AIR BALLERS Wartalowicz’s team handball players take the action above ground.

Starting Friday 5, the Chicago Inter Handball Club will take on the nation—er, teams from Atlanta, Houston and the West Point Academy—in a weekend-long team handball tournament in Franklin Park. It makes sense that the group would start small when throwing its first Chicago tourney: Team handball in the city gets little to no recognition, despite being an Olympic sport. Chicago Inter Handball is the only fully operating club in the Midwest—it’s made up of a women’s team and two men’s teams that practice semiweekly in Melrose Park and travel to club-level tournaments and scrimmages in other parts of the country. So if you’re curious about participating in the sport, scope out the tournament or risk missing out. We chatted with Mariusz Wartalowicz, 45, the group’s coach and a 38-year veteran team handball player (he played and coached pro in Poland until 1989, and helped form the CIHC in ’91), about why the sport gets little love—and how the heck you play.

How does team handball differ from handball?
Team handball is played with seven players on the court [from each of the two teams]—the goalkeeper and six court players. They use similar techniques to basketball or water polo, which are passing, dribbling and setting picks. Instead of shooting into a hoop, they try to score a goal by throwing the ball [similar to a volleyball] into the net. Most of the action takes place around the goals. It’s something between soccer, basketball, water polo and field hockey. There’s checking, some pushing and some holding, but no tackling, hitting or punching.

Why do you call your club “Inter Handball”?
Well, we’ve been in existence since 1991 under different names. First, we called ourselves Badger—the club was mostly German at the time. Then we renamed the team, because we got more Poles, to Kracovbia Chicago. Finally, two years ago, because we started to see players from all over the world, we changed it to Inter—like International.

Do new players pick up on it quickly?
Yes, pretty much everybody can be successful. Everybody has the opportunity to touch the ball and play offense and defense. It’s a natural game for Americans because it requires running, shooting and passing. It’s a high-scoring game and kids love the contact portion.

So you think Americans like high-scoring games?
Well, a game like soccer gets more popular every year, but you may see games that, after 90 minutes, are still at 0-0. Here, the scores are in the 20s and 30s. It’s fast-paced and more participation-friendly, since everyone has the chance to shoot and defend the goal. Everybody can participate.

Do you think the sport suffers from limited TV exposure?
Yes. During the Olympics of  1978, the sport was broadcast quite a bit. According to the statistics, team handball is the third most popular sport to watch during the summer Olympics. I’d love to get some TV exposure, even if it’s at odd hours, but we are a mature club and don’t have the money to go after broadcasting or rights.

Have you ever competed against a team that played dirty?
Actually, in Europe, they teach you how to play dirty without being caught. You can do a lot of damage to players, especially when they’re airborne—a lot of shots are taken as jump shots. If you touch somebody lightly on their hip, they’re going to fall down and crash like a rock. There’s also some trash talking. There are some that stick fingers in inappropriate places, or grab you from behind. But I wouldn’t call it vicious. It’s in the heat of the action that things can get out of control.

Any highlights from your own career?
Positive and negative highlights. Back in Poland, we didn’t have any protective gear for goalkeepers. Negative: I got hit in my crotch so hard that urine came out. Positive: There’s too much to mention.—Steve Heisler

Visit chicagointerhandball.org for information on the weekend’s tourney.