Future Stars on Show

SOME of the best Under-18 handball players in England will be on show this weekend when the Under-18 AASE League Championship play-offs are staged in Warrington.

Top handball action is guaranteed in the event at the Birchwood Sports and Leisure Centre on Brock Road, with the boys competition taking place on Saturday, Feb 5, from 9am-1pm.

And there is no let-up in the action, as the following day it is the turn of the girls to compete from 9am-noon.

The League is part of the Advanced Apprenticeship in Sporting Excellence, which looks set to provide the next generation of international handball stars.

Improving England Overcome Ireland

THE England youth handball teams beat Ireland in both the boys and girls competition in a friendly tournament staged at Birchwood, near Warrington, on Saturday.

Just a matter of months since Ireland beat them in a club tournament, England showed just how much they have improved by winning the event, which was their first international matches on home soil and were hosted by the Warrington Wolves Handball Foundation at Birchwood Leisure Centre.

England fielded both their A and B teams in both the boys and girls events, and after England Girls B had lost out 10-4 to Ireland, England A battled to a 18-16 victory over England B.

And in the final match, England A won again, beating Ireland 15-10 with Ellie Whitehead scoring six goals, while Laura Black and Jess Milligan both added three. But it had been level at 7-7 at half time until a second-half push from the England girls saw them clinch victory.

In the boys event, Ireland were made to toil by England B before narrowly winning 20-19, but England A proved too strong for their B side, winning 26-11.

In the day’s final event, England A took on Ireland and after leading 12-8 at half time, they built on their lead and ran out 26-17 winners with James Higgins scoring nine, while Paul Roden added four. For Ireland, Anderson scored five and Harding four, but it was not enough to stop a much-improved England side.

A healthy crowd were treated to a parade of the teams before the action began, and Louaz Hofton, England Handball’s Director of Development, presented a special EHA Plate to the Irish Olympic Handball Association’s Susanne Moloney.

After the event, Moloney invited England back to Ireland for a re-match, to be staged in Dublin next year with the Under-16 teams.

England Youth Prepare for Ireland Challenge

AFTER enjoying a successful Partille Cup campaign last week, the England Youth teams will be in action again on Saturday when they take on the Ireland national youth side in a tournament in Warrington.

An action-packed six-match programme has been put together for the event at Birchwood Leisure and Tennis Complex at Birchwood, near Warrington, which will see the A and B sides from both the England Boys and Girls teams take on their Irish counterparts.

The day begins at 9am with the teams arriving and warming up, and following the parade of teams and respective Anthems, the matches will begin at 10am and conclude at 4pm with the presentation of trophies.

“The advent of the Olympic Games has seen a massive surge in handball’s popularity,” said EHA Director of Performance Mick Hegarty. “The EHA is very proud of the fact that its international programme has seen an extremely successful year.

“Our youth squads have evolved through an exacting regional selection process, participated in the Olympic Solidarity Camp with 12 other nations, competed in the world famous Partille Cup in Sweden, scoring their respective first victories, culminating in this international against Ireland.”

Handball Skills on Show in Warrington

THE third Warrington Primary Schools Handball Championships ended with some thrilling finals when the event was staged at William Beaumont High School last week.

St Wilfred's School edged out Barrowhall School 4-2 in a thrilling play-off final in the Boys Competition, as the teams could not be separated after the Round Robin League.

And in the girls event Cherry Tree School were the champions by just one goal, playing the vastly-improved Newchurch School in the Girls event. The magnificent winners trophies, donated by the Warrington Wolves Foundation, were presented by the town's rising England Star, Alex Bradley.

After the presentations, organiser Mike McLoughlin paid tribute to the support of the parents, friends and staff in ensuring the youngsters were able to participate.

He also gave a special thanks to the PE Staff and the Sports Leaders from William Beaumont High School who ran the event so efficiently.