Association
  • 2023 US One-Wall Nationals [small ball], organised by the United States Handball Association
  • 2023 Irish Wallball Nationals, taking place on 19 and 20 August 2023,[9] organised by GAA Handball
  • 2023 All-Ireland Wallball Championships, organised by GAA Handball[10]
  • 2023 Welsh, Spanish, Belgian & French Opens, taking place in the second half of 2023, organised by the European 1-Wall Tour[11]
  • 2024 Dutch & UK Opens, both taking place in early 2024, organised by the European 1-Wall Tour[12]
  • 2024 World Handball Championships, taking place in Ireland. This event is organised by both the World Handball Council and GAA Handball

See also

References
  1. "GAA Handball 2012 National Report" (PDF). GAA Handball Official Website. GAA Handball. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  2. "World Games, Colombia – Team GB Battle Hard". UK Wallball. 15 August 2013.
  3. "Official Irish 1-Wall (Wallball) Playing Rules As of January 2019" (PDF). GAA Handball. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  4. John, Lucy (18 March 2023). "Little known Welsh sport brought back from brink of extinction". WalesOnline. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
  5. "Derry to be host venue for GAA's 2023 World Games". BBC Sport. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
  6. "GAA World Games Twitter account tweet". Twitter. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  7. "official 2023 GAA World Games Instagram account". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  8. B, C. I. J. (24 March 2023). "Horarios, grupos y sedes del Mundial Alzira 2023". Superdeporte (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 March 2023.
  9. "2023 Calendar (Clar)" (PDF). GAA Handball. GAA Handball. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
  10. "2023 Calendar (Clar)" (PDF). GAA Handball. GAA Handball. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
  11. "EVENTS". Euro 1-Wall Tour. 26 August 2023. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
  12. "EVENTS". Euro 1-Wall Tour. 26 August 2023. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
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