International fronton
The International fronton is an indirect style ball game created to bring together some varieties (such as American handball, Basque pelota, Patball, Gaelic handball and Valencian fronto), and to be played in the Handball International Championships.
Contents
Courtfield
International fronton takes back its courtfield to the most basic version of the indirect style: One wall where the ball must bounce.
This only wall, the fronton, is 6,10m wide and 4,90m high. From the left and right corners two lines are drawn on the ground, 10,60m long, that mark the place into which the ball may bounce, this is the courtfield.
There must be some free space out the courtfield (1,80 wide) for the players to play balls that are risking to bounce twice.
At 4,90m from the fronton wall there is a line on the ground, the fault line. The serving player must throw the ball before that line, and the ball must surpass it after bouncing on the fronton.
At 10,60m from the fronton there is another line on the ground, the back line, which the ball may not bounce from.
In agreement with American handball (and unlike Basque pelota and Valencian fronto) there is no left or back wall, the ball may bounce on the lines, and, specially, there is no line on the fronton for the ball to ball over.
Ball
The International fronton ball is a synthetic one, without any default colour. Diameter: 4,80 cm, weight: 65gr.
Rules
Two players (1 against 1) or four players (2 against 2) play to score points until one of them attain two sets (composed by 21 points).
(In case of a tie, 1-1 sets, a third set is played, where the first service is done by the winner of the previous set)
Players strike the ball with the hand so that it bounces on the fronton and falls into the courtfield. Whoever fails to do so commits a fault and so loses a point, then the opponent serves.
A fault is committed if:
- The player hits the ball with any other part of the body but the hand,
- The ball doesn't bounce on the fronton,
- The ball's first bounce on the ground is out the courtfield,
- The player strikes the ball after a second bounce on the ground.
See also
- Handball International Championships
- American handball
- Basque pelota
- Gaelic handball
- Valencian fronto
