The participation of the defender and the actions of handball goalkeepers in the situation of throws from backcourt positions

The aim of the study was to analyse the actions handball goalkeepers in the situation of throws from the backcourt position from the second and first line according to the contact with the defender. The research covered 11 goalkeepers played in PGNiG Men’s Super-League. The research material is 1739 throws. Contact with the defender was categorised into groups: without contact, in contact with the defender, throw over the block. Analysis of goalkeepers’ actions included type of save, time of initiating the save, direction of the save, range of motion of the goalkeeper relative to the ball’s flight path, technique and effect of the save. Kruskal–Wallis test and Mann–Whitney U test was used to compare the parameters. There are differences in goalkeepers’ actions between throws over the block and the other types of throws in the second-line. There is a difference between the effectiveness of saves in throw-over-the-block and the other throws. There are differences between goalkeepers’ actions in the first line throws depending on the contact with the defender. There is a difference in the effectiveness of the save depending on the contact with the defender. The presented results suggest that contact with the defender differentiates the actions of goalkeepers.