Shoot Out in Swedish handball!
Photo: svenskhandboll.se
Written by: Rasmus Boysen
Rule change: Swedish handball has decided to remove penalty throws as a decision factor at qualifiers and finals and replace it with a Shoot Out model.
The Swedish Handball Federation's Competition Committee has announced a rule change. Instead of a decision of the matches on penalty throws, such as seen in the Champions League final between Kielce and Veszprem last season, the matches will be decided on a shoot out, where the goalkeeper throw the ball to the player in the counter attack mode. This method is among others known from beach handball and is similar to ice hockey.
The decision and the time for the launch of the new rule has allready been discussed. Swedish Handball has published the following press release:
"Swedish handball has decided to remove penalty throws as a decision factor at qualifiers and finals and replace it with a Shoot Out.
Since some years the Swedish handball used the exclusion form Shoot Out in the youth side, in including youth championship, and also at the district level. This has been experienced by the majority as a positive element for increasing the handball appeal.
Swedish Handball Federation's Competition Committee took at their summer meeting in August a decision on a referral would be compiled regarding the introduction of a shoot out also for seniors. The referral was sent out to all the SDF, as well as "Swedish Elitehandball", which had their say on the new approach at the elimination matches.
On the 5th of October, the Swedish Handball Federation's Competition Committee, based on responses from SDF and Swedish Elitehandball, has implemented the change and removed the penalty's at the elimination matches in the qualifying and finals for seniors at all levels and establish this during the season of 2016/2017.
The old regulations were as follows: Elimination matches which ended in a draw is determined by extension 2 x 5 min. Upon further tie, a new extension 2 x 5 minutes and then penalty's.
The new regulations are as follows: Elimination matches which ended in a draw is determined by extension 2 x 5 min. Upon further tie, a new extension 2 x 5 minutes and then the Shoot Out."
The Shoot Out involves the following rules:
Five (5) players / teams are appointed to be in the Shoot Out. These are recorded and perform the throws in the order recorded. All have to be eligible to play.
- The judges raffling with a coin toss, the team that wins will decide if they want to start shooting or if the other team have to start.
- The goalkeepers position themselves in the goals, one on each side of the court.
- The court player must stand with a foot on the free throw line with the ball in hand.
- The goalkeeper must have at least one foot on the goal line inside the goal and can move when he has caught the ball.
- At a signal from the referee the court player throws the ball to the goalkeeper and starts the counter-attack. Now the goalkeeper has three (3) seconds to throw the ball to the attacking player. When the court player catches the ball, he can take up to three (3) steps and then shoot. The goalkeeper may not exceed the goal area line. The ball must not touching the floor at any time, except during the shot, where it is allowed to shoot a "rebound shots".
- If the defending goalkeeper leaves the goal area he shall be penalized with a red card. A new shoot out should then be made.
- Teams may change goalkeepers as they wish.
- In the first part of the shootout will both teams perform all its five (5) counterattacks.
- If it is not settled after the five (5) first shots, five (5) new players have to be selected. The five players, who already have shot, can be selected again.
- The teams now perform a counterattack each until one of the teams scored more goals than the opponents, provided that both teams had the same number of counterattacks.
