Official Handball Court: Size, Lines and Areas

HANDBALL PLAYING COURT

In this post, DEF brings you a complete and illustrated guide to the Official Handball Court, its size, lines, and markings. Enjoy! 😉

Handball Court Size

The playing court is 40 meters long and 20 meters wide rectangle, consisting of two goal areas and a playing area. The longer boundary lines are called side lines, and the shorter ones are called goal lines (between the goalposts) or outer goal lines (on either side of the goal).

Safety Zone

There should be a safety zone surrounding the playing court, with a width of at least 1 meter along the side lines and 2 meters behind the goal lines.

The Goals

The goals are placed in the center of each goal line. They must be fixed to the ground or to the walls behind them. The handball goals are 2 meters high and 3 meters wide.

The goal measurements

• All the posts forming the goal must be squared, 8cm wide.
• The surfaces facing the court must be painted with alternated colors stripes, in contrast to each other.
• The nets should be fixed inside the goals in a way that the ball naturally remains there when it is throwed.

The Handball Court Lines

All lines on the court are fully part of the area that they enclose. The goal lines shall be 8cm wide between the goalposts, whereas all other lines shall be 5cm wide.

Lines between two adjacent areas may be replaced with a difference in colors between the adjacent areas of the floor.

The Handball Goal Area

In front of each goal there is a goal area, as follows:

The goal area is defined by the goal-area line (6-metre line), which is drawn as follows:

• A 3 meters long line directly in front of the goal; this line is parallel to the goal line and 6 meters away from it (measured from the rear edge of the goal line to the front edge of the goal-area line)
• Two quarter circles, each with a radius of 6 meters (measured from the rear inner corner of the goalposts), connecting the 3 meters long line with the outer goal line.

The Free Shot Line on handball court

The free throw line (9-meter line) is a broken line, drawn 3 meters outside the goal-area line. Both the segments of the line and the spaces between them measure 15cm.

The Handball 7-Meter Line

The 7-metre line is a 1-meter long line, directly in front of the goal. It is parallel to the goal line and 7 meters away from it.

The Goalkeeper’s Restraining Line

The goalkeeper’s restraining line (the 4-metre line) is a 15cm long line, directly in front of the goal. It is parallel to the goal line and 4 meters away from it.

The Center Line

The center line connects the midpoints of the two side lines.

The Handball Substitution Line

The substitution line (a segment of the side line) for each team extends from the center line to a point at a distance of 4.5 meters from the center line. This end point of the substitution line is enhanced by a line which is parallel to the center line, extending 15cm inside the sideline and 15cm outside the sideline.

MORE HANDBALL CONTENT

• The Handball Throw-in
• Handball Technical Fundamentals
• Handball Passive Play
• Handball Rules
• Handball History