Frisian handball (; ) is a traditional Frisian sport, related to

American handball American handball, known as handball in the United States and sometimes referred to as wallball, is a sport in which players use their hands to hit a small, rubber ball against a wall such that their opponent(s) cannot do the same without the ba ...

and

fives Fives (historically known as hand-tennis) is an English handball sport derived from ''jeu de paume'', similar to the games of handball, Basque pelota, and squash. The game is played in both singles and doubles teams, in an either three- or f ...

, that is most commonly practiced by people from the northern Dutch province of

Friesland Friesland ( ; ; official ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia (), named after the Frisians, is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen (p ...

(''Fryslân''). It is believed to be one of the oldest ballgames and was an unofficial

demonstration sport A demonstration sport, or exhibition sport, is a sport which is played to promote it, rather than as part of standard medal competition. This occurs commonly during the Olympic Games but may also occur at other sporting events. Demonstration sport ...

at the

1928 Summer Olympics The 1928 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the IX Olympiad (), was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated from 28 July to 12 August 1928 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The city of Amsterdam had previously bid for ...

in Amsterdam. The scoring is similar to tennis. The first team scoring six games wins the match.

Rules

The major Frisian handball tournament, called the P.C. (short for Permanent Committee), has been held in the city of

Franeker Franeker (; ) is one of the eleven historical City rights in the Low Countries, cities of Friesland and capital of the municipality of Waadhoeke. It is located north of the Van Harinxmakanaal and about west of Leeuwarden. As of 2023, it had 13,0 ...

since 1854 and is considered the oldest regular sports tournament in the world. Frisian handball is played on a rectangular lawn of 10 meters by 32 meters - a kaatsbaan in Dutch -, by two teams composed of 3 players. In the centre of one short side of the field is a receiving zone of 5 meters by 19 meters defended by 2 players, the other team member remaining field player. One of the opponents serves the hard leather ball with his bare hand from a serving box at about 30 meters from the receiving zone. If he does not succeed in reaching the receiving zone, the receiving team gets a direct score. When the receiving team, of which the players are allowed to wear a single hardened leather glove, returns the ball over the short line behind the serving box (called the upper line, in West Frisian ''boppe'') they also get a direct score. Of course, the serving team is allowed to prevent this happening by hitting or holding the ball before the upper line. The place where the ball remains after such a rally is marked with a small woodblock called a ''kaats'', which is best defined as an undecided score. When two such undecided points occur (or one, if one of the teams is on game point) the teams change places. In the next rally, the team that then has the receiving position, tries to hit the ball past the first ''kaats'' and, if any, in the next rally past the second ''kaats'', so deciding the undecided points. Then they start all over again. In parts of

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, the similar game of is played. This game is played by teams of 5 players on a trapezium shaped field, mostly located on marketplaces.

In geography

The

Catskill mountains The Catskill Mountains, also known as the Catskills, are a physiographic province and subrange of the larger Appalachian Mountains, located in southeastern New York. As a cultural and geographic region, the Catskills are generally defined a ...

in the Eastern United States derive their name from 'kaatsen'. The Dutch who settled the Hudson River area named the fields where indigenous people played their ballgames, 'kaatsbaan'. The name survived as Katsbaan, New York, part of the town of Saugerties. The creek that runs past Ka(a)tsbaan into the Hudson River, was named Kaatserskill ('kill' is an old Dutch word for creek, e.g. Dordtse Kil, Sluiskil), now Kaaters Kill. The creek's name then transferred to the mountain range from which it springs.

External links

KNKB Dutch Federation

Franeker's ''Permanent Committee''

{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070522220835/http://mnjp-ath.site.voila.fr/accueil.htm , date=22 May 2007
1956, Balle Pelote final match, Braine-Gosseli
Ball games Team sports Games of gain-ground Sport in Friesland Sports originating in the Netherlands

Rules

In geography

See also

External links