What Is A Sport Like Basketball With Goals?

Trying to identify an unfamiliar sport can be even more baffling if it looks almost, but not quite, like a sport you already know. Sometimes, this is the result of modifications made for the specific teams. Japanese professional baseball, for example, has some rules that are quite different from those followed by American teams. In other cases, the unfamiliar sport may be an independent sport in its own right. Team handball and netball are two sports that share similarities with basketball, but their players go after goals rather than baskets.

Team Handball Setup

A team handball court looks almost like a basketball court, except it's longer and without baskets. The ball looks very similar to a soccer ball, and for good reason: One of the earlier versions of the game started in Denmark as a winter activity for soccer players. The current version of handball got its start in the early 20th century. Handball goals stretch across about 9 feet at each end of the court with a semicircular goal area in front of them.

Team Handball Rules

Team handball is a two-team sport with seven players on each team, all trying to get the ball into a goal instead of bouncing it off a large board. Players dribble the ball like they would a basketball and have a limited umber of steps they can take without dribbling. The length of the game varies according to the institution at which it's being played. USA Team Handball, the U.S. Olympic team, plays two 30-minute halves. A recreational team at a college may play for a shorter time, such as Oklahoma State University's 20-minute halves.

Netball History

Netball's similarity to basketball is not completely accidental. In fact, it's actually based on a misinterpretation of a basketball diagram. This one mistake turned out to be quite beneficial, as netball has gained enough of a worldwide following that it has annual championships. The United States of America Netball Association says that a teacher in New Orleans, who had received a copy of the rules for the relatively new game of basketball in 1895, misread the rules as requiring players to stay in one area of the court. This version became the first incarnation of women's basketball, eventually taking the name of netball after it was introduced in England. The International Federation of Netball Associations reports nearly 20 million people are involved in netball, with about 67 national organizations dedicated to the sport. As of December 2010, Australia had the number-one ranked netball team in the world.

Netball Rules

Two teams of seven players each try to score goals. These goals do involve physical baskets that hang from poles with no backboard, but they are called goals and are worth one point. Shooting for goals is done by a specified goal shooter and a partner. The game does not involve dribbling, and players must stay within specified boundaries within the court, as opposed to freely running all over it. Also, players move the ball over the court by passing it because they can't run with the ball.