Sport - Handball

The language of sports everybody understands, its huge influence is recognized as a way of transmitting important messages about society's development. Sport, especially in the lives of young people, encourages physical and psychological development and also allows having company and making new friendships.The beginnings of handball, according to some historians, are linked to ancient Greece and a game called „Urania“, while in ancient Rome a similar game was popular called „Harpaston“. Today's handball evolved from three various sports. The Danish gymnastic trainer Holger Nielsen in 1898 had introduced to the curriculum a game similar to today's indoor handball called „Haandbold“. Germans claim that handball originates from the German games „Kӧngsbergball“ and „Raffball“ (shown for the first time in 1891 in Braunshwig) that was later called „Hazena“ by the idea of a gymnastics teacher Anton Krištof, while the first rules were proclaimed by Vaclav Karas in 1905.

The first World Handball Championship for men was held in 1938 and for women in 1957. Handball, only for men, was included in the Olympic Games in Berlin in 1936, but shortly after these games it was excluded. Handball was returned to the Olympic Games program in Munich in 1972. Competitions for women were included in 1976 at the Olympic Games in Montreal. (Željka Šaravanja)