<p class="reg-lead">The mechanism for the selection of beach handball referees and technical officials of the International Handball Federation, published in July 2026.</p>
<table class="reg-facts">
<tr><td>Published</td><td><b>July 2026</b> — International Handball Federation</td></tr>
<tr><td>Implementing body</td><td>Refereeing Section of the Beach Handball Working Group (BHWG)</td></tr>
<tr><td>Status</td><td><strong>Current edition</strong></td></tr>
</table>
<div class="reg-sec">
<h2>Why does beach handball have a separate mechanism?</h2>
<p>Beach handball is a dynamic discipline with technical, tactical and regulatory characteristics of its own. Referees are therefore expected not only to have an excellent command of the <strong>Beach Handball Rules of the Game</strong>, but to apply them with confidence, precision, teamwork and game understanding in a fast-paced environment. Unlike indoor handball, where responsibility lies with the Playing Rules and Referees Commission, training, evaluation and nomination in this discipline rest with the <strong>Refereeing Section of the Beach Handball Working Group</strong>.</p>
</div>
<div class="reg-sec hi">
<h2>Core elements of the mechanism</h2>
<ol class="reg-tl">
<li><b class="t">Combination of criteria</b>The nomination process combines objective performance evaluation with long-term development through structured training and continuous monitoring, as well as <strong>geographical and gender representation</strong>.</li>
<li><b class="t">Stated objective</b>To appoint the most qualified, most experienced and best-prepared referees and technical delegates for beach handball competitions, while supporting the sustainable global development of the discipline.</li>
<li><b class="t">A different authority</b>The Beach Handball Working Group is the same body to which the Statutes of 21 March 2026 grant the power to approve the trial implementation of rules in this discipline; responsibility for refereeing is likewise concentrated there.</li>
</ol>
</div>
<div class="reg-note">This document bears no adoption date; the date given is the time of its publication on the website of the International Handball Federation.</div>
<div class="reg-sec">
<h2>Who this document matters to</h2>
<p>For referees and federations active in beach handball, the competent body is the Beach Handball Working Group, not the Playing Rules and Referees Commission — a distinction that must be observed in correspondence and applications.</p>
</div>

IHF Selection of Technical Officials and Referees — Beach Handball

<p class="reg-lead">The International Handball Federation Rules of the Game — Beach Handball, in force from 1 April 2026.</p>
<table class="reg-facts">
<tr><td>In force</td><td><b>1 April 2026</b> — adopted by the IHF Council</td></tr>
<tr><td>Structure</td><td>Chapter IX(b) of the International Handball Federation body of regulations</td></tr>
<tr><td>Status</td><td><strong>Current edition</strong> — the free-standing rules of beach handball</td></tr>
</table>
<div class="reg-sec">
<h2>Why does beach handball have separate rules?</h2>
<p>The regulations of the International Handball Federation (IHF) form a set of numbered chapters, headed by the Statutes, with each chapter governing one area. This document is <strong>Chapter IX(b)</strong> of that body of regulations.</p><p>Beach handball is a discipline with a different scoring logic and game structure, and it does not follow the rules of indoor handball. The IHF Regulations for Competitions were likewise confined to indoor handball in the edition of 21 August 2024, and beach competitions were moved to their own regulations.</p>
</div>
<div class="reg-sec hi">
<h2>Structural differences from indoor handball</h2>
<ol class="reg-tl">
<li><b class="t">A 6-metre throw instead of a 7-metre throw</b>In beach handball the penalty throw is taken from a distance of <strong>6 metres</strong>.</li>
<li><b class="t">Referee throw</b>Play is started and restarted with a <strong>referee throw</strong> (Rule 10), not a throw-off.</li>
<li><b class="t">Deciding the result</b>Rule 9 covers not only the scoring of goals but also <strong>how the winner of the game is determined</strong> — a mechanism that sits elsewhere in indoor handball.</li>
<li><b class="t">Team time-out within the text of the rules</b>Rule 2 governs playing time, the final signal, time-out and <strong>team time-out</strong> in one place.</li>
</ol>
</div>
<div class="reg-sec">
<h2>Who this document matters to</h2>
<p>For federations and clubs active in beach handball, this document is the free-standing reference, and reliance on the indoor handball rules has no place in this discipline. The authority of the Beach Handball Working Group to approve the trial application of rules is also expressly stated in the Statutes of 21 March 2026.</p>
</div>

IHF Rules of the Game — Beach Handball 2026

<p>Beach Soccer Laws of the Game 2022-2023</p>

Notes related to the tag beach

IHF Selection of Technical Officials and Referees — Beach Handball

IHF Rules of the Game — Beach Handball 2026

Beach-Soccer-Laws-of-the-Game