Handball
Welcome to the Cumann na mBunscol Handball Page!
Handball is a great sport for boys and girls. It is easy to play and easy to organise. All you need is a ball and a wall!
Handball is ideal for small schools who may not have enough numbers to field a football or hurling team.
Every year, between 20 and 30 schools from all across the county participate in the Cumann na mBunscol handball competitions.
Every year, we run two competitions:
- The Challenger One Competition
- The Challenger Two Competition
The Challenger One Competition
The Challenger One Competition is geared towards beginners.
It is played with the bigger, softer, slower Challenger One Ball.
It is played in the one-wall handball court.
The Challenger One Competition has become very popular with schools.
This competition was started to get more schools involved and more children playing handball.It has really taken off and now up to 20 or 30 schools from all across the county take part every year.
Many schools have a gable-end or a sports hall where the lines for the handball ‘court’ can easily be marked out.
All you need is a wall and a ball to get started!
Because so many schools are now taking part in the Challenger One competition each year, we now play four preliminaries and all the winners from these four preliminaries then go on to compete in the county finals.
The Challenger One Competition - Rules
- 1.All games will be played in a one-wall court.
- All games will be played with the beginners’ ball - the Challenger 1 ball.
- The short-line will be 12’ from the front-wall. The server stands at this line and the ball must pass this same short-line in the serve.
- No blocking is allowed. If a ball is blocked from a player’s view, the play is stopped and the ball re-served.
- All competitors must wear proper attire and school colours.
- The competition is run on a knock-out basis.
- NB: The Rules of Play should be explained to the competitors beforehand.
- All matches will be just one game played up to 15 aces or 10 minutes, whichever comes first.
- In Singles: Whoever starts (Player A) will serve 2 consecutive tosses. There will be no hand-out awarded during this time but player B will be awarded marks if player A loses a rally. Player B will then serve 2 tosses and so on till one player reaches 15 aces or when the 10 minutes are up.
- Doubles: Whoever starts (Players A1 and A2) will serve 2 tosses i.e. 1 toss each. A1 will serve first. Then A2. Players B1 and B2 will then serve 2 tosses i.e. 1 toss each. B1 will serve first. Then B2 will serve. And so on until A or B reach 15 aces or when the 10 minutes are up.
- NB: The Rules of Play should be explained to the competitors beforehand.
- All matches will be just one game played up to 15 aces or 10 minutes, whichever comes first.
- In Singles: Whoever starts (Player A) will serve 2 consecutive tosses. There will be no hand-out awarded during this time but player B will be awarded marks if player A loses a rally. Player B will then serve 2 tosses and so on till one player reaches 15 aces or when the 10 minutes are up.
- Doubles: Whoever starts (Players A1 and A2) will serve 2 tosses i.e. 1 toss each. A1 will serve first. Then A2. Players B1 and B2 will then serve 2 tosses i.e. 1 toss each. B1 will serve first. Then B2 will serve. And so on until A or B reach 15 aces or when the 10 minutes are up.
- If the players are still level after the 10 minutes of play, a decider will then be played. This will be one game up to 7 aces.
- As previously mentioned, this competition is specifically geared towards beginners. Players with more experience should play in the Challenger Two competition rather than the Challenger One competition.
Cumann na mBunscol Handball
CHALLENGER ONE Competition
CHALLENGER ONE Competition Entry Form
"(Required)" indicates required fields
The Challenger Two Competition
The Challenger Two Competition is played with the smaller, harder, faster Challenger Two Ball.
It is played in the four-wall 40 x 20 indoor handball court.
This makes it more challenging as now the player has to contend with the ball bouncing at an angle off the side-walls and the back-wall and ceiling!
The Challenger Two Competition – Rules
- All competitors must wear proper attire – protective goggles, gloves and school colours.
- The competition is run on a knock-out basis.
- All games will be played with Challenger #2 Ball.
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4.NB: The Rules of Play should be explained to the competitors beforehand.
See below: - In Singles: Whoever starts (Player A) will serve 2 consecutive tosses. There will be no hand-out awarded during this time but player B will be awarded marks if player A loses a rally. Player B will then serve 2 tosses and so on till one player reaches 21 aces or when the 10 minutes are up.
- Doubles: Whoever starts (Players A1 and A2) will serve 2 tosses i.e. 1 toss each. A1 will serve first. Then A2. Players B1 and B2 will then serve 2 tosses i.e. 1 toss each. B1 will serve first. Then B2 will serve. And so on until A or B reach 21 aces or when the 10 minutes are up.
- If the players are still level after the 10 minutes of play, a decider will then be played. This will be one game up to 7 aces.
Liathróid Láimhe Chumann na mBunscol
CHALLENGER TWO Competition
CHALLENGER TWO Competition Entry Form
"(Required)" indicates required fields