Analysis of the 'Zero Step' IHF Handball Rule 7.3.d. in Open and

Closed Motor Performance Program

Igor Gruić

and Ivan Vlah

University of Zagreb, Faculty of Kinesiology, Croatia

Keywords: 'Zero Step', Match, Anthropometric Characteristics, Eye Inertia, Handball.

Abstract: Handball is a dynamic team sport game in which a series of actions can take place in a short period of time

and in a small space, without the human eye being able to follow it. In this paper, the 'zero step' in open

(matches) and closed (training) motor performance program was analysed and an attempt was made to prove

that it is not possible to simultaneously land on two feet, which significantly changes the rules of the handball

game. The matches of the European Handball Championship 2024 held in Germany were analysed in the

matches that ended in a draw, and whether referee errors related to unjudged steps during the performance of

the 'zero step' could have affected the final result. 18 senior players of the Kozala handball club, aged 16 to

24, participated in the research. For the purposes of the research, a motor task was composed in which, in the

first phase, there was a jump to the 'zero step' from a standing position and a run, and in the second phase, a

given feint and a shot at the goal. The results showed that no player jumped on both feet at the same time. A

qualitative analysis of the matches of the European Championship in 2024 came to the conclusion that the

final outcome could have been different, if there were no refereeing errors during the performance of the zero

step. According to the obtained results, the anthropometric characteristics do not affect the difference in the

time between the contacts of the left and right foot with the ground during the performance of the closed

structure of the 'zero step' from the initial stance and after the run-up.

1 INTRODUCTION

Handball belongs to complex polystructural sports

activities in which cyclic and acyclic movement

structures alternate. Handball today is much more

dynamic than it used to be, mostly due to the use of

the fast centre rule. More modern principles in the

technical, tactical and physical development of the

handball game require players to possess new

technical and motor skills and characteristics. Modern

handball requires speed, dynamism, versatility in

defence and attack, technical skill, good perception of

the game and the ability to play in multiple positions,

at least for a limited time (Pokrajac, 2007; Taborsky,

2008). During the handball game, players often use

feints or tricks, with phases divided into real and fake.

This technical element of individual play is used with

the aim of gaining a spatial/temporal advantage over

the defender to get an unobstructed scoring

opportunity. What binds all versions of the feint with

steps is - landing on the ground with the feet in a

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6680-8940

parallel or diagonal position, i.e. 'zero step', after

receiving or dribbling the ball, and followed by the

execution of the feint (modified from Zvonarek,

2005). The problem of controlling this technical

element lies in the judge's assessment, which opens

numerous controversies and questions regarding the

perception of 'zero step'. With the historical

development of handball, the rules of the handball

game also changed. Newer technologies including

VAR, the introduction of rules relating to the last 30

seconds of the game and many other changes greatly

improve objectivity and reduce the chances of

refereeing errors. However, there are segments of the

game where it is difficult to see with the naked (even

trained) eye whether there has been a violation of the

rules or not. One of such segments of the game is

certainly the 'zero step', which is still difficult to

assess whether the player has landed on both of his

feet. The rule 7.3.d. of the game of the highest

umbrella handball organization (IHF) say that “It is

permitted to: … take a maximum of 3 steps with the

Grui

c, I. and Vlah, I.

Analysis of the ’Zero Step’ IHF Handball Rule 7.3.d. in Open and Closed Motor Performance Program.

DOI: 10.5220/0013096200003828

Paper published under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

In Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Sport Sciences Research and Technology Support (icSPORTS 2024), pages 289-295

ISBN: 978-989-758-719-1; ISSN: 2184-3201

289

ball (13:1a); one step is considered taken when … a

player after a jump touches the floor with both feet

simultaneously, and then lifts one foot and puts it

down again, or moves one foot from one place to

another.”). The problem with this rule arises at the

beginning, where it is difficult for the referees to see

whether the contact was made at the same time,

because if it is not, it significantly changes the result

and leads to the subjective assessment of the referee,

which means that the same technical element will not

always be judged equally.

The previous researches covered the findings on

different indicators of the game in attack and defence.

Rogulj (2001) determined at the World Cup in Egypt

1999 that the result performance and general

situational efficiency are best explained through the

effective collective counterattack, a successful

positional attack against the opponent's organized

defence, minimizing technical errors in the attack,

effective application of non-contact defence and

situational efficiency of the goalkeeper in defending

shots from back positions. Gruić et al. (2003) after

analyses 59 matches of the Women's World Handball

Championship held in Croatia, determined very

different factors among groups which can influence

success in preliminary phase of the competition.

Different approaches to analysis of ‘success’ were

performed on different competition levels. E.g. on

case studies for Croatian national team few

contributions depicted various very different

approaches. At the World Championship in Portugal

in 2003, Smajlagić (2007) studied the situational

performance indicators in which the Croatian

handball team reached the podium and won the gold

medal, and Perkovac (2007) in his work analysed the

situational performance indicators of the Croatian

men's handball team at the World Championship in

2007 in Germany, followed by Balažinec (2020) who

analysed indicators of the situational effectiveness of

the Croatian handball team at the 2020 European

Championship. Šibila et al. (2011) study various

factors of situational efficiency through five

consecutive European championships held from 2002

to 2010. They analysed 237 matches as a sample for

their research. In their work, they investigated various

variables, including the number of goals scored in

positional attacks, the number of dismissals, blocks,

attacks, assists, goals, goals scored on the counter

attack, steals, yellow cards and goalkeeper defence.

During those years of the European Championships,

trends in efficiency changes in various parameters

were noticed. For example, the number of repeated

attacks and goals scored from counter-attacks

increased until 2010. Likewise, with the development

of goalkeepers and players, the ability to shoot,

defend the goalkeeper and block has remained stable

or similar. From this it is concluded that this analysis

of situational parameters shows how handball is

increasingly developing into a fast sport, with players

moving faster in attack, requiring less time to prepare

and organize attacks. Foretić (2012) classifies

research on situational efficiency in handball into five

different groups. The first three groups focus on the

analysis of individual segments of situational

effectiveness in the handball game: study of standard

indicators of situational success, analysis of the

presence of individual technical-tactical elements,

and the effectiveness of individual playing positions.

Next, expert assessment for team sports and

situational confrontation with the opponent are

investigated. The author points out that certain

parameters of situational efficiency can be compared,

including the successful performance of technical or

tactical elements, the final outcome of the match, the

placement in the competition and the activity of the

opponent during the confrontation. The comparison

of parameters of situational efficiency focuses on the

final outcome of the match, either victory or defeat,

efficiency in the performance of specific technical-

tactical elements, placement in the competition and

the activity of the opponent during the match. Based

on his research, Foretić (2020) concludes that it is

important to observe playing time in the context of

specific playing positions instead of in the context of

the overall sample of handball players. His research

linked certain variables that showed a negative impact

on the attacking efficiency of top handball players

with the time the players spent on the court. Although

the reasons for this can only be speculated on the basis

of research data, it is clear that playing time directly

affects the increase in the number of missed shots and

technical errors in top handball. Management and

control of game time, as well as a more careful

approach in the integral fitness training of handball

players, can benefit from such studies and their

results. Future research should be more detailed in

terms of including more variables of situational

efficiency and physiological load of players in order

to enrich the specific-situational knowledge of fitness

coaches in handball. Also, it is important to

investigate the effect of cumulative fatigue caused by

the time spent on the field - whether the efficiency

decreases from match to match. This is especially

important for tournament systems in competitions

such as the World and European Championships or

the Olympic Games.

Although interesting, most analyses of situational

effectiveness did not deal with 'borderline'

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manifestations of the application of handball rules.

The change is introduced by the research of Tuquet et

al. (2022) who studied the men's European

Championship 2018, World 2019, and European

2020 teams that were ranked 1st to 4th. After

analysing 12 games in which their goal was to see

how many steps players take before kicking from

different positions. On a sample of 174 players, the

results were obtained that players in the zone between

6-9 meters use 3 steps, with the assumption that they

want to get as close as possible to the opponent's

goalkeeper, in the zone outside 9 meters they use 2

steps in order to send a shot towards the goal as soon

as possible and reduce the possibility for defensive

players to prepare well for the block, and in the 6-

meter zone, players use no more than zero or one step.

The aim of the research is to determine the

parameters of the performance of the 'zero step'

according to rule 7.3.d. of the IHF in an intentional

closed experimental environment (test) and an open

situational competitive environment (match), in order

to assess the value and sustainability of the existing

interpretation of the same rule.

The first partial goal is to determine the physical

limitations of the rule that interprets the

'simultaneous' landing with both feet on the ground,

and then to determine whether there are statistically

significant differences in the performance of the

closed structure of the 'zero' step between the

performance from the initial stance and the take-off,

as well as that there is a statistically significant

correlation between the anthropological

characteristics of the subjects in the difference in time

between the contact of the left and right foot with the

ground during the performance of the closed structure

of the 'zero step' from the initial stance and from the

take-off. Another partial objective is to determine

whether there is a difference in the outcomes of tied

matches based on awarded and non-awarded steps

when performing a 'zero' step.

2 METHODS

2.1 Entities

The sample of subjects for evaluating the closed

structure of the 'zero step' performance consists of 18

handball players from MRK Kozala, Rijeka, who

compete in the 1st Croatian Handball League in the

2023/2024 season, average height (M+/-SD)

186.11+/- 6 ,26 cm, average weight 88.89 +/- 8.98 kg,

average BMI 25.60, while the average age is 20+/-

2.59 years.

The sample of entities, which were presented with

the open structure of the 'zero step' performance,

consists of the performances of the 'zero step' version

through the foot jump into the parallel/diagonal

stance of the players in 5 matches of the preliminary

part of the international competition in which the

regular part of the match (60 minutes) ended in a draw

Table 1: Overview of the national teams in preliminary

groups after the group stage matches.

ran

team

oints draw

A 1. France 5 Switzerland

2. German

4 /

3. North

Macedonia

2 /

4. Switzerlan

1 France

B 1. Croatia 5 Austria

2. Austria 4 Croatia,

Spain

3. Spain 3 Austria

4. Romania 0 /

C 1. Hungary 6 /

2. Islan

3 Serbia

3. Montene

ro 2 /

4. Serbia 1 Island

D 1. Slovenia 6 /

3 Faroe Islands

3. Polan

2 /

4. Faroe

Islands

1 Norway

2.2 Variables

Basic and derived anthropological characteristics of

handball players were measured (BH, BW, BMI, etc.)

A - The difference in time between left and right

foot contact with the ground during the execution of

the closed structure 'zero step' from the initial stance

(s)

B - Time difference between left and right foot

contact with the ground when performing a closed

structure 'zero step' from take-off (s)

N - Number of performances of 'zero steps' per

game in total/per team (n1 - ruled, n2 - not ruled)

O - Expert assessment of the correctness of the

judge's assessment of compliance with the rules of the

'open’ competition performance of the 'zero step'

version of the foot jump (0/1).

2.3 Protocol

The experimental procedure took place in two phases.

The first phase involved slow-motion recording of the

Analysis of the ’Zero Step’ IHF Handball Rule 7.3.d. in Open and Closed Motor Performance Program

291

players’ task, which included the performance of a

'zero step', while the second phase included a video

analysis of the matches of the last European Men's

Handball Championship and the registration of a 'zero

step' after which no steps were ruled/awarded. The

recording protocol took place in the evening after 9

p.m. The content of the warm-up before the recording

was through handball games and the players have had

one trial attempt for both tasks before the recording.

Jump-shot at the goal was performed trough two

variables: 1) from the spot after a take-off with both

legs and catching the passed ball while in flight phase,

with simultaneously both feet landing into paralel

stance followed by execution of three steps and a one-

legged reflection to a jump with one, and 3) the same

task after a short run-up. The position of the camera

was at the level of the surface behind the player. The

examinee's position in the first part of the task was 1.5

m behind the 9 m line, while in the second part it will

be 3.5 m behind the 9 m line. Duration of the task was

between 5-10 seconds and the examinees registered

one attempt. The recording frequency was 120 Hz.

The analysis of the matches of the European

Championship was assessed on 9 matches that ended

in a draw result. The analysis was focused exclusively

on isolated events involving a parallel or diagonal

jump into a 'zero step' and haven’t considered

situations in which the delegate could have judged.

Isolated events were slowed down with slow motion

tools and reviewed several times to make the

correctness assessment as accurate as possible. An

expert evaluation of the correctness of the judge's

assessment of compliance with the rules of the 'open

competitive performance of the 'zero step' version

with a foot jump was carried out to agree on the

inclusion of the observed situations in n1 or n2.

In the first shown kinogram (Figure 1) the player

took a total of 6 steps without dribbling the ball after

3 steps and the game continued, because the referees

started count steps only after jumping to 'zero step'. In

the second shown kinogram (Figure 2) we see the

phase of jumping into the 'zero step' and preparations

for the jump shot. It is clear the difference between

the jump of the left and right leg. The task was given,

and the player knew what he had to do, and the

difference is clearly noticeable in controlled and

closed setup, contrary to competitive open

environment i.e. matches with a high speed of cutting

movement and a short decision time frames.

Figure 1: Kinogram - open motor performance program.

Figure 2: Kinogram - closed motor performance program.

Roles when taking steps within the 'zero' step rule

are usually divided into three categories: 1) the player

who performs (in senior handball, players are

expected not to make many technical mistakes, so

they are not expected to do more than the allowed

three steps, however, there is a 'big compromise' in

which the player takes a step or two and only then

jumps with his feet into the zero step, while those

steps before the jump go 'under the radar' for the

judges who start counting the steps only after the

jump), 2) defensive player in front of the performer

(although today there are so-called defence

specialists, it is extremely difficult to prevent a player

who uses the 'grey zone' and gains an advantage. And

3) those who enforce the rules (referee on the field,

line referee, delegate, var system, and competition

organization committee).

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2.4 Data Processing Method

Microsoft Excel was used to create spreadsheets that

were later used for further analysis in the Statistica

14.0.0. program. Descriptive statistics (arithmetic

mean, standard deviation, etc.), offered insight into

the structure related to the observed sample of

subjects (average height, weight and age). Normality

of distributions were tested by Kolmogorov-Smirnov

test. The t-test for dependent samples was used to

determine the differences between variables A and B,

while Pearson’s correlation coefficient was used for

the influence of anthropological characteristics with

variables A and B. Qualitative analyses were used to

analyse the matches that ended in a draw, recorded

awarded and non-awarded steps during the jump to

the 'zero step'.

3 RESULTS

Table 2: Descriptive parameters and correlation.

AS SD MIN MAX KS TEST (d)

A 0.28 0.24 0.07 1.09 0.25; p = 0.22

B 0.17 0.09 0.06 0.37 0.18; p = 0.61

BH 186.11 6.26 177 200 0.16; p = 0.77

BW 88.89 8.98 75 102 0.15; p = 0.81

e 20 2.59 16 24 0.11; p = 0.98

Table 3: Correlations.

A B BH BW Age

A 1.00 0.19 0.73* 0.61* 0.14

B 0.19 1.00 0.16 0.37 -0.19

BH 0.73* 0.16 1.00 0.86* 0.15

BW 0.61* 0.37 0.86* 1.00 0.16

e 0.14 -0.19 0.15 0.16 1.00

*p<0,05

The t-test for dependent samples between variables A

and B is t=1.84; df=17; p=0.08.

The interpretation of the results of the conducted

analyses can be standardly placed within the

framework of two standard levels of statistical

inference (99% and 95%), but also one non-standard

one (90%) for which the term - tendency to statistical

significance will be used in the rest of the paper.

Namely - "Type 1 error" (alpha error) refers to the

rejection of the hypothesis H0 which is correct (i.e.,

no differences or influence). Type 2 error is reversed

(beta error), and refers to the acceptance of the

hypothesis H0, which is not true. In various medical

studies whose results may have consequences for the

quality of human life or human life in general, the

level of significance is significantly lower than the

standard (even p<0.001 and less). On the contrary, if

it is a procedure that is not expensive and dangerous,

and could have a positive impact on a certain

situation, it can be operated with milder criteria (0.05,

and even 0.10 and 0.20)" (in Gruić , 2011, according

to Kolesarić, Petz, 1999). Therefore, in this case too,

p<0.08 should be linked to the analysis of sample size

and statistical power (0.59 for n = 18; and 0.80 for n=

31). With very large dispersions, e.g., SD in variable

A almost as AS, the power and level of statistical

inference and generalization are satisfactory.

Table 4: Qualitative analysis of handball matches from the

European Championship 2024 with Result ‘X’ (draw).

x n1 n2

1 6 3

2 1 0

36 4

43 1

52 0

4 DISCUSSIONS

There are physical limitations of the rule 7.3.d. that

interprets the 'simultaneous' landing with both feet on

the ground, there are statistically significant

differences in the performance of the closed structure

of the 'zero step' between the performance from the

initial stance and the take-off. There is a statistically

significant correlation between the anthropological

characteristics of the subjects in the difference in time

between the contact of the left and right foot with the

ground during the performance of the closed structure

of the 'zero step' from the initial stance, as well and

after a run-up. There is a difference in the occurred

and expected outcomes of tied matches based on

awarded and non-awarded steps when performing a

'zero step’.

Qualitative analysis proved that a different end

result would affect the further course of the

competition, i.e., a different order on the table and

thus the transition from the preliminary to the main

stage of the competition. In preliminary phase (tables

1 and 4), in matches that ended in a draw, e.g.

between:

a) France and Switzerland - the expert

assessment concluded that due to the

undecided steps after the 'zero step', France

was more damaged (although, if the outcome

had been different, rank on the table would

Analysis of the ’Zero Step’ IHF Handball Rule 7.3.d. in Open and Closed Motor Performance Program

293

not have changed much as far as these two

teams are concerned).

b) Croatia and Austria different outcome may

have occurred - one situation in which

Austria was not awarded steps after the

erroneous 'zero step'. If the outcome had been

different, Croatia could have taken one more

point, thus having 6 points at the end of the

group stage and transferring 2 points to the

next stage of the competition, while in this

way they transferred 1 point due to the draw

with Austria.

c) Spain and Austria - no unjudged steps were

found during the performance of the 'zero

step'. However, if Austria have had lost from

Croatia, the situation on the table would have

been different, and in that case, Spain would

have had the same number of points as

Austria.

d) Iceland and Serbia - Serbia was ‘damaged’ by

the number of unjudged technical errors due

to the islander’s performance of the 'zero

step', and the outcome could have been

different. If that had been the case, Serbia

would have taken one more point, while

Iceland would have had one less point, and

Iceland, Montenegro and Serbia would have

tied on points.

e) Norway and Faroe Islands - analysis did not

find referee errors during the performance of

the 'zero step', so the final standings on the

table would not change.

Although, during the analysis of the match, not all

situations were monitored, jumps on one leg were not

included in the analysis, which is also considered a

'zero step', but only situations with jumps on two legs

were analysed. Mathematically, different scenarios

could have happened where in Group B Spain could

have passed to the main stage if it had beaten Austria,

and then Croatia would have transferred 2 points

instead of 1. A situation in which the team that goes

on would be decided according to the point difference

and the mutual ratio was in group C where Serbia

would be decided according to goal difference and

mutual ratio to Montenegro and Iceland, who would

go further. In that case, Serbia, which would have the

smallest goal difference, would have the most likely

situation to advance. There were no draw results in

groups E and F, so the final result on the table based

on the analysis of the referee's errors would not

change.

Limitations of the research. One of the limitations

is the impossibility of ad-hoc calculation of statistical

power and determination of the sample size because

there are no previously comparable studies on this

topic, and in this study a post-hoc statistical power of

p=0.59 was determined for a sample of N=18.

Mathematically, there could have been more result

scenarios, but in this paper the focus was on the 'zero

step' and the scenarios that resulted from referees'

mistakes during unjudged steps after the 'zero step'.

Although ‘tendency to statistical significance’ is not

a term that the 2016 ASA statement would

recommend, this reference should, within broader

perspective (when using a larger sample in the

experiment), added value to the understanding of

related phenomena should focus on all matches, not

just those that ended in ‘draw’.

Future research on this or a topic similar to this

can study the referee's perception and how much the

referee's 'eye' is ready to follow the course of the

situation, that is, how much the seen situation and the

speed of decision-making affect the further course of

the attack so that the action of action is as effective as

possible when making decisions and so that these

rules would not call into question the passing of the

group stage, or the winner of the competition.

5 CONCLUSIONS

The obtained results confirmed that it is physically

and mathematically impossible to land on the ground

with both feet at the same time. The rule of "zero step"

due to the perceptive barriers, insufficient attention

when counting steps, or simply due to difficulties to

see the leap - leads to a ‘grey zone’ in handball game

where numerous outcomes are ignored, which from a

mathematically proven rule can lead to an unfair

result, and even not advancing to the next stage of the

competition. This all leads to numerous controversies

between referees, delegates, coaches, players and the

audience where big mistakes are allowed. Despite the

advanced technology (VAR), if this rule is not

changed, the benefits resulting from the jump will

continue to be used (more steps than allowed,

changing the tactics of the game, inability to place a

defender). The analysis of matches has often seen

situations in which players take a step or two before

leaping into the 'zero step', where the referees do not

see it or do not address attention to that part, so the

steps start to be counted only after jumping to 'zero

step'. We can call such situations a 'big compromise'

where judges are focused on correct execution of

steps and players at a high level of competition are

expected not to make such mistakes.

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294

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Approved by Committee for Scientific research and

Ethics of the University of Zagreb, Faculty of

Kinesiology, Croatia, Date 10.05.2024, No; 43/2024.

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