WPH Press
The WPH has proudly presented the Race 4 Eight Sunday Stats since the start of the pandemic, highlighting the Race 4 Eight’s greatest champions, longest winning streaks, greatest accomplishments, tournament directors, nicknames, obscure stats, handball’s origins and history, and so much more. This Sunday we’ll focus on 60×30 Handball’s origins and history.
60×30 Handball History, Championships, Courts, & Participation
- The first organized handball matches in Ireland in the 20th century were played on a 60×30 court
- 60×30 Handball is referred to as the “Big Alley”
- 60×30 was originally an outdoor game, only moving indoors as the old courts (alleys) were roofed and new indoor alleys were constructed
- Hardball 60×30 is the most ancient handball game in Ireland, and also considered the most severe due to the ball moving at a higher speed than any other ball and the hardness of the ball
- The first 60×30 Softball and Hardball Championships were first held in 1923, sponsored by the GAA
- The first All Ireland 60×30 Softball and Hardball Championships were held in 1925
- The first modern 60×30 court was built in Croke Park for the World Championships in 1970 – the site of the third handball World Championships (the first 40×20 court was built in Ireland in 1969)
- The underhand stroke is considered to be more effective in 60×30, as the underhand stroke provides more power to move the ball around the 60×30 alley
- Participation in 60×30 Hardball declined with the burgeoning popularity of 40×20 and 1-Wall, but interest in the game has been revived in recent years with the staging of an International Rules match on an annual basis between the Basque Country and the top Hardball players from Ireland – Basque Handball explained on the WPH Sunday Stats HERE
- 2016 All Ireland GAA Men’s 60×30 Singles Final HERE
Information gathered from this Sunday Stats HERE and HERE
Photos courtesy of GAA Handball
David Fink
WPH Patreon Historian