England U19s Get Taste of International Handball

THE growth of handball in England took a major step forward last week when the newly-formed England Under-19 men’s team held a training camp at the Aarhus Sports Academy in Denmark.

Under the guidance of Head Coach and GB international Scott Harrington, the young team played three matches against a variety of teams from the Academy, which is where the majority of the GB players were based from 2007-2009.

And despite being at least three years younger than their opponents, the England team played well and drew compliments from players and coaches at the tournament who were surprised by the good standard of handball.

“We came into this camp with a clear objective: to turn enthusiastic teenagers into handball players - and for me it’s objective achieved,” said Harrington. “The lads have shown to both me and everyone involved that they have massive potential.

“As well as the two-day tournament, the team trained in different aspects of handball, including strength and conditioning, agility, core stability and injury prehab so our players could experience what it takes to become a world class handball player.”

The team also received one-to-one guidance from several of the GB players who are based out in Denmark, and Harrington added: “All the sessions proved invaluable for our boys - it’s now up to them to go away and build on what they have learnt over the past week, so we can continue to improve as individuals and as a team.”

And GB international John Pearce, who worked with the England Under-19 players during their stay, added: “This has been my first chance to see the work being put in to secure the legacy for handball in the UK that we all want.

“I have to admit I was surprised by the level of a number of the guys who came out here. They really looked like youth handball players and considering the number of obstacles in the way for handball in the UK that is quite an achievement.

“I wanted to get involved because I really believe there is potential for handball to grow in the UK. With 65 million people there is room for other sports, not just football, rugby and cricket.

“There is still a long way to go, we need to catch players earlier. We need to get kids playing the sport at the age of five or six, with appropriate coaching and facilities for the legacy to really develop after 2012. The first steps have been taken and I look forward to seeing how the journey develops.”

Berkshire Boys Get Handball Bug!

A GROUP of boys from Oratory School in Reading became the latest people to catch the handball bug, when they took part in a session while on a study visit to France.

The group from the Woodcote-based school were guests of LSF Montpellier for a French language course.

Their teacher, Anne Tuite-Dalton, is originally from Montpellier and helped to organise a handball session for the boys which took place with one of the MAHB coaches at the Palais des Sports René Bougnol where the professional Montpellier team play.

Following this session the boys had the chance to watch the professional team train, including four world champions in Nikola Karabatic, Michael Guigou, William Accambray and Samuel Honrubia.

Afterwards, the group got to meet their new heroes, who signed autographs and posed for photographs.

E-Zine of GB visit to Limburg

A visual record of GB Women's team visit to Limburg for a preparation camp ahead of the World Championship qualification tournament in Poland.

Click here to open the e-zine

Holly Lam-Moores on life as a Handball Player

Interview with Holly Lam-Moores in Denmark

Expert Help for London Handball Players

YOUNG handball stars of the future got some expert advice during a training session last week, when they joined in with a training session with the Great Britain men’s team at Crystal Palace National Sports Centre.

The youngsters came from across London, and were brought in by Handball Development Officer Ari Bekker who liaised with British Handball to make the session happen.

“Everyone paired up with one of the GB players on each position, and they helped them out with learning some new tricks and passing on their skills,” she said.

“The team just made my young players’ whole year! They’re already asking when they can do it again!”

Handball Hits Universities

A MEETING is being staged later this month aimed at organising a Universities Handball Tournament in December.

The meeting, at Nottingham university Sports Centre on October 23, will gauge whether there is enough interest in staging a Student Beginners Tournament on December 4.

If there is enough interest, the event could lead to a British Universities Championship in February, with the eventual winners going on to represent Great Britain Universities at the European Championships in Rijeka, Croatia, from July 17-24 2010.

Anyone wanting to attend the meeting, which starts at 2pm on October 23, is asked to email Admin@britishuniversitieshandball.com for more details.

Champions League Action on Eurosport

WOMEN’S EHF Champions League action is being screened live on British Eurosport this weekend, with British Handball’s own Paul Bray providing the commentary.

The group stages clash between Itxako Reyna de Navarra of Spain and German outfit HC Leipzig will be screened at 6pm, while the following day the Men’s group stage clash between German high-flyers THW Kiel and Poland’s Vive Targi Kielce will be on at 8pm.

Those matches are just two of a regular list of matches being shown on the channel throughout the Autumn, with Bray providing authoritative English commentary.

A dual British and French citizen who has played and coached the game to international level, Bray has been commentating for Eurosport since 1989, covering more than 800 matches including nine World Championships, seven European Championships and five Olympic Games as well as numerous other matches.

Sat, Oct 9 (18:00 GMT)
Women’s Champions League, group stages
Itxako Reyna de Navarra (ESP) v HC Leipzig (GER)

Sun, Oct 10 (20:00 GMT)
Men’s Champions League, group stages
THW Kiel (GER) v Vive Targi Kielce (POL)

Sun, Oct 17 (15:00 GMT)
Women’s Champions League, group stages
Gyori Audi ETO (HUN) v Podravka Vegeta (CRO)

Sun, Oct 17 (19:45 GMT)
Men’s Champions League, group stages
Vive Targi Kielce (POL) v Rhein-Neckar-Löwen (GER)

Sat, Oct 23 (14:00 GMT)
Women’s Champions League, group stages
HC Leipzig (GER) v Hypo Niederösterreich (AUT)

* Schedule is subject to change, check listings beforehand

Schools Prepare to Embrace Handball

HUNDREDS of schools and colleges across the country are preparing to welcome handball onto their curriculum as part of the Change4Life programme.

The scheme - set up to help our kids to get fit and stay fit - will see handball developed in around 420 secondary schools and colleges, and it is hoped many of these will then become fully established handball clubs for the future.

As part of the roll-out of the scheme, England Handball is looking to recruit eight new staff to ensure the sport is given the best possible start at this crucial phase of the plan.

“Without doubt, this is the most exciting development opportunity which the EHA has ever had,” said England Handball’s Director of Development Louaz Hofton.

“The Change4Life programme will involve developing handball in 420 secondary schools and colleges across the country. Although this is only funded for one year, those student clubs will be supported by the Change4Life staff to become established recreational handball clubs from September 2011 onwards.

England Handball are recruiting six part time Activators and two part time Managers to be strategically placed around the country to ensure the spread of the game is as effective as possible.

With the North West and London currently hotspots for handball in England, it is hoped that other regions will also embrace the sport and, through schemes such as Change4Life, help make the sport widely known.

Head for Nottingham for Pre-Season Fun!

DON’T forget! The annual pre-season handball tournament at Nottingham will take place on Sunday, September 5.

The popular event is for both men and women and is being staged at Nottingham University’s Sutton Bonington Campus from 12noon until around 6pm. Teams from across the country are expected to attend.

The event also looks set to be run alongside an update event for referees, delegates and table officials.

For more information, please contact organiser Colin Wills on colin.wills@nottingham.ac.uk.

London Schools Event Proves a Big Hit!

DOZENS of youngsters from across London took part in the London Inter-Borough Handball Tournament staged at Newham Leisure Centre recently.

The event was for year seven and eight pupils, and after some thrilling matches was won by Westminster City School and Barking Abbey School in the boys and girls competitions respectively.

With six boys teams and five girls team, for many it was their first taste of handball - but most left hooked on handball and wanting to play the game more!

Teams from Barking and Dagenham, Newham, Haringey, Westminster and Greenwich attended, and London Handball Development Officer Ari Bekker said: “To involve more and more teams and schools in a competition like this and to see their fantastic play is great.

“You could see from the excitement on their faces just how much they enjoyed the games. It’s great to be able to get young people together from different boroughs and play in a handball competition.”

In the boys event, after some close group matches, it was Westminster City and Thamesmead who reached the finals, with Woodside High and Newham Flames just missing out by one goal in the semi finals.

Both teams in the final were playing for the first time, but after a great match it was Westminster City School who won.

And in the girls competition, runners-up St Angela’s School were beaten by Barking Abbey, who didn’t lose a match all day.

More handball events will be staged in the London area shortly. Handball coaching sessions take place at Newham Multi Sports Club Hub every Tuesday evening from 3-6.30pm.

For more information contact Ari Bekker, London Handball Development Officer, on 07738 385515 or e-mail her at aranka.bekker@newham.gov.uk

Underdogs Ruislip Secure EHA Cup

RUISLIP Eagles upset the form book when they were crowned EHA Cup champions after a thrilling 26-25 victory over Manchester in the final at the Brentwood Centre in Essex on Saturday.

With two victories over National League champions Great Dane to their credit, Manchester began the match as hot favourites for victory. But Ruislip were determined to stop them.

Three unanswered goals gave Ruislip a good start to the game. However, Manchester came back quickly into the game thanks to Celian Girost, first levelling and then taking a narrow lead.

Both goalkeepers, Vladimir Belus and Stefan Bauer, made fine saves throughout the first half, which ended with Manchester just ahead at 17-14.

The Eagles came back with determination, despite Manchester holding on to their three-goal lead for most of the second half.

With ten minutes left Manchester had opened up their lead to five goals, but the Eagles never gave up and strengthened up their defence to stop Manchester doing any more damage.

Andrius Rinkevicius was outstanding in Ruislip's goal, making crucial saves, and an excellent turnover of players made sure the Ruislip team gave it all until the end.

Goal after goal, the Eagles came back and made a fantastic finish, levelling at 25-25 with ten seconds left.

The Eagles’ big chance came with a seven-metre penalty, and Hugo Mazel kept his cool to seal a brilliant victory.

"We were so enthused to play this final,” said Ruislip captain Marc Fayemi afterwards. “We just felt good and confident we could resist the Manchester HC team.

“We wanted to make this final special to us and we could not ask more with such a stunning scenario. And to see all your team-mates so happy to win this Cup, and it is just fabulous to lift the trophy and enjoy such moments together!"

* Cambridge won the Men’s EHA Plate after overcoming Manchester University 28-18 in the final.

Paco Fernandez scored five as Cambridge took a comfortable victory, while Massimi, Diaz and Sevin all scored four goals towards their victory.

Kent Handball Event Proves a Big Hit!

HARVEY Grammar School came out on top after the Kent Under-15 Handball Championships were staged at the Stour Centre in Ashford.

The boys remained unbeaten throughout the tournament, but faced some stiff opposition from other schools with some great skills on show.

After winning their respective groups Harvey did battle with Howard School in the final, where Harvey ran out 4-3 winners.

Third spot in the event went to Homewood School who beat Greenacre 7-5 in the third-placed play-off.

Other schools who competed were Aylesford, Maidstone Grammar, St John’s and Swan Valley.

In-Form Glasgow March into Last Four of Scottish Cup

Glasgow maintained their late season form with a convincing 59-21 victory over East Kilbride in the quarter finals of the Scottish Cup, and now go forward to the semi finals where they face Tryst.

Following their recent draw with the league Champions Gracemount, Glasgow proved too strong for a young East Kilbride side.

The early part of the match Glasgow dominated but East Kilbride had a much better second half after only scoring eight goals in the first half.

The scoring was led by veteran player Mick Lavery with seven goals with another good performance from Colin Reid with four goals who is still only 15 years old.

The scoring for Glasgow was led by Seb Klotz with 15 goals. The season is now over for East Kilbride but they have shown great improvement throughout the year and with a young squad can look forward to making more impression next season.

Tryst reached the semi finals after beating a weakened Liberton side 53-14.
Liberton had several of their players stuck abroad and had lost one of their key student players, but they showed heart throughout the match and never gave up.

They had a young team made up of some up-and-coming Scottish youngsters. It was one of these - Blair Strachan who led the way with five goals in the match and is really starting to show his potential.

The Tryst team were a mix of youth and experience with long-serving player James Yule leading their scoring with 10 goals followed closely by another of the old guard Chris McManus with nine goals making a rare appearance for this match.

His strength on the line proved very difficult for the Liberton team throughout the match. Young player Darren Fisher showed how much he has improved this season with some clinical finishing on the wing with six goals.

Glasgow University were making an appearance in the Scottish Cup after an absence from Scottish Handball competition since the 1980s, but lost out 37-15 to league champions Gracemount.

The match was very close in the initial stages with Glasgow only trailing 7-4. But the experience of the champions told in the end.

Great Dane Keep Title Hopes Alive

GREAT Dane ensured the outcome of the English Women’s League would go down to the last game of the season when they beat arch rivals Ruislip Eagles 27–21 at Leyton on Saturday.

Danes knew that they had to win in order to keep their title hopes alive, whilst Ruislip would win the league if they beat Danes in this penultimate game.

Both sides fielded a full strength side and as expected the first half was a closely contested affair with both defences strong but Ruislip missed several golden opportunities and found Danes keeper Ida Griffith in fine form.

Things were all square at half time but Danes produced a devastating 10-minute spell in the second half which saw them open up an unassailable lead.

The defending champions regained their composure to finish strongly in the last five minutes but by then the game was lost and Great Danes had a deserved victory under their belt and the momentum very much back with them for the last game on May 8.

Iris Manu (pictured) top scored for Great Danes with nine, whilst Dani Sposi scored five for Ruislip.

Pre-Season Starts at Nottingham

GET your 2010-11 season off to a great start! Enter the Pre-Season Tournament being staged in Nottingham on Sunday, September 5.

The event will be staged at the University of Nottingham’s Sutton Bonnington Campus, and while the exact format has not yet been fixed, it will include several games and include both men’s and women’s competitions.

If you’re interested, please contact Colin Wills at colin.wills@nottingham.ac.uk

Handball Fans: Sport England Want YOU!

SPORT England are appealing for the views of handball fans as they launch a major new survey of the sporting landscape of the country.

They have commissioned top market research company Ipsos MORI to conduct a survey about people’s experiences of playing all sports, and it is important to the future growth of handball in this country that as many people as possible take part.

For more details and to take the survey, please go to http://www.englandhandball.com/

Coaching Courses for Referees

NEXT month sees the first of England Handball’s new courses aimed at recruiting handball match officials.

The Level One courses are being staged at Siddal Moor Sports College in Rochdale on May 1 and then at Newham Leisure Centre in London on May 15 and 16.

The courses are aimed at giving attendees a basic understanding of the rules of the game and what is expected of officials. By the end of the course, you will be able to referee junior matches as well as games in the Development League.

For more details go to http://www.englandhandball.com/

Race for European Places Reaches Crucial Stage

THIS Sunday’s matches at the Greenbank Academy in Liverpool could prove to be some of the most important of the season as the National League play-offs reach a crucial stage.

Manchester’s victory over leaders Great Dane a fortnight ago has thrown the play-offs wide open, with five of the six teams in the end of season competition still battling for a top three finish and entry into European competition.

After beating Great Dane in the Cup last Saturday, Olympia will be aiming to take that form into their clash with Manchester, knowing that a victory could well see them move up from fourth to second.

Currently third in the table, Cambridge play Salford and will also be bidding to preserve their spot in the top trio. Defeat for Salford will spell the end of their play-off hopes.

And leaders Great Dane will be looking to get back to winning ways and salvage the League title when they play bottom of the league Nottingham.

Gracemount go Unbeaten Through Scottish League

A CLOSE 41-38 victory over runners-up Cumbernauld proved a fitting way for Scottish champions Gracemount to end their league season on Saturday.

With 11 wins and one draw from their 12 games, Gracemount (pictured) ensured they were unbeaten through the season - but it was close in Saturday’s final game at Blackburn.

The lead changed hands several times in the match of the day, with Allan Stokes scoring eight for Gracemount while Alan Govan added nine for Cumbernauld. Stokes ends the season as the league’s top-scorer with 111 goals.

In other action, Ayr ended their season on a high with a 52-34 win over East Kilbride. They put in a strong performance and quickly opened up a 10-goal lead which they built on until the end. Kriss Szulc top-scored with 22 goals, while Mick Lavery added 13 for East Kilbride.

Tryst beat rivals Glasgow 27-21 in the day’s other game, with Nikos Tsounakis and Bora Sieng scoring five each for Glasgow. But team-mate Danos Sagias was second top-scorer in the league, with 103 goals from 10 games.

For Tryst, James Jule added seven goals to help his side to win.

Olympia Overcome Travel Problems to Beat Manchester

AFTER overcoming travel problems which saw them without their rented minibus to Manchester, Olympia women reached the semi finals of the EHA Cup after scraping a narrow 18-17 win over Manchester.

With their travel plans scuppered when their rented minibus fell through, the team bought their own minibus to travel North - and the effort certainly paid off with a spot in the last four secured.

Manchester’s right winger Loewman ran riot in the early stages and scored repeatedly. However, after a timeout and some words from their coach, Olympia recovered in the second half and ran up a three-goal lead with only a few minutes to go.

However, only some very strong defending in the last few seconds saw the team hold on to a one-goal lead and claim the game 18-17.

Elsewhere in the women’s EHA Cup, Deva beat Cambridge 28-23.