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| Team timeout. |
A standard match for all teams of 16 and older has two periods of 30 minutes with an interval of 10–15 minutes. At half-time, teams switch sides of the court 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 five minutes with a one-minute break each. Should these not decide the game either, the winning team is determined in a penalty shootout (best-of-five 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 trigger a timeout only for lengthy delays, such 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. As of 2012, rule changes allow three TTOs, and two of them can be used in either period of the game or overtime.