ICF- International Catchball Federation

During the past 10 years, CATCHBALL has taken off to become the most popular recreational activity for women in Israel. The game, played by passing the ball over a net to the opponent’s court without hitting it, hooked women of all ages.
The Israeli Catchball Association, a non-profit organization, was established in 2008 with the purpose of creating Catchball leagues and introduce the game to all women regardless of their level of fitness or their socio-economic status. The Israeli Catchball Association acts as the governing body for all Catchball activities nationwide, managing leagues. These leagues are run at different levels of skills and include teams on the national and regional levels. The Israeli Association has been developing its best practice and knowhow for the past decade relying on a group of known professionals acting as the advisory board. The Association also established official rules and regulations which all members of the association abide. The Board of directors, comprised of highly motivated female volunteers, is working fiercely to spread the game and make it accessible to all including communities that have never had the chance to be active in sports such as peripheral villages, women with hearing impairment, young women from Arab villages etc.

Catchball and the Community

Communities in which Catchball leagues operate provide women and adolescent girls with the opportunity to participate in a team sport and to develop an enjoyable, healthy pastime that elevates the spirit while improving their wellbeing and their self-esteem. In many cases, Catchball activities are organized by the players themselves, with a governing council being elected that leads, develops and promotes the local teams. The team captain operates as a leader and the team becomes a unit and a home to the players providing them with a deep sense of belonging and security. Catchball is known to become a unifying activity between communities

Becoming a global Federation

The Israel Catchball Association has teamed up with global organizations such as The Corporate games, the JCC of America, Maccabi and more to promote the game to other areas in the world. The global activity started in 2016 and ever since, local Associations were incorporated in other areas of the world. All are members of the ICF (International Catchball Federation)

ICF provides guidance and professional support to organizations who are looking to start a local team or league and acts as the governing body. In addition, ICF supports Associations with organizing International tournaments and events, providing professional documentations, rules and regulations

​International Games and events

​The Catchball Federations hosts an International Catchball tournament every year during March in Eilat, Israel. Thousands of female players participate in these 4 fun days in Sunny Eilat. The ICF works closely also with Maccabi world Union to include Catchball in Maccabiah and Maccabi games.

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 The Basics of the Catchball Game

Catchball a team game resembling volleyball. It is played by two teams of 6 players in a volleyball court with a volleyball net. The object of the game is to pass the ball over the net, to ground it on the opponent's court, and to prevent the same effort by the opponent. The main difference between Catchball and Volleyball is that in Catchball players must Catch the ball with both hands before they can pass it on (hence the name "Catchball") The ball is put in play with a serve, thrown over the net to the opponents. The rally continues until the ball is grounded on the playing court goes "out" or a team fails to return it properly. Catchball uses a rally point scoring system. Teams score a point on every rally, regardless of the serving team. The team winning a rally scores a point. A team can touch the ball up to three times on its side of the net, before returning it to the opponent's court.
All matches are played as a "Winning Sets" system. A team wins the match if it wins in two sets. The first two sets are scored up to 25 points, while the third set (if played) is scored up to 15 points.

For more information:  catchball.world@gmail.com

How to play videos:  https://www.icf-sport.com/playcatchball