# Handball terms

## Actors

- [Server](https://handball.theperfectship.com/server.md): The player who puts the ball in play.
- [Receiver](https://handball.theperfectship.com/receiver.md): The player who must return the serve.
- [Player](https://handball.theperfectship.com/player.md): A competitor in a singles, doubles or cutthroat match.
- [Partner](https://handball.theperfectship.com/partner.md): Your teammate in doubles.
- [Opponent](https://handball.theperfectship.com/opponent.md): The player or side you are playing against.
- [Referee](https://handball.theperfectship.com/match-referee.md): The official who controls the match and makes the calls.
- [Line judge](https://handball.theperfectship.com/line-judge.md): An official who assists the referee on the lines.
- [Scorer](https://handball.theperfectship.com/scorer.md): The official who keeps the score.
- [Floor manager](https://handball.theperfectship.com/floor-manager.md): The tournament official who manages the courts and match flow.
- [Tournament director](https://handball.theperfectship.com/tournament-director.md): The official in charge of a tournament.
- [Chief of referees](https://handball.theperfectship.com/chief-of-referees.md): The official who assigns and oversees the referees.

## Actions

- [Serve](https://handball.theperfectship.com/serve.md): Putting the ball in play to start a rally.
- [Second serve](https://handball.theperfectship.com/second-serve.md): The serve a server gets after a fault serve.
- [Return of serve](https://handball.theperfectship.com/return-of-serve.md): The receiver’s first shot after a legal serve.
- [Rally](https://handball.theperfectship.com/rally.md): The exchange of shots after the serve, until the point ends.
- [Change of serve (side-out)](https://handball.theperfectship.com/change-of-serve.md): When the serve passes to the other player or side.
- [Hinder](https://handball.theperfectship.com/hinder.md): Interference that stops play so the rally is replayed (dead-ball hinder).
- [Avoidable hinder](https://handball.theperfectship.com/avoidable-hinder.md): A hinder a player could have avoided, which costs the rally.
- [Replay](https://handball.theperfectship.com/replay.md): Playing the rally over after a dead-ball call.
- [Fault serve](https://handball.theperfectship.com/fault-serve.md): A defective serve that gives the server a second chance.
- [Out serve](https://handball.theperfectship.com/out-serve.md): A serve that loses the serve immediately.
- [Short serve](https://handball.theperfectship.com/short-serve.md): A serve that lands short of the short line.
- [Long serve](https://handball.theperfectship.com/long-serve.md): A serve that goes past the long line (in four-wall: rebounds to the back wall before touching the floor).
- [Three-wall serve](https://handball.theperfectship.com/three-wall-serve.md): A serve that hits the front and two side walls before the floor.
- [Foot fault](https://handball.theperfectship.com/foot-fault.md): Stepping outside the service zone while serving.
- [Skip](https://handball.theperfectship.com/skip.md): A ball that hits the floor before the front wall.
- [Time-out](https://handball.theperfectship.com/time-out.md): A short stoppage a player may request.
- [Delay of game](https://handball.theperfectship.com/delay.md): Taking too long between rallies.
- [Technical](https://handball.theperfectship.com/technical.md): A penalty for unsporting or improper conduct.
- [Warning](https://handball.theperfectship.com/warning.md): A caution before a technical.
- [Appeal](https://handball.theperfectship.com/appeal.md): A player’s request to have a call reviewed.
- [Forfeit / default](https://handball.theperfectship.com/forfeit.md): Losing a match by not playing or by penalty.
- [Hand-out](https://handball.theperfectship.com/hand-out.md): A lost serve. In GAA rules a side-out means both doubles partners have lost it.
- [Ace](https://handball.theperfectship.com/ace.md): A point won outright on the serve, when the receiver cannot return it legally.

## Places

- [Court](https://handball.theperfectship.com/court.md): The playing area (one-, three- or four-wall).
- [Front wall](https://handball.theperfectship.com/front-wall.md): The wall the ball must hit first.
- [Back wall](https://handball.theperfectship.com/back-wall.md): The rear wall of a four-wall court.
- [Side wall](https://handball.theperfectship.com/side-wall.md): The walls along the sides of a three- or four-wall court.
- [Ceiling](https://handball.theperfectship.com/ceiling.md): The overhead surface of a four-wall court.
- [Short line](https://handball.theperfectship.com/short-line.md): The line a served ball must pass beyond.
- [Long line](https://handball.theperfectship.com/long-line.md): The line furthest from the front wall; a serve that lands beyond it is a long serve.
- [Service line](https://handball.theperfectship.com/service-line.md): The front edge of the service zone.
- [Service zone](https://handball.theperfectship.com/service-zone.md): The marked area the server stands in to serve.
- [Receiving line](https://handball.theperfectship.com/receiving-line.md): The line behind which the receiver waits.
- [Playing zone](https://handball.theperfectship.com/playing-zone.md): The in-bounds area of the court.
- [Side lines](https://handball.theperfectship.com/side-lines.md): The boundary lines along the sides of a one-wall court.
- [Service box](https://handball.theperfectship.com/service-box.md): Where the server’s partner stands in four-wall and 60×30 doubles.
- [Receiver’s restraining line](https://handball.theperfectship.com/restraining-line.md): The line behind which the receiver waits until the ball is struck.

## Things

- [Ball](https://handball.theperfectship.com/ball.md): The ball in use (Big Blue, Smallball, Softball).
- [Gloves](https://handball.theperfectship.com/gloves.md): Hand protection players wear.
- [Eye protection](https://handball.theperfectship.com/eye-protection.md): Required protective eyewear.
- [Uniform](https://handball.theperfectship.com/uniform.md): What players must wear.
- [Towel](https://handball.theperfectship.com/towel.md): A towel for wiping moisture from the court surfaces; in tournament play one should be made available.
- [Softball](https://handball.theperfectship.com/softball.md): The 60×30 adult ball (red) and juvenile ball (green).
- [Hardball](https://handball.theperfectship.com/hardball.md): The 60×30 ball: rubber-and-yarn windings in a goatskin or similar hide cover.
- [Jersey / shirt](https://handball.theperfectship.com/jersey.md): A shirt must be worn in GAA championships; doubles partners must match.
- [Headband](https://handball.theperfectship.com/headband.md): Required to have, not to wear: players must have access to a headband, and only wear it if the referee deems it necessary to keep the floor from getting wet.
- [Coin](https://handball.theperfectship.com/coin.md): The coin tossed before a match to decide who serves first, and tossed again if the first two games finish level on points.
- [Clock](https://handball.theperfectship.com/clock.md): The rulebooks name no clock, only limits the referee times: 10 seconds to serve, a one-minute timeout, two minutes for a glove change and five between games.
- [Wall](https://handball.theperfectship.com/wall.md): The vertical surface the ball is hit against. One-wall courts have a single front wall; four-wall courts add the back and side walls.
- [Floor](https://handball.theperfectship.com/floor.md): The court floor, where the lines are marked and the ball bounces; a ball that bounces twice on it before being returned ends the rally.
- [Field](https://handball.theperfectship.com/field.md): The players entered in a tournament event. The rulebooks never say field, only entrant and draw.

## Concepts

- [Point](https://handball.theperfectship.com/point.md): Scored by the server (or either side in rally scoring) when a rally ends in their favour.
- [Game, match, tiebreaker](https://handball.theperfectship.com/game.md): A game is played to a set number of points; a match is a set of games; a tiebreaker decides a deciding game.
- [Singles](https://handball.theperfectship.com/singles.md): Two players, one against one.
- [Doubles](https://handball.theperfectship.com/doubles.md): Two teams of two.
- [Cutthroat](https://handball.theperfectship.com/cutthroat.md): A three-player practice game; not an official tournament game.
- [Draw & seeding](https://handball.theperfectship.com/draw.md): How a tournament bracket is set up.
- [Round robin](https://handball.theperfectship.com/round-robin.md): A format where everyone plays everyone; ties are broken by tiebreaker scoring.
- [Consolation matches](https://handball.theperfectship.com/consolation.md): Extra matches for players knocked out early.
- [Medical control](https://handball.theperfectship.com/medical-control.md): The staff the tournament director appoints (a trained health care provider) to decide whether a hurt or concussed player may continue; the director acts as Medical Control if none is appointed.
- [Risk assessment](https://handball.theperfectship.com/risk-assessment.md): The concussion evaluation Medical Control performs when a player may have been concussed.
- [Concussion protocol](https://handball.theperfectship.com/concussion.md): If a player may be concussed, play stops and Medical Control decides whether they may continue; no timeout or injury time is charged during the evaluation.
- [USHA](https://handball.theperfectship.com/usha.md): United States Handball Association, the source of these rules.
- [GAA Handball](https://handball.theperfectship.com/gaa.md): The governing body for handball in Ireland and the source of the 60×30 rules.

## Games

- [One-wall (GAA: Wallball)](https://handball.theperfectship.com/one-wall.md): Handball on a single front wall with an open floor.
- [Three-wall](https://handball.theperfectship.com/three-wall.md): Front wall plus two side walls; follows the four-wall rules.
- [Four-wall](https://handball.theperfectship.com/four-wall.md): The fully enclosed game.
- [60×30 (Irish)](https://handball.theperfectship.com/sixty-thirty.md): The Irish court, 60 ft long and 30 ft wide, played with a softball or hardball under GAA rules.