Fistball

Fistball is a sport of European origin, primarily played in the German-speaking nations of Austria, Germany and Switzerland, as well as in Brazil. The objective of the game is similar to volleyball, in that teams try to hit a ball over a net, but the rules vary from volleyball in several major ways. The current men's fistball World Champions are Germany, winners of both the 2023 Men's World Championships and the fistball category at the 2022 World Games, while the current women's fistball World Champions are also Germany, after winning the 2021 Women's World Championships.

History

When fistball was invented is unknown, but its roots probably lie in Southern Europe, or more specifically, Italy. The earliest known written mention of the game is by Roman Emperor Gordian III from 240 AD. Rules for an Italian version of fistball were recorded by Antonio Scaino in 1555. In the 16th century, the game experienced a renaissance, although it was mostly regarded as a pastime for nobles and gentry.
In 1786, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe mentioned fistball games between "four noblemen from Verona and four Venetians" in his diary An Italian Journey. It was only in 1870 that fistball was introduced to Germany, led by Georg Weber. The sport was mainly played by gymnasts and was therefore regarded as a gymnastic sport. Fistball was first presented to the public in 1885 at the German Gymnastics Festival in Dresden. In 1894, Georg Weber, along with Heinrich Schnell, drafted the first rules that outlined a competitive and organised sport. The play and scoring however differed significantly from fistball as it is known today.
Subsequently, the sport spread to surrounding, mainly German-speaking, countries, and German emigrants also brought the sport to all continents, particularly in South America and West Africa. Fistball was first introduced to the United States in 1911 by high school teacher Christopher Carlton who had experienced it on holiday in Italy.
At the 1913 German Gymnastics Festival in Leipzig, the first German men's championships were held, where LLB Frankfurt won against 1879 MTV Munich, winning 114:101. Due to the First World War, no German Championships were held between 1914 and 1920. In 1921, the first women's fistball championship was held, with Hamburger Turnerschaft defeating TV Krefeld by 91:90. Fistball, while still a game affiliated to the Gymnastics Association, began to grow independently. In 1927, almost 12,000 teams played organised fistball in Germany.
Due to the rapid spread of the fistball game and improved game skills, further changes in the rules were necessary, with a greater focus on winning points through forcing errors. This style of play was more athletic and dynamic, and tactics began to change significantly. The development of fistball was halted by the Second World War.
In order to encourage development and improve performance, the International Fistball Association was founded in 1960, which is the umbrella organization of all national fistball organizations worldwide.
The first IFAF World Championships for men were held in Linz, Austria in 1968, with West Germany winning gold. The first IFA World Championships for women were held in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1994, with Germany winning gold. Both tournaments are currently held quadrennially.
A relative latecomer to fistball, Australia established their own fistball federation in 2013, with South Africa following a year later.

Gameplay

Overview

Fistball is a team sport in which two teams compete against each other on two half-fields, similar to volleyball. They are separated by a center line and a net stretched between two posts up to two meters in height. If the net or posts are touched by either a player or the ball during play, this is considered an error.
Each team consists of five players, with players trying to play the ball across the net from one half of the field of play to the opponents' half – using only their arm or closed fist – in a way in which the opponents cannot return it. After clearing the net, the ball may be contacted up to three times by the five players on each team – with a bounce being permissible before each contact, but no repeat hits by any individual player within the three attempts. Similar to volleyball, the three hits are ideally used to save, set and spike the ball back into the opponents half, in that order.

Scoring

The game is played for points and sets. If a team cannot return the ball or makes an error, the other team gets a point. The team that lost the last point or committed the last error makes the next service. A set ends when one team has scored 11 points and is at least 2 points in the lead. If the score reaches 10:10, play will be extended automatically until one of the teams takes the lead by 2, or is the first to win 15 points. The number of winning sets varies depending on the game class, but is generally played to best of five or three.
In some cases, set results are limited by time, and this can be common in large tournaments for organizational purposes.

Errors

The most important errors are as follows:

The ball or a player touches the net or post.
The ball touches the ground outside the court.
The ball touches the ground twice in a row without any contact by a player in between.
The ball is played on the side of the post past or below the net into the opponent's box.
More than three players on a team to touch the ball during a game turn.
A player touches the ball a second time within a turn.
The ball touches a part of the body other than the upper or lower arm or fist. For example, the ball cannot touch the head, foot, or open palm of the hand.
A player's first grounding foot lands over the service line on a serve.
Field

Fistball is not a seasonal sport. In summer, it is played outside on a grass or turf sports field. In winter is played in an indoor sports hall, and generally an already existing handball court is used as a playing field. In the hall, the ball has a more controlled bounce than on grass, which has an effect on the game tactics. In addition, in the hall, any wall contact by the ball is an error.
In outdoor fistball, the field size is 50 m long by 20 m wide. In indoor fistball, the field size is 40 m long by 20 m wide. Since the indoor field size corresponds with the regular size of a handball field, the existing external lines are usually used. The service line is 3 m away from the center line. The server's stationery foot or first landing foot must be completely behind this line when serving. The boundary lines belong to the field, i.e. when the ball touches the line, this is not an error and play will continue.
The playing field is divided in half by a 5 cm wide ribbon-like red and white net. It is held above the center line between two posts, its upper edge is located at 2 m height and 1.90 m. For the D-Youth, the height is 1.60 m, the C-youth 1.80 m. The field also includes a run-off area, which when playing outdoors is 8 m to the rear and 6 m on the sides. For indoor play, run-off areas are limited by the wall or stands, but are generally a minimum of 1 m to the rear and 0.5 m at the sides.
The field dimensions given are for adult players, as youth fields are generally smaller.

Ball

A standard fistball is hollow, filled with air and is made of leather. It must be inflated evenly until it is round and taut. For indoor fistball games, and for different weather conditions in outdoor fistball games, players can use trade association-approved balls with different surfaces.
The weight of a ball can vary between 320 and 350 g and 350-380 g. Its scope must be 65–68 cm, and its air pressure from 0.55 to 0.75 bar. It is thus as hard as a soccer ball and harder than a volleyball. In physical size, it is similar to a football or a volleyball.
The right to select the game ball is determined by lot before the game and replaced after each set. Increasingly, uniform balls are outlined and provided by the organizers to ensure equal opportunity for all teams participating at international championships.
The ball can often be spiked at speeds of up to 100–120 km / h.
In the field of youth other ball dimensions come are used, see the regulations.

Strategy and tactics

Formation

In contrast to volleyball, where the players rotate and assume a different position after each change of service, in fistball each player has a fixed position. While players can rotate into different positions during a game, this is rather unusual, as each player is a specialist in their position. Another difference from volleyball is that a fistball playing field is much larger, and fistball teams have fewer players on the field at one time than volleyball teams, and therefore fistball players are required to cover much more space during play. The main reason for these differences is because the ball can bounce once between each player's hit, resulting in differing strategies to volleyball.
Depending on playing conditions, formations can change. In the image, two different formations are shown:
Team A shows the typical formation for outdoor play on grass. The setter covers the front middle to be ready for short balls played by the opposition. However, the setter also need to be prepared for hard attacking shots played through the middle by the opposition, and quick reflexes are required to be able to defend these.
Team B shows the typical formation for indoor play on hardwood. As the bounce of the ball indoors is more predictable, short balls are not as effective. Therefore, the setter moves to the rear foul line to assist on defense. However, the setter constantly runs to the front after each defense in order to set the ball for the attackers.
At international levels, outdoor fistball is also played in the U-shape, mainly due to the better defenses that it can provide against fast and powerful attacking shots. The players playing at this level are required to have significant speed and fitness in order to cover the ground for both defending and attacking hits.
Another formation option, although rare, is the V-shape. This is generally used when playing on wet grass. In this case the setter stands behind the baseline and the two defensive players move diagonally inwards to form a V shape. As an attacking shot hit on wet grass tends to slip more and bounce less, this formation gives teams more chance to get underneath the bounce of the ball to hit it upward in return.
Substitutions may be anywhere at any position field, but only before that team is about to serve, during a time out, between sets, or whenever the referee has stopped play.