[ExtraRoulette]

Handball (Also called Wallball) is popular in New York City, along with a few other places in the US.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_handball

You can also view tournaments that have been held here: https://www.youtube.com/@TensFinest/videos

It's one my my favorite hobbies; I've been playing since I was a teen (not that I'm any good at it lol). Outside of Florida and California I don't think many have heard of it. Though I believe there are a few places in Europe that play (Belgium I think?) but don't quote me.

Happy to elaborate further if anyone is curious!

[OkayPhysicist]

Wait, wallball is a regional thing? My mental image of an elementary school recess yard has just changed wildly. What about 4 square?

[naters]

I’m fairly sure that “wallball” played in most elementary schools around the US is a different game than what is being referred to here. Growing up in New England, what we called wallball involved throwing a tennis ball against a wall and attempting to catch it before someone else, while the NYC handball/wallball is closer to racquetball, but played outside against a (usually) freestanding concrete wall with palms used instead of racquets.

[king_geedorah]

We played both handball and 4 square in southern california, though I don't recall it being a thing at the school I attended in the midwest, nor do I remember having played it in virginia.

[lcnPylGDnU4H9OF]

To give a personal account, I grew up in Utah and students at the public schools which I attended knew both wallball and 4 square.

[dghlsakjg]

I grew up in Denver, and we had handball courts in some of the city parks. It seemed to be super popular with central and south Americans. The tennis courts were super popular with African immigrants, mostly Nigerians.

Don't know if they're still there, or if they have been turned into a pickleball court like every other place on earth.

[ExtraRoulette]

Ah so pickleball is spreading like crazy in CO too? I have a todo to play it just so I can see what the fuss is about.

[Projectiboga]

I'm originally from near Philadelphia and we played a variant of Handball where we'd bounce a racket ball off the ground onto the wall and then wait for it to hit the wall then back to the ground then the other would hit. It was sort of a made up version, very different from the hard ball straight at the wall with a glove that they play on the handball courts here in NYC.

[ExtraRoulette]

This kind of sounds like "Chinese Handball" which is a variant I've played way back. Not sure why it was called that though.

[TRiG_Ireland]

Belgium plays a completely different game with the same name, also called Olympic handball.

Your form of handball is played in Ireland. The world championship location alternates between the USA, Canada, and Ireland. In Ireland, it's administered by the GAA, so is strictly amateur, while in North America it's a professional game.

[presbyterian]

I live in Phoenix and we have a lot of handball courts, but now that I’m thinking about it I’m not sure I’ve ever seen one in use.