Team timeout and ball

A standard match for all teams of 16 and older has two periods of 30 minutes with a 15 minute half-time. Teams switch sides of the court at halftime, as well as benches. For youths the length of the halves is reduced - 25 minutes at ages 12 to 16 and 20 minutes at ages 8 to 12, though national federations of some countries may differ in their implementation from the official guidelines.

If a decision must be reached in a particular match (e.g. in a tournament) and it ends in a draw after regular time, there are at maximum two overtimes of 2 x 5 minutes with a 1 minute break each. Should these not decide the game either, the winning team is determined in a penalty shootout (best-of-5 rounds; if still tied, extra rounds afterwards until won by one team).

The referees may call timeout according to their sole discretion; typical reasons are injuries, suspensions or court cleaning. Penalty throws should only trigger a timeout for lengthy delays as a change of the goalkeeper.

Each team may call one team timeout (TTO) per period which lasts one minute. This right may only be invoked by team in ball possession. To do so, the representative of the team lays a green card marked with a black "T" on the desk of the timekeeper. The timekeeper then immediately interrupts the game by sounding an acoustic signal and stops the time.

 Ball

The ball is spherical and must either be made of leather or a synthetic material. It is not allowed to have a shiny or slippery surface. As it is intended to be operated by a single hand, the official sizes vary depending on age and gender of the participating teams.

Size	Used by	Circumference (in cm)	Weight (in g)
III	Men and male youth older than 16	58–60	425–475
II	Women, male youth older than 12 and female youth older than 14	54–56	325–375
I	Youth older than 8	50–52	290–330

Though not officially regulated, the ball is usually resinated. The resin improves the ability of the players to manipulate the ball with a single hand like spinning trick shots. Some indoor arenas prohibit the usage of resin since many products leave sticky stains on the floor.