Dover-Court Handball
Dover-Court Handball (a.k.a. Handball, DC Handball) gets its name from a British preparatory school in Singapore--Dover Court Preparatory School (DCPS), located adjacent to the United World College of South East Asia.
The game was invented by two Dover Court students in 1995: Vincent Cintamani (of Indonesia) and Benjamin Williams (of the UK). The formal rules written down below as follows were collected by a former DCPS student, Daniel Thämbïräj.1 Since its founding, DC Handball took a solid foothold of popularity in the prep school, where students lined up in long-rows just to have a chance of playing during breaks and lunch recesses. It is one of the legacies of Dover Court Preparatory School where former students have taken this game to different parts of the world to introduce to their new classmates and friends. Anyone who has not been to Dover Court Preparatory School but happens to play this game has most likely had contact with a friend or acquaintance who schooled in the aforementioned school.
Rules of the Game (Formal Singles-Individual)
Player Roles: the King and the Jack
The court is in the shape of a H. There are no backlines to singles handball.
There is one person on each side. The person serving is called the King; receiver the Jack. If the Jack earns a point by beating the King in a rally, both players switch sides with their roles reversed. A game is played up to 24 points (win by 2) where earning a point can be with either the King defeating the Jack or vice-versa.
When serving, the King must make sure that the ball bounces on his side of the court before crossing the middle line. The Jack has to return it with the ball bouncing on Jack-side before crossing the middle line into King-side. Failure to do so can result in a volley.
Reasons for losing a point:
- Volley --> when player A returns player B's hit but fails to bounce on his/her side before crossing the middle line; in this circumstance, the player B can catch the ball and appeal to the umpire shouting, "Volley!" to earn the rally point. If a player B "play-on" the volley (usually done by accident, since rallies can be quite demanding and fast), player A can catch the ball and appeal, "Play-on!" to earn the rally point. If player A continues replying to the "play-on", it is "broken" and play continues as usual.
- Double Touch --> when a player touches the ball twice (on any part of the body) to return a shot; automatic point and turn-over.
- Double Bounce --> when a player hits the ball but it bounces twice/more instead of once on his/her side of the court before crossing the other side; automatic point and turn-over.
- An Out --> if the ball crosses the sidelines; if ball bounces on the sidelines (and/or the middle line) and if it causes a dispute, umpire can call a re-do of the rally
Rules of the Game (Formal Doubles-Team)
Player Roles: the Kings and the Jacks
The court is in the shape of a H. There are no backlines in doubles handball.
There are two persons apiece on King-side and Jack-side. The person serving is called the King; receiver the Jack. If the Jack earns a point by beating the King in a rally, both players switch sides with their roles reversed. A game is played up to 30 points (win by 2) where earning a point can be with either the King defeating the Jack or vice-versa.
When serving, the King must make sure that the ball bounces on his side of the court before crossing the middle line. The Jack has to return it with the ball bouncing on Jack-side before crossing the middle line into King-side. Failure to do so can result in a volley.
Reasons for losing a point:
- Volley --> when player A returns player B's hit but fails to bounce on his/her side before crossing the middle line; in this circumstance, the player B can catch the ball and appeal to the umpire shouting, "Volley!" to earn the rally point. If a player B "play-on" the volley (usually done by accident, since rallies can be quite demanding and fast), player A can catch the ball and appeal, "Play-on!" to earn the rally point. If player A continues replying to the "play-on", it is "broken" and play continues as usual.
- Double Touch --> when a player touches the ball twice (on any part of the body) to return a shot; automatic point and turn-over.
- Double Bounce --> when a player hits the ball but it bounces twice/more instead of once on his/her side of the court before crossing the other side; automatic point and turn-over.
- An Out --> if the ball crosses the sidelines; if ball bounces on the sidelines (and/or the middle line) and if it causes a dispute, umpire can call a re-do of the rally
Rules of the Game (Informal Round Robin Singles)
Player Roles: the King and the Jack
The court is in the shape of a H. There are no backlines in doubles handball.
Reasons for losing a point:
- Volley --> when player A returns player B's hit but fails to bounce on his/her side before crossing the middle line; in this circumstance, the player B can catch the ball and appeal to the umpire shouting, "Volley!" to earn the rally point. If a player B "play-on" the volley (usually done by accident, since rallies can be quite demanding and fast), player A can catch the ball and appeal, "Play-on!" to earn the rally point. If player A continues replying to the "play-on", it is "broken" and play continues as usual.
- Double Touch --> when a player touches the ball twice (on any part of the body) to return a shot; automatic point and turn-over.
- Double Bounce --> when a player hits the ball but it bounces twice/more instead of once on his/her side of the court before crossing the other side; automatic point and turn-over.
- An Out --> if the ball crosses the sidelines; if ball bounces on the sidelines (and/or the middle line) and if it causes a dispute, umpire can call a re-do of the rally
Rules of the Game (Informal Round Robin Doubles)
Player Roles: the Kings and the Jacks
The court is in the shape of a H. There are no backlines in doubles handball.
This was a form of DC Handball that was played in Dover Court Prep. since many students wanted to play having teams did not seem practical. Unlike 'Doubles-Team', this form of Doubles is quite different with more complexities involved. Unlike the Team form where the Kings and the Jacks are united, Round Robin involves an unwritten 'survival instinct' mentality of "each one for oneself". Instead of both the Kings being penalised for demotion to the Jack-side, it will be one of the Kings (vice-versa for Jacks), thus intensifying the competition. It is here when umpires will be needed to mediate and provide a final decision.
Reasons for losing a point:
- Volley --> when player A returns player B's hit but fails to bounce on his/her side before crossing the middle line; in this circumstance, the player B can catch the ball and appeal to the umpire shouting, "Volley!" to earn the rally point. If a player B "play-on" the volley (usually done by accident, since rallies can be quite demanding and fast), player A can catch the ball and appeal, "Play-on!" to earn the rally point. If player A continues replying to the "play-on", it is "broken" and play continues as usual.
- Double Touch --> when a player touches the ball twice (on any part of the body) to return a shot; automatic point and turn-over.
- Double Bounce --> when a player hits the ball but it bounces twice/more instead of once on his/her side of the court before crossing the other side; automatic point and turn-over.
- An Out --> if the ball crosses the sidelines; if ball bounces on the sidelines (and/or the middle line) and if it causes a dispute, umpire can call a re-do of the rally