Karl Schelenz (or Carl Schelenz, born 6 February 1890 in Berlin; died 7 February 1956) was a German sports teacher. He is famous as the "father" of modern handball.
Schelenz worked as a sports teacher in Berlin and in Flensburg. As an author, he wrote books on the modern sport of handball. In 1917 he, Erich Konigh, and Max Heiser published the first modern set of rules for handball[1] on 29 October in Berlin, which is seen as the date of birth of the sport.[2][3] Schelenz modified the rules in 1919.[1]
In 1916 and in 1917, he was the German champion in long jump.[4] He was third in the German championship in high jump. Schelenz was a member of the German sport team Berliner Turner-Verein von 1850 e. V. in Berlin.[5]