How to choose your handball

Handballs differ according to the player's age and level:
- Size 0: No IHF standard; For children under 8 and school handball.
- Size 1: IHF size 1 or 50 to 52 cm and 290 to 330 g; For girls' teams (ages 8 to 14) and boys' teams (ages 8 to 12).
- Size 2: IHF size 2 or 54 to 56 cm and 325 to 375 g; For girls'/women's teams (over 14) and boys' teams (ages 12 to 16)
- Size 3:  IHF size 3 or 58 to 60 cm and 425 to 475 g. ; For men's teams (over 16s).

A handball comprises 3 parts:
1- Panels: 32 in total; Mostly hand-stitched; Composition: Leather or synthetic cover; Spherical ball with a non-shiny, non-slip cover material
2- Laminate layers (2, 3 or 4)
- Polyester (top-end) or polyester/cotton bonded
- Cover: Rubber (durable); TPU and foam (flexibility); PU (pleasant feel, longer lifetime, for repeated strikes, better feel/grip)
3- Bladder
- Butyl: synthetic, excellent at maintaining air pressure.
- Latex: natural, porous, inexpensive but deflates.
Features: Bounce, responsiveness, true flight

A handball should be inflated to between 0.4 and 0.6 bar (5.8 to 8.7 psi).

If your ball is:
- Under-inflated: Not round, no bounce, soft.
- Over-inflated: Hugely deformed, mis-shaped, hard, unusable.