Australian handball

Australian handball is a wall-and-ball sport in which players strike a small ball against one or more walls using the palm or fist rather than a racquet. It is distinct from the Olympic sport of team handball and is more closely related to Gaelic handball, Welsh handball and American handball. Play begins with a serve hit directly against the front wall, and the opposing player must return the ball before it bounces twice. After a player strikes the ball it must reach the front wall before touching the ground, though it may rebound off side walls. It is played as singles or doubles on courts with one, three or four walls, the three-wall court being most common in organised play. The first Australian handball court is credited to the Melbourne hotel keeper Michael Lynch in 1847, organised forms were recorded from 1923, and the Australian Handball Council, formed in 1928, runs national championships. The game has been played mainly in Victoria, South Australia and New South Wales, where about 1,000 players were registered by 1970.