#teamhandball

18 Sept 2018 - Copenhagen

18 September 2018 - Copenhagen

Women's Team Handball - Pics from tonight's Santander Cup 2018 playoffs at Frederiksberg Hallerne, Copenhagen.

København Håndbold lost to Randers HK by one.

Very cool! Some observations:

I'm no sports photographer, but it's probably a very easy sport to photograph. (Pics here are just with my Samsung Galaxy -- I wish I had something better on hand.) Almost every possession ends when someone jumps in the air and does something dramatic, always about 6 meters from the goal. Just point your camera at the spot in front of the goal and wait and you'll probably pick up something dramatic.

It's hard not to draw parallels to women's roller derby. Part of me believes that this is a level of success women's roller derby could achieve... with just a little tweaking.

This was a 1400 seat arena, well over half full of excited fans -- kids and grownups. I got front row seats this morning on line for 100 DKK (about $15).

The action is non-stop -- substitutions take place on the fly, with no stoppage in play. (I'll never stop advocating for rolling starts in derby.)

It's a penalty to hold on to the ball for more than three seconds, so something important is always in motion.

There was good production budget, including live Danish television and instant replays to assist with assessment of penalties.

Very family friendly - the game started at 6:30 and was over at 8:00. Two thirty minute halves, no halftime show.

Staging costs are low (got a ball and two goals?). Two referees and an EMT. Scoring rules couldn't be simpler -- put the ball in the net, earn a point. Then the other team gets the ball at half court.

It's not a contact sport, yet it's a bit of a contact sport. It's the same level of physicality as a rough high level basketball game. There's lots of boxing out and jockeying for position. The most frequent injuries in this game were winces after receiving hands to the face.

It was interesting to watch "pulling the goalie" strategies. Since it just takes a few seconds for a goalie to run off and on, goalies spend a lot of time on the sidelines between moments of terror.

The skill set which seemed like the most natural crossover wasn't basketball or soccer, but volleyball -- passing, diving on the floor, jumping to block. I was surprised to see so many players without kneepads.