Stretching back to AD 240 fistball is one of the oldest sports in the world, of Italian and German origin the sport kick-started the development of volleyball.
The first rules for the Italian popular ball game were mentioned in 1555 by Gordianus emperor of Rome. But German Georg Heinrich Weber (1834-1913) embraced the sport into his countries heritage and wrote the official rules in German language at the end of the 19th century.
Fistball spread across the country with the organized competition taking place in Hamburg, 1893. Neighbouring countries such as Austria, Switzerland and Italy also embraced the sport whilst German emigrants introduced it to South Africa, USA and South America.
Today, the International Fistball-Association (IVF) estimates about 100,000 people play the sport world-wide and Germany continue to host the World Championship.
Two teams with five players each compete on a 20 by 50 meter field which is divided into equal courts by what is known as a ribbon.
The object of the game is to force the opposing team from successfully returning the ball. Like volleyball, each team has three hits to return the ball however you may only use the arm or fist to strike the ball. Differences remain that the ball is allowed one bounce before striking and it may be taken out of the air.
At speeds much beyond the 100 km/h the sport makes an epic spectacle with players leaping into dives to avoid the ball bouncing more than three times in their half.
General Rules
Two teams consisting of five players play on a court divided into two halves by a marked line and a net or rope at a height of 2 metres.
Each team’s aim is to strike the ball across the net (rope) in a way that the opponent
fails to return.
Each error made by a team counts as a point for the opponents.
The winner is the team that:
– has won 2, 3, 4 or 5 sets of a set-match
– has scored the most points in a time-match.
Court and Equipment
The court is a marked rectangle, 50 metres in length and 20 metres in width.
Playing Time
The match is played in sets.
The match is completed as soon as one team has won 2, 3, 4 or 5 sets.
A team wins a set if it has won 11 points by a margin of at least two points;
otherwise play continues until one team leads by two points.
A set ends as soon as one team has won 15 points regardless of the margin,
eg. 15:14.
Following the end of a set, a change of ends, choice of ball and service
