How do you organise a handball tournament?

IHF Rule 2:1 sets the normal playing time: 2 x 30 minutes for teams with players aged 16 and over, 2 x 25 in the 12–16 age group and 2 x 20 for 8–12. Half-time is normally 10 minutes, and a federation may set a different break of up to 15.

A one-day club or school tournament rarely has room for that. The Rules of the Game have no shorter tournament format, so the length is your call. Write it into the tournament rules and send it with the invitation, because coaches plan their rotation around it.

Work out the whole day before you fix the length. Eight teams in two groups of four, then semi-finals, a third-place match and a final, play 16 matches. With 2 x 12 minutes, 3 minutes of half-time and 5 minutes to change over, one slot takes 32 minutes. On one court that is 512 minutes, about eight and a half hours. On two courts the 12 group matches fit into six slots, the semi-finals into one and the last two matches into one more: eight slots, or 4 hours 16 minutes.

In JudgeMate you set the half length and the number of halves for the whole draw and can change them for a single match, for example to give the final full-length halves.

Handball awards two points for a win, one to each team for a draw and none for a defeat. That is the scheme in the Regulations for IHF Competitions (edition of 21 August 2024), and the German federation's match rules use the same values (DHB-Spielordnung §42). A football-style 3-1-0 rewards a win more than two draws, so any group with drawn matches can end in a different order.

In JudgeMate a new handball draw starts with the standings rules IHF (Regulations for IHF Competitions): 2-1-0 and the IHF tie-break order described below. A new handball league starts with the same rules. If your tournament uses something else, pick Custom points and type the values.

A team that does not turn up loses by walkover. JudgeMate enters 10-0 for a handball walkover by default, and you can change the score in the draw settings. Put your walkover score in the rules so nobody argues about it on the day.

The Regulations for IHF Competitions rank teams level on points in this order:

1. points in the matches between the teams concerned,
2. goal difference in those matches,
3. goals scored in those matches,
4. goal difference in all group matches,
5. goals scored in all group matches,
6. a drawing of lots.

So a team that thrashed the bottom side can finish below a team it beat by one goal. The worked example below shows exactly that.

The JudgeMate table follows steps 1 to 5 in that order. It does not draw lots. When no criterion separates the teams, the table marks the tie and you set the order yourself, so hold the draw at the scorers' table in front of both coaches.

German leagues add a step the IHF list does not have. Under DHB-Spielordnung §43, teams still level after the head-to-head comparison play decisive matches, unless the regional association has chosen another rule such as goal difference. JudgeMate does not schedule or count decisive matches.

IHF Rule 2:2 handles it in stages. After a 5-minute break the teams play overtime of 2 x 5 minutes with a 1-minute break between the halves. If the score is still level, a second overtime of the same length follows after another 5-minute break.

After that the competition rules decide. When they choose 7-metre throwing, each team nominates five players who take one throw each, alternating with the opponents. If it is still level after five throws each, new rounds of five follow, and the winner is decided as soon as one team leads after both have taken the same number of throws.

A competition can also go straight to the throws. The Regulations for IHF Competitions do this in the President's Cup, the placement matches for places 25 to 32 at a World Championship: a drawn match goes directly to 7-metre throwing. On a tournament day this saves a lot of time, since two overtimes add 32 minutes to the slot, breaks included. Decide it per round and print it, for example straight to throws in the placement matches and overtime in the final.

The handball live scoreboard runs the clock through up to two overtimes and a 7-metre series. When you type a level knockout result by hand, JudgeMate asks for the throws before it accepts the match.

Yes. For a cup spread over two weekends, JudgeMate pairs each tie as a first and a second leg. The aggregate score decides, and a level aggregate goes to the deciding series of 7-metre throws.

Away goals do not count in JudgeMate. This matters in Germany, where DHB-Spielordnung §44 decides two-legged decisive matches on points, then goal difference, then the number of goals scored away, and only then by 7-metre throwing. If your competition follows §44, the two-leg format in JudgeMate will not match your rules in a tie that away goals would settle.

Rule 18 puts two people at the table. The timekeeper is mainly responsible for the playing time, the time-outs and the time of suspended players. The scorekeeper keeps the team lists and the score sheet and enters players who arrive after the start. Seat both at every court, even at a school tournament, and brief them before the first match.

Team time-outs need a line in the rules. Rule 2:10 gives each team one 1-minute team time-out in each half of regular playing time and none in overtime. A federation may instead allow three per match, with no more than two in one half. With 12-minute halves you may want fewer.

The JudgeMate scoreboard counts down 2-minute suspensions, records yellow, red and blue cards, and turns a player's third suspension into a disqualification. It does not count team time-outs or enforce a limit, so the timekeeper keeps track of them on paper.

1. Open Create with handball selected and create the event. A handball category runs as a club tournament: each side is a club entered by name, with a squad of up to 16, and the players need no accounts.
2. Choose who enters the clubs: you, each team manager, or the players.
3. Pick round robin, knockout, or groups plus knockout with 1 to 4 groups. Add a third-place match or a consolation round if you want one.
4. Check the standings rules (IHF by default), the half length and the walkover score.
5. Add your courts as resources, set the start time and slot length, and let the auto-schedule spread the matches and flag clashes. If you only need a printable fixture list, the schedule maker builds one without an account.
6. Decide who enters results. By default you do. You can let team managers or players enter and confirm group, round-robin and league matches. Knockout, consolation and third-place matches are always closed by you or the referee.
7. Print the match slips and the bracket. Each match has its own referee QR code that opens its scoring at the court.

What JudgeMate does not do: count team time-outs, apply away goals, produce an official ZPRP, DHB or RFEBM match report, or take entry fees. For the playing rules themselves, see how handball scoring works and the handball referee guide.