Throwball is a non-contact

ball sport This is a list of ball games and ball sports that include a ball as a key element in the activity, usually for scoring points. Ball games Ball sports fall within many sport categories, some sports within multiple categories, including: * Bat-a ...

played across a net between two teams of nine players on a rectangular court. Throwball is popular in Asia, especially on the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographical region in Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian Ocean from the Himalayas. Geopolitically, it includes the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India ...

, and was first played in India as a

women's sport The participation of women and girls in sports, physical Physical fitness, fitness and exercise, has been recorded to have existed throughout history. However, participation rates and activities vary in accordance with nation, era, geography, ...

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of ...

during the 1940s. Like

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

, the game's roots are linked with the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams (philanthropist), Georg ...

(Young Men's Christian Association). Both volleyball and

Newcomb ball Newcomb ball (also known simply as Newcomb, and sometimes spelled Newcombe (ball))As the game is named after Sophie Newcomb College, its name has been typically capitalized. is a ball game played in a gymnasium or court using two opposing teams ...

, while older games, share many similarities with throwball. Throwball rules were first drafted in 1955 and India's first national level championship was played in 1980. The International Throwball Federation is the highest governing body for the sport.

History

According to the

Throwball Federation of India Throwball is a non-contact ball sport played across a net between two teams of nine players on a rectangular court. Throwball is popular in Asia, especially on the Indian subcontinent, and was first played in India as a women's sport in Chenna ...

(TFI), throwball is thought to derive from a recreational sport popular among women in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

and Australia during the 1930s. The

brought the game to

, where it was played as a

in the 1940s. Harry Crowe Buck, who founded the

YMCA College of Physical Education YMCA College of Physical Education, the first college for physical education of Asia, was established in 1920 by Harry Crowe Buck of Pennsylvania, United States. The college is now affiliated to the Tamil Nadu Physical Education and Sports U ...

, drafted guidelines for throwball rules and regulations in 1955. In addition, Mr.

Jagat Singh Chauhan Jagat may refer to: *Jagat, Budaun, a Block and Nagar panchayat in Budaun district *a village in Rajasthan, India, best known for its Ambika Mata temple Ambika Mata Mandir is a Hindu temple located in the village of Jagat, about 50 km sou ...

was the founder/father of throwball, handball, and

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a court by two teams of seven players. It is among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for female competitors. The sport is played on indoor and outdoor netball courts and is specifical ...

in India. The game reached

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

in the 1950s. Throwball Federation of India (TFI) was formed along with the

Indian National Throwball Championship Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South As ...

. By 1990, Throwball in India developed separate competitions for both men and women.

Rules and play

Court

The playing court is somewhat larger than a volleyball court at with a neutral box on either side of the center. The height of the net is .

Ball

The ball is similar to a volleyball but may be slightly larger. While in volleyball the ball is hit or ''volleyed'' throughout play, in throwball the ball is thrown over the net, where a member of the other team tries to catch the ball and quickly throw it back across the net.

Play

Teams

An official game is played between two teams of nine or seven players. A minimum of three or five substitute players are allowed for each team, which can make a maximum of three substitutions during a set. A team can take two time-outs of 30 seconds each during a set. The first team to score 25 points wins a set. A match is three sets.

Service

Service is within five seconds after the referee whistles and is done from the ''service zone'', without crossing the ''end line''. A player can jump while serving the ball. The ''service ball'' must not touch the net. Double touch is not allowed for receiving the service ball and players stay in 2-3-2 position during the serve.

Rally

During a rally, the ball must be caught at once with both hands, without any movement of the ball within the hands (''dubs'') and the ball should not have contact with the ground. The ball is thrown within three seconds after being caught, only from above the shoulder line and only with one hand. A player can jump when throwing the ball, which can touch the net (but not the antenna). The player should have contact with the ground when catching the ball. However, the ball is not touched by any part of the body other than the palm when catching or throwing (''body touch''). The ball can neither be shifted (passed) to the left or right nor deliberately pushed. Two players are not allowed to catch the ball simultaneously.

Uniforms

In official play, teams wear shorts and jersey uniform with numbers only in the range of 1–12 printed front and back.

Current status

Throwball is gaining popularity in India as a competitive sport. The Indian authorities of throwball were instrumental in organizing the Asian level and later, the world level association for the sport, the International Throwball Association. Throwball is a popular sport played in gym class,

colleges A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a University system, constituent part of one. A college may be a academic degree, degree-awarding Tertiary education, tertiary educational institution, a part of a coll ...

, and clubs throughout Asian countries such as India,

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republi ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

, Japan, China,

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is ma ...

Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountai ...

and

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million pe ...

. It has been slowly gaining popularity in other countries such as

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

, Australia, Brazil, Canada and the United Kingdom.

Major competitions

Domestic competitions

India

Mr.

was founder/father of handball, netball and Throwball in India. In India, the

National Throwball Championship National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

is organized by the

International competitions

Kuala Lampur

A Junior International Throwball Match was conducted in

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia , anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , sub ...

in December 2015; eight countries participated.

References

External links

International Throwball FederationPakistan Throwball Federation
{{Team Sport Ball games Team sports Articles containing video clips YMCA Women's sports History of women's sports