HANDBALL, widely known as Team Handball in the United States, is played in 159 nations by 39 million people. Called "ripe for an American invasion" by TIME magazine, many people link elements of basketball, soccer and lacrosse to the sport. It is fast, physical and exciting.

Two teams, composed of six players and one goalie each, face off on a 20 meter by 40 meter court. Players manually dribble, pass and shoot a ball into what looks like a Futsal goal. Men's and women's handballs are 56-58 centimeters and 54-56 centimeters in circumference, respectively; easily gripped in one hand, it is built comparably to a soccer ball. Although about 40 feet longer than a basketball court, a handball court is similar in appearance: half circles on both ends of the court mark the "goal area," a zone that extends six meters in front of the 6'7" tall and 10' wide goal. The 12 court players are not allowed to literally step foot in this area, which results in NBA-style leaps over the line to shoot while in the air. Successful scoring attempts result in a single point. Defensive play is fierce, however, and allows aggressive person-to-person full body contact to prevent the offense from shooting.

Final scores in this action-packed game are often in the 30s. A regulation game is played in two 30-minute halves with one team timeout per half. The clock stops only for team timeouts, injuries and at the referee's discretion.

See what all the buzz is about! Watch matches from the 2009 Nationals and browse USATH's photo galleries.

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