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Handball is a popular sport in many parts of the world, but is relatively unknown to sports fans in the UK. Handball looks something like a cross between basketball and five-a-side football (no, not kicking a ball into a basketball hoop!) and is a fast paced, high scoring game played on indoor courts. Perhaps you saw the game played at the Olympics and want to know more? You should come to training session to see the game in action. Training sessions are every Thursday evening from 20:30-21:30 and we're always happy to meet new players, experienced or not. We have players who have been playing all their lives and others who have only just started. Your first training session with us is free. We train at the City Academy, Russell Town Avenue, Redfield, Bristol, BS5 9JH.

Still don't know much about Handball? Well, Handball is a fast, physical and exciting game, played between two teams of seven players who can throw, catch and dribble the ball with their hands and score goals by shooting past the opposition goalkeeper. The game is played on an indoor 20m x 40m court, using narrow, high goals which look something like outdoor hockey nets. The attackers move the ball around the court, looking for gaps in the opposition defence, while defenders aim to block their opponents, win the ball and launch a counterattack. Nobody but each teams goalkeeper is allowed to step into either goal area.

Although some claim handball was invented in ancient Greece, the modern game originated in Denmark, Germany and Sweden at the end of the 19th century. The sport first appeared in the Olympics at the 1936 games, in Berlin where it was played as an outdoor, 11-a-side, men’s game on a field slightly smaller than a football pitch. In 1972, the Munich Olympics saw handball’s debut in its current form, as an indoor, 7-a-side game. A women’s event appeared at the 1976 games in Montreal and handball is now one of the most popular sports in the modern Olympic games.