handball news edition 15-25

HANDBALL NEWSEnglish edition 15, January 15 2008

PLAY-OFF RACE GATHERS PACE

TEAM P W L D F A Diff Pt

Manchester U 9 9 0 0 266 159 107 18

Manchester 9 8 1 0 251 206 45 16

Liverpool 10 5 4 1 266 242 24 11

Bolton 9 5 3 1 288 272 16 11

Haslingden 8 2 6 0 183 210 -27 4

Wirral 10 1 9 0 185 257 -72 2

Liverpool SG 9 1 8 0 139 235 -96 2


Great Dane 8 8 0 0 189 110 79 16

Cambridge 9 7 2 0 292 229 63 14

Oxford Univ 9 6 2 1 258 223 35 13

Olympia 8 4 4 0 187 186 1 8

Ruislip 8 2 5 1 204 235 -31 5

Nottingham U 8 1 7 0 147 233 -86 2

Southampton 8 0 8 0 153 214 -61 0

Handball News is produced by Snowdon Sports for the British Handball Association. For details contact 0845 230 0803 or see www.englandhandball.com

Men's National Div One North (Turf Moor, Burnley):

Manchester 26 Liverpool SG 16, Liverpool 29

Haslingden 28, Bolton 31 Wirral 29.

RESULTS, January 13

TITLE-chasing Bolton

were given a scare by

Wirral as the National

League resumed games

on Sunday, with the

Lancashire side running

out winners 31-29 after

a close match.

Bolton were hit by

injuries and facing an

improving Wirral side.

Bolton got off to a

shaky start with Wirral

taking an early lead, but

they slowly clawed this

back and at half time

the sides went in level at

14-14.

Throughout much of

Southern League

Round-up

Elsewhere in the

Northern section,

Liverpool were made to

battle for a 29-28 victory

over Haslingden to keep

their hopes of the end-of-

season play-offs alive,

while second-placed

Manchester maintained

their push for the league

title with a comfortable 26-

16 victory over Liverpool

Speke Garston.

the second half neither

team could gain a

significant advantage and

it was only late in the half,

when Bolton’s defence

managed to force a

number of turnovers, that

they stretched out a three-

goal lead.

Stand-in keeper

Olufemi Kehinde pulled off

a number of crucial saves

for Bolton after his late

entry into the game

following injury to their

regular keeper, and

ensured Wirral were kept

at bay.

Among the top scorers

included Wirral’s Mark

Evans and Jason Roberts,

with 11 and nine goals

each, while Patryk

Jankowiak and Kristian

Marsh were also in good

form with 13 and 10 goals

respectively for Bolton.

In addition, 16-year-old

Steve Jameson continues to

put in impressive

performances, and ended

with four goals.

Another positive was the

number of young British

players, proving that the

development work both

teams have undertaken over

the past few years is starting

to bear fruit.

Men's National Lge Division One (South)

Men's National Div One South (Leyton): Great Dane

v Cambridge, Southampton Univ v Ruislip, Olympia v

Nottingham Univ.

Men's National Div One North (Greenbank):

Manchester Univ v Liverpool, Manchester v

Haslingden, Wirral v Liverpool Speke Garston.

Men's National Div One South (Leyton): Ruislip 24

Great Dane 26, Cambridge 30 Oxford Univ 35,

Southampton Univ 27 Nottingham Univ 31.

FIXTURES, January 20

Women's National Div One South (Leyton): Oxford v

Great Dane.

Men's National Lge Division One (North)

Women's National Div One South (Leyton):

Nottingham 30 Oxford 14.LEADING by eight at one

stage, Ruislip let their

advantage slip as Great

Dane snatched victory in

their National Division One

South clash at Leyton on

Sunday.

Ruislip were strong in

the first period, but as time

went on the strength of

Great Dane’s bench

enabled them to win the

game and go top of the

table by two points.

Rivals Cambridge also

suffered from a lack of

subs and after holding

rivals Oxford for much of

the game slipped to a 30-

35 defeat, while

Nottingham secured their

first win of the season over

fellow strugglers

Southampton.

In the women’s

southern league,

Nottingham beat Oxford

30-14 with some superb

counter attacking. Ahead

16-5 at half time,

Nottingham’s Neubert was

in fine shooting form and

ended with 11 goals.

HANDBALL looks set to

become a popular sport in

schools in the Chester area

after the first under-16s

tournament last month proved

a huge success.

Six girls teams and four

boys teams took part in the

inaugural competitions just

before Christmas, which were

organised by the Schools

Sports Partnership with help

from coach Gary Kelsall and

Jon Kelly from Deva Handball

Club.

In the girls competition

Bishops’ High School won,

while the best of the boys

teams was Queen’s Park

High.

Handball in the area is on

the up thanks to the work of

Kelsall and Kelly, who are

being helped in their work by

a £10,000 grant from the

Awards for All scheme which

has meant coaching takes

place in both primary and

secondary schools across the

region on a regular basis.

Handball proves a hit

Liverpool's Sergio Palazuelos tries to get a shot away

during his side's clash with Manchester University. Pic:

Shaun Criscuolo.


GREAT DANE BEAT RIVALS CAMBRIDGE


Ruislip Eagles 3 3 0 0 82 54 28 6

Great Dane 2 1 0 1 48 40 8 2

Squirrels 3 1 0 2 65 81 -16 2

Oxford Univ 2 0 0 2 36 56 -20 0


Manchester U 10 10 0 0 287 174 113 20

Manchester 10 9 1 0 282 227 55 18

Liverpool 11 5 5 1 281 263 18 11

Bolton 9 5 3 1 288 272 16 11

Haslingden 9 2 7 0 204 241 -37 4

Wirral 11 2 9 0 216 278 -62 4

Liverpool SG 10 1 9 0 160 266 -106 2


Great Dane 9 9 0 0 214 127 87 18

Cambridge 10 7 3 0 309 254 55 14

Oxford Univ 9 6 2 1 258 223 35 13

Olympia 9 5 4 0 220 215 5 10

Ruislip 9 2 5 2 237 268 -31 6

Nottingham U 9 1 8 0 176 266 -90 2

Southampton 9 0 8 1 186 247 -61 1Handball News is produced by Snowdon Sports for the British Handball Association. For details contact 0845 230 0803 or see www.englandhandball.com

Manchester University remain unbeaten


Men's National Div One North (Greenbank): Manchester

Univ 21 Liverpool 15, Manchester 31 Haslingden 21, Wirral

31 Liverpool SG 21.

Men's National Div One South (Leyton): Great Dane 25

Cambridge 17, Southampton 33 Ruislip 33, Olympia 33

Nottingham Univ 29.

RESULTS, January 20

Haslingden's Aidan Woodall gets some close attention from

Manchester rivals during Sunday's clash at the Greenbank

Academy in Liverpool. Pic: Shaun Criscuolo.

Women's National Lge Division One (South)

Women's National Div One South (Leyton): Wirral v

Liverpool, Bolton v Tryst, Manchester v Haslingden.

FIXTURES, January 27

With three teams going

forward to the play-off league

the two Manchester sides are

guaranteed a place in the next

stage, but the last spot will be

taken by either Liverpool or

Bolton. They are level on

points, but the Lancashire

side have a game in hand.

MANCHESTER University

beat play-off rivals

Liverpool 21-15 at the

Greenbank Academy in

Liverpool on Sunday, lifting

their title hopes and

denting Liverpool’s hopes

of reaching the play-offs.

Manchester were given a

tough time by a youthful

Haslingden outfit before

running out 31-21 winners in

their clash.

They led 15-10 at half time,

and began trialling a new

system with two line players,

but Haslingden hit back with

confidence and scored

several goals through fast

breaks. However,

Manchester’s lead was

enough to hold out for the win.

Man of the match

deservedly went to

Haslingden’s Aidan Woodall

(pictured).

Wirral chalked up only their

second win of the season so

far with a 31-21 win over

bottom of the league

Liverpool SG, but they didn’t

have it all their own way.

With a half-time score of 14-

11 Wirral had to work hard to

take the win with only seven

players available.

Liverpool SG pressed on

and tried to hit back, but this

just gave more space for the

ever-impressive Stephen

Jameson, who is having a

superb debut season and

ended with 10 goals.

Youngster Sam Harvey

chipped in with an equally

thrilling seven goals, while top

scorer for Speke was Jim

Smith with six.

Impressive


And in the final game

at Leyton, Olympia beat

Nottingham University

33-29 to maintain their

slim chances of making

the play-offs.

They led 16-8 at half

time after making a good

start, and despite tiring

as the game went on with

only eight players

available to Nottingham's

13, they managed to hold

on for their fifth victory of

the season so far, while

Nottingham are now just

one point ahead of

Southampton.

LEADERS Great Dane

overcame a strong

challenge from second-

placed Cambridge to

strengthen their position

at the top of the Division

One (South) table with a

25-17 victory at Leyton

on Sunday.

Their ninth win from

as many games, Great

Dane are now four

points clear of

Cambridge, and will

carry that result forward

to the play-offs where

they will start in a strong

position.

They travelled with a

relatively healthy 13-strong

squad, while Cambridge

brought nine men to the

match, with the influential

left half Lionel Gousset

unavailable for the clash.

Great Dane made a

strong start and opened up

a three-goal lead, but

Cambridge battled back

and were helped by some

superb goalkeeping from

Rafal Janta, who made six

point-blank saves to keep

his side in the match.

All square at 8-8 at the

break, Cambridge began

to tire as the second half

progressed, while Great

Dane pulled away to win

by eight goals.

Six goals from Jordi

Ferrer and five from Dusan

Janik helped them to win,

and despite the

performance of man of the

match Janta in goal - and

the four goals from David

Guehring - Cambridge

were beaten.

Southampton took their

first point of the season

when they tied 33-33 with

Ruislip Eagles, but they

went agonisingly close to

staging an upset.

The game was tight

throughout with the scores

tied at 17-17 at the break,

and neither side

established more than a

couple of goals lead before

the other hit back.

Vladimir Frank and

Florian Letombe were

Southampton’s top scorers

with 13 and 10 goals

respectively, while coach

David Sedlacek and Nico

Seller scored nine and

eight.


HOLMRIS APPOINTED AS NEW

GB WOMEN'S HEAD COACH


Ruislip Eagles 4 4 0 0 92 54 38 8

Great Dane 2 1 1 0 48 40 8 2

Squirrels 4 1 3 0 65 91 -26 2

Oxford Univ 2 0 2 0 36 56 -20 0


Manchester 4 4 0 0 80 49 31 8

Tryst 4 3 1 0 79 53 26 6

Liverpool 6 2 4 0 95 92 3 4

Wirral 4 2 2 0 28 32 -4 4

Haslingden 4 2 2 0 82 88 -6 4

Bolton 4 0 4 0 12 52 -40 0


Manchester U 10 10 0 0 287 174 113 20

Manchester 10 9 1 0 282 227 55 18

Liverpool 11 5 5 1 281 263 18 11

Bolton 9 5 3 1 288 272 16 11

Haslingden 9 2 7 0 204 241 -37 4

Wirral 11 2 9 0 216 278 -62 4

Liverpool SG 10 1 9 0 160 266 -106 2


Great Dane 9 9 0 0 214 127 87 18

Cambridge 10 7 3 0 309 254 55 14

Oxford Univ 9 6 2 1 258 223 35 13

Olympia 10 6 4 0 249 235 14 12

Ruislip 10 2 6 2 257 297 -40 6

Southampton 10 1 8 1 220 270 -50 3

Nottingham U 10 1 9 0 199 300 -101 2


OLYMPIA gave their hopes of

reaching the end of season

play-offs a boost when they

scored a 29-20 victory over

Ruislip Eagles at Leyton,

London, on Sunday.

Still in fourth spot in the

table, Olympia are one of four

teams battling for a place in

the top three to book their

place in the play-offs

alongside the best three from

the Northern section.

With two games left they

play second-placed

Cambridge this Sunday in a

match which will prove crucial

to both side’s ambitions.

But with leaders Great

Dane and third-placed Oxford

University due to play

strugglers Nottingham and

Southampton respectively,

Olympia’s hopes of extending

their season look set to be

decided elsewhere.

If Oxford win this Sunday,

Olympia will have to beat

Cambridge by a massive 42

goals to clinch third spot.

Olympia’s clash with

Ruislip started as a closely-

fought affair, with two even

sides battling to a 13-13 half

time scoreline. But as the

second half went on

Olympia’s stamina came

through, and they opened up

a nine-goal winning margin.

Formerly bottom of the

table, Southampton scored

their first league victory of the

season when they beat

Nottingham Univ 34-23,

leaving the students propping

up the league.

In the women’s northern

section Manchester beat

Haslingden 25-15 at Turf

Moor - but the victory came at

a heavy price with influential

play-maker Pia Berg Nielsen

suffered a shoulder injury.

Defences dominated the

first half which ended at 10-5

to Manchester. But after the

break the game opened up,

and Manchester stretched

their lead to ten goals by the

whistle.

TOP Danish coach

Jesper Holmris has

joined the World Class

Handball Programme as

women’s head coach,

bringing many years of

playing and coaching

experience to the side.

Holmris, 37, comes to

the role following an

exciting three and a half

year spell as head

coach at SK Aarhus in

his home country of

Denmark, where he

took them to the top

flight of the game

despite starting from

scratch with a relatively

small budget.

“For a Danish

handball coach it is a

once in a lifetime

opportunity to be part of

such a project,” he said.

“I am looking forward to

joining the programme

and working with the

BHA. It is a huge

challenge, but I can’t

319 goals.

He then moved into

coaching, and after

working with the youth

team at Bjerringbro, he

was men’s coach for

Yellow Winterthur in

Switzerland for three years

before heading to Aarhus,

where he was women’s

coach for three years.

Chris Spice, chairman

of the BHA’s performance

management group, said:

“We are very pleased to

continue the excellent

work in the British

women's handball

performance programme

with the appointment of

Jesper Holmris as head

coach.

“Jesper has performed

outstandingly well in our

academy programme in

Denmark. His expert

coaching knowledge and

his proven ability to get the

best out of the British

players will be exactly

what is required to take

the programme to the next

level. We look forward to

our next round matches

later in the year with great

excitement.”

Holmris takes over from

Morten Arvidsson who built

an excellent foundation for

the programme, but

stepped down late last

year to spend more time

with his family. The BHA

thanks him for his

outstanding work over the

last year.

Olympia cling to play-off hope

wait to work with the

squad.”

As a player Holmris,

pictured, achieved great

success, notching up 128

senior appearances for

Danish first division club

Bjerringbro during a six-

year stay where he scored

Great Dane - new women's

coach Jesper Holmris.

Women's National Lge Division One (North)


Saturday - Women's National Division One South

(Leyton): Ruislip Eagles v Oxford, Nottingham v Great

Dane.

Sunday - Men's National Div One South (Leyton):

Cambridge v Olympia, Oxford v Southampton. At

Nottingham: Nottingham v Great Dane.



RESULTS, January 27

Men's National Div One South (Leyton):

Southampton 32 Nottingham 23, Ruislip 20 Olympia

29.

Women's National Div One North (Turf Moor):

Manchester 25 Haslingden 15.

FIXTURES, February 2-3

HANDBALL NEWSEnglish edition 18, February 5 2008

TOP TWO READY FOR BIG CLASH


Ruislip Eagles 5 5 0 0 123 73 50 10

Great Dane 3 2 1 0 58 40 18 4

Squirrels 4 1 3 0 65 91 -26 2

Oxford Univ 4 0 4 0 55 97 -42 0


Manchester U 4 4 0 0 80 49 31 8

Haslingden 5 3 2 0 103 99 4 6

Tryst 2 1 1 0 49 53 -4 2

Wirral 3 1 2 0 18 32 -14 2

Liverpool 6 1 5 0 84 101 -17 2


Manchester U 11 10 0 1 310 197 113 21

Manchester 11 9 1 1 305 250 55 19

Bolton 10 6 3 1 324 293 31 13

Liverpool 11 5 5 1 281 263 18 11

Wirral 12 3 9 0 243 302 -59 6

Haslingden 10 2 8 0 228 268 -40 4

Liverpool SG 11 1 10 0 181 302 -121 2


Great Dane 10 10 0 0 244 147 97 20

Cambridge 11 8 3 0 332 274 58 16

Oxford Univ 10 7 2 1 286 240 46 15

Olympia 11 6 5 0 269 258 11 12Ruislip 10 2 6 2 257 297 -40 6

Southampton 11 1 9 1 237 298 -61 3

Nottingham U 11 1 10 0 219 330 -111 2






RUISLIP Eagles

warmed up for their top-

two clash with Great

Dane this weekend

when they beat Oxford

University 31-19 in the

Women’s National

Division One at Leyton

on Sunday.Top of the table with

four wins from four games,

the Eagles will already

have one eye on the end

of season competition,

although the southern title

will be decided this

Sunday when they play

second-placed Great

Dane.

Last weekend’s clash

with Oxford was ultimately

decided by injuries, with

both sides suffering one.

Ruislip started strongly

and quickly raced into a

four-goal lead before

Oxford's Eriksen was

given an early straight red

card for a dangerous pull

on the arm of winger

Kowalska.

The result was that

Ruislip pulled further

ahead and went 7-0 up

with a goal by Lenka

Kocisova. However, she

landed badly and played

no further part in the

game. The injury unsettled

Ruislip and they lost their

way, allowing a resurgent

Oxford back into the

game. The University team

scored four goals without

reply and remained no

more than four goals

behind until half time.

However, just before the

break they too suffered an

injury to their right back,

who also could not

continue. That left them

with just six players, and

enabled Ruislip to pull

away to victory.

The Eagles’ playmaker

Telek was just too much to

handle for Oxford, and

she capped a fine

performance with 11 goals

and the players of the

match award.

RESULTS, February 2-3

Men's Div One (North): Bolton 36 Liverpool SG 21,

Manchester 23 Manchester U 23, Wirral 27 Haslingden 24.

Men's National Division One North (Greenbank): Bolton

v Manchester Univ, Liverpool v Manchester, Haslingden v

Liverpool SG.

Men's Div One (South): Cambridge 23 Olympia 20, Great

Dane 30 Nottingham 20, Oxford 28 Southampton 17.

Women's Div One (South): Oxford 19 Ruislip 31.

Women's Div One North (Turf Moor): Postponed:

Liverpool v Tryst.

Men's Division One South (Leyton): Great Dane v

Oxford, Southampton v Olympia, Nottingham v Ruislip.

OXFORD University will

be aiming to give an early

boost to their play-off

campaign this Sunday

when they tackle unbeaten

leaders Great Dane in

their latest Men’s National

Division One (South) clash

at Leyton on Sunday.

With the three teams

going through to the end of

season play-offs already

decided, third-placed

Oxford will want to beat

Great Dane, with the

regular season results

counting towards their play-

off ambitions.

Oxford scored a 28-17

win over strugglers

Southampton last

weekend, while in other

action Cambridge beat

Olympia 23-20 in a hotly-

contested match, which

put an end to Olympia’s

hopes of scraping into the

play-offs.

And Great Dane

maintained their unbeaten

run with a 30-20 win over

Nottingham University.

Oxford Uni aim for

play-off boost

Northern

round-upBOLTON boosted their hopes

of clinching a spot in the play-

offs with a 36-21 win over

bottom of the table Liverpool

Speke Garston in the Men’s

National Division One (North)

clash at Bellevue,

Manchester, on Sunday.

The victory means they

only need to secure one more

point - or hope Liverpool lose

to Manchester this weekend -

to cement their spot in the top

three.

With just ten minutes gone,

Speke were ahead by seven

goals to three, but Bolton hit

back with four goals in a row

to level the match, and pulled

away steadily. However, the

man of the match award went

to Speke goalkeeper Paul

Langton, who made several

good saves.

Meanwhile, Manchester

University all but sealed the

Northern title when they held

city rivals Manchester to a 23-

23 draw.

And in the third northern

match, Wirral edged a 27-24

victory over fellow strugglers

Haslingden to ensure they do

not finish bottom of the table.

Cambridge half Lionel Gousset shoots over the central

Olympia defence, as captain David Guehring blocks.

Women's Div One (North): Haslingden 21 Liverpool 11.

FIXTURES, February 9

Women's Division One South (Leyton): Ruislip Eagles v

Great Dane. Postponed: Squirrels v Oxford University.

FIXTURES, February 10


Dominant Great Dane rely on Worms


Ruislip Eagles 6 6 0 0 152 89 63 12

Great Dane 4 2 2 0 74 69 5 4

Squirrels 4 1 3 0 65 91 -26 2

Oxford Univ 4 0 4 0 55 97 -42 0


Manchester U 12 11 0 1 349 221 128 23

Manchester 12 10 1 1 332 275 57 21

Bolton 11 6 4 1 348 332 16 13Liverpool 12 5 6 1 306 290 16 11

Haslingden 11 3 8 0 264 302 -38 6

Liverpool SG 12 1 11 0 215 338 -123 2


Great Dane 11 11 0 0 269 166 103 22

Cambridge 11 8 3 0 332 274 58 16

Oxford Univ 11 7 3 1 305 265 40 15

Olympia 12 7 5 0 299 280 19 14

Ruislip 11 3 6 2 267 297 -30 8

Southampton 12 1 10 1 259 328 -69 3

Nottingham U 12 1 11 0 219 340 -121 2



The tournament is being

staged by the European

Handball Federation from

March 25-30.

Paul Goodwin, secretary

of the England Handball

Association, said: “This

move will enable the GB

women’s team to compete in

an international tournament

and effectively benchmark

their progress whilst still

allowing the best players from

each home nation the

opportunity to compete.”

Both the England and

Scotland handball associations

have offered their support for

the move, which will give the

athletes on the Great Britain

World Class Handball

Programme a valuable chance

to show just how far they have

come.

THE Women’s Challenge

Trophy in Cyprus next

month looks set to feature

a Great Britain team -

rather than separate

England and Scotland

squads - after the World

Class Handball

Programme requested the

move to support their

work.

Great Britain prepare for

European Challenge Trophy

FIXTURES, Feb 16-17

Men's National Division One

South (Leyton, Sunday): Great

Dane v Cambridge.

National Student Championships

(Greenbank, Liverpool) - Sat/Sun.

Men’s games including:

Strathclyde, Manchester, Oxford,

Liverpool, Stirling, Warwick, Leeds,

Nottingham, Southampton.

Women’s games including:

Stirling, Strathclyde, Oxford,

Southampton/Nottingham, and

Manchester.

Round one and two games

Saturday, knockout stages Sunday.

RESULTS, Feb 9-10

Men's National Division One,

South (Leyton): Great Dane 25

Oxford 19, Olympia 30 Southampton

22.

SCORING their eleventh

league victory in a row, Men’s

southern league winners Great

Dane boosted their play-off

campaign with a 25-19 victory

over third-placed rivals Oxford

University at Leyton on

Sunday.

Helped out by some superb

saves from goalkeeper

Matthias Worms, who earned

the man of the match award,

Great Dane were eight goals

ahead at half time, and

despite Oxford reducing the

deficit to five by full time, their

lead was never in any danger.

And in the other southern

section games, Olympia beat

Southampton 30-22, while

Nottingham were forced to

concede the match against

Ruislip through a lack of players.

In the northern section

Manchester University secured

top spot with a 39-24 win over

third-placed Bolton to ensure a

head start in the play-offs, while

second-placed Manchester took

a 27-25 win over Liverpool.

* In the women’s southern

section Ruislip Eagles secured a

29-16 win over second-placed

Great Dane to ensure they will top

the table.

The game started slowly with

both teams looking nervous, but it

was Ruislip who settled quicker

and seemed up for the fight.

Great Dane's Manu was in good

form and scored nine of her team's

goals, but Ruislip's strength in

depth saw them extend a five-goal

half time lead to 13 by the end.

Men's National Division One,

North (Greenbank, Liverpool):

Bolton 24 Manchester U 39,

Liverpool 25 Manchester 27,

Haslingden 36 Liverpool SG 34.

Women's National Division One

South (Leyton): Ruislip Eagles 29

Great Dane 16. Postponed:

Squirrels v Oxford Univ.

England Handball plans for the futureA NATIONAL strategy to help

take handball to 2012 and

beyond is taking shape after a

series of successful

consultation workshops were

staged across the country.

Meetings held in Liverpool,

London and Cannock

produced many good ideas

and suggestions as well as

several people willing to

help take the sport

forwards, and it was

agreed to form several

working groups.

The development group

will comprise schools,

universities, clubs,

competition, handball in

the community and

facilities. A workforce

group will look at issues

surrounding coaches, referees,

officials and volunteers, while a

performance group will be

responsible for national senior

and junior teams as well as

liaising with British Handball’s

World Class Handball

Programme.

A modernisation group will also

start the process of examining the

governance of the EHA ahead of

the next AGM to ensure the

Association’s structure is able to

deliver the national strategy and

take the sport forward.

The Association is keen to hear

from anybody who feels that they

have the skills, time and interest in

playing a part in shaping the future

of handball in England. Anybody

interested should

contact Paul

Goodwin, Secretary

General of the EHA.

Telek, Sposi and Recska in action for Ruislip Eagles

against Great Dane on Saturday.




GREAT DANE OVERWHELM

PLAY-OFF RIVALS CAMBRIDGE


Manchester U 12 11 0 1 349 221 128 23

Manchester 12 10 1 1 332 275 57 21

Bolton 12 7 4 1 378 361 17 15

Liverpool 12 5 6 1 306 290 16 11

Haslingden 12 3 9 0 293 332 -39 6

Wirral 12 3 9 0 243 302 -59 6

Liverpool SG 12 1 11 0 215 338 -123 2


Great Dane 12 12 0 0 306 185 121 24

Oxford Univ 12 8 3 1 332 288 44 17

Cambridge 12 8 4 0 351 311 40 16

Olympia 12 7 5 0 299 280 19 14

Ruislip 12 3 7 2 290 324 -34 8

Southampton 12 1 10 1 259 328 -69 3

Nottingham U 12 1 11 0 219 340 -121 2

Handball News is produced by Snowdon Sports for the British Handball Association, supported by

For more details please contact 0845 230 0803 or log on to www.englandhandball.com

with the International and

European Handball

Federations, and sits on the

European Handball

Federation Methods

Commission.

Allan has previously

coached the Saudi Arabian

national team and was

Technical Director to the

Bahrain Handball Federation.

National Div One play-offs

(Leyton): Great Dane v

Bolton, Oxford v Manchester,

Cambridge v Manchester U.

force a break through the

Haslingden defensive wall.

Bolton clawed their way

back into a three goal lead, but

Haslingden continued to push

and leveled the scores with

minutes left and set up a tense

finale. A Bolton goal with a

minute to go pushed the tie

back into Bolton's hands, and

they had to defend desperately

to hold Haslingden at bay.

THE latest Talent ID

handball trials at

Manchester were the

subject of a special feature

on Manchester’s own TV

station, Channel M, who

attended the women's

event at Bellevue Sports

Centre last month.

The channel’s magazine

programme Sports Central

is available on Sky

channel 203 or NTL

channel 878 on Feb 20

at 10am, Feb 21 at

12.30pm, Feb 23 at

1pm and Feb 24 at

9.30am.

The show will also

be on their website,

www.channelm.co.uk

RESULTS, Feb 17

National Div One (North):

Bolton 30 Haslingden 29.

National Div One (South):

Gt Dane 37 Cambridge 19.

FIXTURES, Feb 24


Trial by Television

Allan Lund - Knighted.

A GOLDEN goal was needed before Strathclyde beat

Manchester in the women’s final at the National Student

Championships in Liverpool last weekend, and in the

men’s event, Manchester beat Oxford 14-8.

Check out next week’s Handball News for a special

report and pictures from the two-day event at the

Greenbank Academy.

Student Championships


ONE of the British

Handball Association’s key

players on their World

Class Handball

Programme has been

given a top award by

Queen Margrethe of

Denmark.

Allan Lund, technical

consultant to the BHA,

was made a Knight of the

Dannebrog - the Danish

Flag - at a lavish

ceremony recently, in

recognition of his work

with schools sport.

Lund works with the

Great Britain players at

their Academy in Aarhus,

where they are receiving

expert coaching as well as

playing for clubs across

Denmark - the newly

crowned European

GREAT Dane finished

their regular season

fixtures in style with an

emphatic 37-19 victory

over play-off rivals

Cambridge at Leyton

on Sunday.Already assured of top

spot in the Division One

(South) table, Great Dane

notched up a twelfth

consecutive league win

with the victory over

Cambridge, who turned

out with six outfield players

and two goalkeepers for

the game, which had been

re-arranged from its

original date.

The match started

evenly, with the scores

tied at 4-4 after the first

quarter of an hour, but with

14 players available Great

Dane were always fresher

and they pulled away to

lead by five goals at half

time.

The second half saw the

Danes run riot, and with

Cambridge taking risks to

try and remain in

contention Great Dane

made several interceptions

and scored many fast

break goals.

Another good

performance from the

Great Dane keeper

Matthias Worms was

complemented by five

goals each from Dusan

Janik and Jordi Ferrer-

Torra, and although there

were six goals apiece from

Cambridge players David

Guehring and Helmut

Kraus, they could not stop

Cambridge losing out.

Elsewhere, Bolton

battled to a thrilling 30-29

victory over Haslingden in

the Northern section.

On paper this should have

been an easy victory for

Bolton. However, things were

a little close for comfort as

Sunday saw a rampant and

impressive performance from

the Haslingden team.

Haslingden set off at a fast

pace and, capitalising on

some poor handling, missed

shots and good saves, quickly

opened up a five-goal lead

early in the game. Bolton

brought back the deficit to

level the game only to see

Haslingden pull away again.

By half time, Haslingden

were three goals up.

The second half started no

easier for Bolton and

Haslingden soon established

a seven-goal lead. However,

the experienced Bolton side

never gave up and started to

reel in the deficit.

With the Haslingden

defence breaking up most of

Bolton's build up play it was

down to some individual

efforts and partnerships to

BHA official Lund honouredChampions of the sport

following their dramatic 24-20

victory over Croatia in last

month’s final in Norway.

“It is a great honour for

me,” said Mr Lund, who was

secretary of the Danish

Schools Sports Association

for more than 30 years. “It

was very nice to meet the

Queen, and I had the honour

of having a long conversation

with her about sport. She is a

very intelligent lady, and she

obviously knows a lot about

sport.”

Allan, from Nyborg in

Denmark, is no stranger to

British handball having been a

Technical Consultant to the

BHA in the 1980’s. He is a

former coach of the Danish

national women’s team and

top Danish first division club

GOG.

He is also a senior lecturer

HANDBALL NEWS English edition 21, February 26 2008 - page one

SECOND HALF DRAMA MAKES

FOR THRILLING PLAY-OFFS

TEAM P W L D F A Diff Pts

Great Dane 5 5 0 0 150 86 64 10

Manchester U 5 3 0 2 151 121 30 8

Manchester 5 3 1 1 141 137 4 7

Cambridge 5 1 3 1 128 151 -23 3

Oxford 5 1 4 0 119 141 -22 2

Bolton 5 0 5 0 122 175 -53 0



performance coach Bill

Baillie - will now meet

Nottingham or Sheffield

in the next round and look

determined to launch a

serious bid for the Cup.

Liverpool took control

of the early exchanges and

led 19-13 at half time, but

Baillie’s half time talk

worked wonders, and

Haslingden came out all

guns blazing and took a

quick lead at 21-20.

With confidence

growing, they outplayed

Liverpool and their high

fitness levels proved

crucial, while good

defence kept their

opponents down to just

nine second half goals.

quarter and were three

goals up by the whistle.

But there was to be no

separating the teams in the

game between Cambridge

and Manchester

University, despite

Cambridge missing two

key players and coming off

the back of the previous

week’s heavy defeat to

Great Dane.

After exchanging early

goals it was Manchester

University who edged

ahead 3-7 after an early

penalty miss from

Cambridge, but they

battled back to 5-7 before

their only keeper Rafal

Janta took a full-face ball.

Shaken but not stirred,

Janta continued and his

side pulled level at 15-15

at half time.

The second half

continued to be close with

never more than two

goals separating the sides

until the closing stages.

Manchester took what

looked set to be a match-

winning 27-30 lead, but

Cambridge worked hard

to get back into

contention, and two goals

from Marrero Diaz and

one from Helmut Kraus,

secured a draw.

WEEK one of the end of

season play-offs

created drama in all

three matches at

Leyton, London, on

Sunday, with only Great

Dane looking

comfortable in victory.

The unbeaten

winners of the south

section emerged 40-18

winners over Bolton to

remain at the top of the

play-off table, while the

other two games were

closely-fought clashes.

Both Oxford versus

Manchester and

Cambridge versus

Manchester Univ were

tied at 15-15 at half

time, and while

Manchester emerged

narrow 29-32 winners

over Oxford, there was

no separating

Cambridge and

Manchester University.

Great Dane’s class

was evident for all to see

as they took on Bolton,

and quickly opened up an

early lead. Bolton rallied

and managed to close the

scoreline to 17-13 at the

break, but poor shooting

and handling errors

helped the Danes hit back

and a nine-goal

unanswered period

extended their lead to 13

goals within 10 minutes of

the half.

Manchester were

made to fight all the way

for their 32-29 win over

Oxford, with Tomasz

Lasek notching up nine

goals to help take the win.

An early lead from

Manchester prompted

Oxford to tighten up the

marking on Lasek, and

they clawed back to 15-15

at the half time break.

The second half was

similar, but Manchester

edged ahead in the final

Haslingden spring surprise

Cup defeat on LiverpoolHASLINGDEN sprung a

shock defeat on

Liverpool in the first

round of the British Cup

at Greenbank on

Saturday, beating their

rivals 41-28.

The rapidly improving

Haslingden team -

coached by Great Britain

British Cup, round one (Greenbank, Liverpool,

Saturday): Liverpool 28 Haslingden 41.

National Division One Play-Offs (Leyton,

London, Sunday): Great Dane 40 Bolton 18,

Oxford 29 Manchester 32, Cambridge 31

Manchester University 31.

Results, February 23-24

National Division One Play-Off table

Cambridge Handball Club: Battled out a thrilling 31-31 draw with play-off

rivals Manchester University last weekend.

HANDBALL NEWS English edition 21, February 26 2008 - page two

RECORD ENTRY FOR NATIONAL STUDENT CHAMPIONSHIPS

Name P W L D F A Diff Pts

Oxford 4 4 0 0 33 21 12 12

Southampton 4 3 1 0 35 27 8 10

Stirling 4 2 2 0 31 23 8 8

Warwick 4 1 3 0 22 37 -15 6

Liverpool 4 0 4 0 20 33 -13 4

Manchester 3 3 0 0 27 9 18 9

Strathclyde 3 2 1 0 19 15 4 7

Leeds 3 1 2 0 15 24 -9 5

Nottingham 3 0 3 0 16 25 -9 3

Strathclyde 4 3 1 0 27 18 9 10

Manchester 4 3 1 0 25 23 2 10

Stirling 4 2 2 0 22 23 -1 8

Soton-Notts 4 2 2 0 24 30 -6 8

Oxford 4 0 4 0 13 26 -13 4



Round Two (Men): Southampton 10 Leeds 6,

Strathclyde 10 Stirling 5, Manchester 7 Liverpool 5.

Men's Semi-finals: Oxford 9 Strathclyde 7,

Southampton 6 Manchester 8.

Men's Final: Oxford 8 Manchester 14.

Student Champs - Men's Group B

Student Champs - Women's Group

Men's Group A matches: Stirling 7 Southampton 9, Oxford 8

Liverpool 4, Stirling 10 Warwick 2, Southampton 9 Liverpool 5, Oxford

9 Warwick 5, Stirling 8 Liverpool 5, Southampton 6 Oxford 8, Liverpool

7 Warwick 8, Stirling 6 Oxford 8, Southampton 11 Warwick 7.

Men's Group B matches: Strathclyde 3 Manchester 5, Leeds 8

Nottingham 7, Strathclyde 8 Nottingham 6, Leeds 3 Manchester 9,

Strathclyde 8 Leeds 4, Manchester 13 Nottingham 3.

Women's Group C matches: Stirling 3 Strathclyde 5, Oxford 2

Manchester 6, Stirling 9 Southampton-Notts 8, Strathclyde 6

Southampton-Notts 7, Stirling 5 Oxford 3, Strathclyde 11 Manchester

4, Oxford 4 Southampton-Notts 7, Stirling 5 Manchester 7, Oxford 4

Strathclyde 5, Manchester 8 Southampton-Notts 5.

Student Champs - Men's Group A

Despite both being

experienced teams

Manchester proved too

strong for Oxford and

outplayed them, while

goalkeeper Stuart Hawkins

secured the player of the

match award with a strong

performance.

The successful tournament

was once again well

organised by Liverpool

Hope Speke Garston, who

look set to host next year’s

competition when it is hoped

even more teams will

compete.

Up for the Cup: Men's winners and Women's runners-up, Manchester University

pose for a picture after being presented with their cups.

A RECORD number of

universities competed

in the National Student

Handball

Championships at

Liverpool last

weekend, with ten

teams doing battle at

the Greenbank Sports

Academy.

The two-day event

saw group stages on

the Saturday followed

by the knockout stages

the following day, culminating

in two thrilling finals, with the

women’s final only being

decided by a golden goal.

Strathclyde clinched the

women’s title in thrilling

fashion. After the scores were

tied at 6-6 at the end of their

clash with Manchester, they

secured the cup with a

golden goal, while the men’s

final was just as exciting, with

Manchester beating Oxford

14-8.

Strathclyde had topped

the women’s table at the end

of the group stages with three

wins from their four games,

their surprise defeat coming at

the hands of the combined

Southampton-Nottingham

team who won 7-6 on

Saturday afternoon.

But they went on to gain

revenge for that defeat by

beating the same opponents

11-5 in the semi finals, while

Manchester - who had

finished second in the group

stages on goal difference, beat

third-placed Stirling 8-6 to

reach the final.

Both goalkeepers were in

fine form in the women’s final,

with their agility and

athleticism ensuring a low-

scoring game.

But with the scores tied at

the end of normal time, the

match continued until a winner

was found. After player of the

match Sanchez saved a

penalty for Manchester their

opponents counter attacked,

and the resulting goal sparked

celebrations for the Scots.

However, there was some

good news for the

Manchester club as their

men’s side beat Oxford 14-8

shortly after the women’s final.

Women's Semi-finals: Strathclyde 11

Southampton-Notts 5, Manchester 8 Stirling 6.

Women's Final: Strathclyde 7 Manchester 6

(after golden goal).

HANDBALL NEWSEnglish edition 22, March 4 2008 - page one

DOMINANT MANCHESTER SWEEP

PAST TRYST TO REMAIN UNBEATEN


Manchester U 5 5 0 0 112 66 46 10

Haslingden 5 3 2 0 103 99 4 6

Tryst 4 2 2 0 95 102 -7 4

Liverpool 6 1 5 0 84 101 -17 2

Wirral 4 1 3 0 35 61 -26 2


Ruislip Eagles 6 6 0 0 152 89 63 12

Great Dane 5 3 2 0 84 69 15 6

Squirrels 5 1 4 0 65 101 -36 2

Oxford Univ 4 0 4 0 55 97 -42 0


Great Dane 5 5 0 0 150 86 64 10

Manchester U 5 3 0 2 151 121 30 8

Manchester 5 3 1 1 141 137 4 7

Cambridge 5 1 3 1 128 151 -23 3

Oxford 5 1 4 0 119 141 -22 2

Bolton 5 0 5 0 122 175 -53 0



MANCHESTER University

notched up their fifth

straight league win when

they swept aside the

challenge of Tryst in the

latest Women’s National

Division One (North)

fixtures at the Greenbank

Academy on Sunday.

The Scottish side, who

had travelled across the

border with just nine

players, had to complete

two games in one

afternoon as they try to

catch up on their fixtures,

and after beating Wirral

29-17 in their first match,

they found the

Manchester side too

much to handle.

They had beaten Wirral

comfortably enough, with

Cheryl Thompson and

Amanda Lowe both netting

eight times, while Linda

McKay chipped in with

seven goals to help them to

victory.

But with little more than half

an hour to recover, Tryst

came up against a fitter and

more skilful Manchester

University side who hit the

ground running.

Five goals from five

different players helped give

Manchester a 5-1 lead after

just eight minutes, and

although Tryst initially

struggled to find any gaps in

the Manchester defence, they

managed to break through

towards the end of the half

and trailed 16-6 at half time.

The second half was a

more equal affair with Tryst

netting 11 goals, which

included some fine wing shots

from S Corrick.

But the Manchester

University side continued to

impress in all positions, and

the only criticism from coach

Becker was some late

defensive slackness.

* Ruislip Eagles completed

all their matches in the

southern division with a

resounding 46-19 victory over

a game Nottingham

University side in a friendly at

Leyton on Sunday.

The Eagles are undefeated

so far this season in their bid

to win back the league after

Great Dane ended their

dominance last season, and

they had too much for

Nottingham in the match.

Ruislip went all out from

the start with an offensive

defence and a fast break

strategy, and this paid off as

they raced into an 11-0 lead

after just 15 minutes.

Nottingham matched

Ruislip goal for goal up to the

break, but still trailed 21-7 to a

rampant Ruislip, with Sposi in

excellent form on the counter

attack in the first half. After

the break her form continued

and she racked up 16 goals in

the game. Men's National Division One, play-offs (Turf Moor,

Burnley): Manchester Univ v Oxford, Manchester v

Great Dane, Bolton v Cambridge.

FIXTURES, March 9

Women's National Div One (South): Squirrels 0

Great Dane 10. Friendly: Ruislip 46 Nottingham 19.

Women's National Div One (North): Wirral 17

Tryst 29, Tryst 17 Manchester Univ 32.

RESULTS, March 2

Ruislip Eagles: National Division One (South) winners.

show’s hosts Joe

Pasquale and

Suzanne Shaw,

as well as the

show’s mascot,

Mr Bing.

A weekly show

on Virgin1 and

Challenge TV,

the game started last

Friday and each week will

feature 60 minutes of prize-

winning as well as live

entertainment.

Gamecards can be

bought from around

14,000 retail outlets across

the country. For more

information visit

www.bingolotto.tv. The

BingoLotto game has run

in Sweden since 1991

where it has raised just

under £1billion.

Women's National Lge Div One (South)

Who's that guy with Iris Manu?

BingoLotto presenter Joe Pasquale

poses with Great Dane handball star.


Handball set to benefit from new

TV game show BingoLottoHANDBALL in Britain

looks set to benefit from

BingoLotto, a new TV-

based game which aims

to raise money for sport

and the voluntary sector.

Great Dane HC player

Iris Manu attended the

official launch of the

scheme at Trafalgar

Square, along with the


HANDBALL NEWSEnglish edition 22, March 4 2008 - page two

MESSAGE FROM AARHUS



PREPARATIONS for the Women’s European

Challenge Trophy later this month stepped up a gear

last week when the squad took part in it’s first training

camp under new head coach Jesper Holmris.

With the Trophy just three

weeks away, the squad went

through an intensive four-day

camp at Aarhus, which

included a match against local

side Grenna IF.

As well as the current GB

squad, also included in the

camp were 2016 Project

youngsters Ellie Carrick from

Haslingden and Jodie Guest

from Wirral, who gained a

valuable insight into life at the

Academy as well as the

training intensity required to be

an international player.

The squad is due to meet up

again this week for tactical

training at Aarhus, before

flying to Cyprus for the

tournament, which takes

place from March 25-30 and

includes Bosnia, Cyprus,

Malta, Estonia, the Faroe

Islands, Finland and Israel.

With two groups of four

teams for the preliminary

round followed by cross-over

games, semi-finals and

finally placement matches

and the final, the team will

be playing a game a day, but

the tough schedule will give

the young squad chance to

show how they are

developing.Sporting Giant: Stuart Campbell.

ONE year on from it’s

launch, the Sporting

Giants programme has

been hailed a huge

success with dozens of

athletes across several

different sports - including

handball - taking part in a

media day to showcase

the scheme last week.

The brainchild of the

Sporting Giants scheme, Sir

Steve Redgrave was joined by

representatives of volleyball

and rowing as well as

handball for a day of

interviews with television and

newspaper reporters, which

resulted in some of the best

publicity ever

secured for our

sport.

Great Britain

player Stuart

Campbell, who had

never played

handball until he

applied to the

scheme, was

interviewed on BBC

Breakfast News on

Thursday, and then

by several national

newspapers for their Friday

editions.

Campbell, from

Manchester, was one of 11

handball players to come from

the scheme.

Others include Donald

Seed, Theo Blossom, Liam

Back, Stuart Clark, Scott

Frew, Andrew Roberts and

Gareth Priddle, while on the

women’s team Laura Innes

and Sophie Keen were

discovered through Sporting

Giants.

“I always felt there was a lot

of sporting talent out there,

but I didn't realise there would

be so much enthusiasm from

people wanting to be involved

in the scheme,” said

Redgrave.

Sporting Giants scheme hailed a

massive success after first year

GB players report back on a

packed two months at Academy

The Great Britain men's team at Aarhus.

Women prepare for

Challenge Trophy

THE first two months of

the year have flown by

and the schedule has

been packed, none

more so then the past

two weeks here in

Aarhus.

The women’s squad

continues to develop

further in the build up to

the challenge trophy in

Cyprus at the end of

March. Last weekend

saw another successful

camp building on

successes in France

late last year.Led by new coach

Jesper Holmris, the

women’s squad is full of

promise and ambition

ahead of their next big

competition in Cyprus.

This week has also

been of big interest for the

men’s setup. On Tuesday

evening, right back Merlin

Braithwaite and left wing

Thomas Barker got a taste

of the big time playing for

their club side Viby IF in a

David versus Goliath cup

tie versus Liga outfit

Kolding featuring Danish

International Bo

Spillerberg fresh from their

European Championships

triumph in Norway last

month.

The British pairing set

about their business

admirably and contributed

several goals, and

Braithwaite enjoyed some

success whilst directly

matched up against the

experienced Spillerberg.

The match was played

in a packed Viby arena

and on a great occasion

after a poor start, the hosts

valiantly rallied to a hard

earned, respectful 23-29

loss at the hands of the

Liga team.

Also experiencing the

big time this week was

Talent ID graduate Stuart

Campbell, who was invited

to represent handball as

one of its Sporting Giants

to highlight the success

stories of the program one

year on from the launch.

Campbell made an

insightful and composed

cameo appearance live on

BBC Breakfast News

alongside sporting great

and five times Olympic

Gold Medallist Sir Steve

Redgrave before making an

appearance on Radio 5 and

being unveiled during a live

press launch in London.

Media interest aside, on the

court the men’s squad are

building up to a training camp

in mid-March where aspirations

are high to build upon work put

in to the last camp in January.

As the new products of the

Talent ID program find their

feet in their new surroundings,

particular mention goes to

goalkeeper Bob White, who

was recruited to play for

Jutland Serie side JAI.

And Chris Mohr has

impressed his new suitors at

Brabrand IF Ynglinge and

helped his new club to beat

their top of the table

opposition.

Look out for another

update from the GB

Academy in Aarhus soon!

Text: Mark Hawkins.

* Editor’s note: As well as

good media coverage of

Stuart Campbell and the

Sporting Giants campaign,

Huw Goodwin was

interviewed on the Chris

Evans Show on BBC Radio

Two on Friday.

HANDBALL NEWSEnglish edition 23, March 11 2008

GREAT DANE AIM FOR CUP GLORY


Great Dane 6 6 0 0 176 109 67 12

Manchester U 6 4 0 2 176 144 32 10

Manchester 6 3 2 1 164 163 1 7

Cambridge 6 2 3 1 165 173 -8 5

Oxford 6 1 5 0 142 166 -24 2

Bolton 6 0 6 0 144 212 -68 0



Stars of the future? Stratford youngsters have a go at

handball in their local shopping centre.

HANDBALL in Britain is

about to hit the big time,

with the 2012 Olympics

coupled with on-going

development work

raising the profile of the

sport.And the efforts of

officials in this country has

attracted the interest of the

European Handball

Federation. Their vice

president Jean Brihault,

who is also a council

member of the

International Handball

Federation, visited London

to see for himself the huge

strides being made.

Mr Brihault was

welcomed to London by

BHA general manager

Paul Goodwin, BHA

technical consultant Allan

Lund and BHA director of

communications Paul

Bray.

They met with members

of the London Organising

Committee of the Olympic

Games (LOCOG) and

made a presentation about

the BHA's progress so far

and ongoing plans for

2012, before moving on to

briefings at Sport England

and UK Sport, where the

success of the Sporting

Giants campaign - which

has attracted 11 new GB

handball players - was

highlighted.

We are very grateful for the

EHF's ongoing support and

interest,” said Mr Goodwin.

“And we hope that this visit

will have satisfied them that

the sport is in safe hands in

Britain.

“Whilst we acknowledge

that we have a great deal of

work ahead of us, we are

pleased to be working with

professional partners who are

supportive of handball.

“The visit by Jean Brihault

is a positive signal to our

various stakeholders in the

UK that the EHF is very

supportive of our work.”


Pictured at the offices of London 2012 are, from left, Paul

Goodwin, Jean Brihault, Allan Lund and Paul Bray.

AFTER maintaining

their unbeaten form in

the National Division

One play-off matches

last weekend, Great

Dane turn their

attentions to the British

Cup this weekend with a

first round clash against

Gracemount.

The Scottish club

make the long trip south

to take on the Danes at

Leyton on Saturday,

while other Men’s Cup

matches will take place

on Sunday at the same

venue.

The first match sees

Olympia take on

British Cup, first round: Men: Southampton Univ v Ruislip

Eagles, Oxford Univ v Salford, Olympia v Tryst, Great Dane

v Gracemount.

FIXTURES, Mar 15-16

another Scottish club,

Tryst, at 12noon, with the

victors facing the winner of

the Great Dane versus

Gracemount clash in the

next round.

Also on Sunday Oxford

will take on Salford at

2pm, while after that

Southampton and Ruislip

will meet, with the winners

of those two games

meeting in round two, on

April 26-27.

With their league form

unblemished Great Dane

will be keen to secure the

British Cup as well, but

they made hard work of

beating Manchester in

their latest play-off game

last Sunday.

SHOPPERS in Stratford

learned just how much fun

handball can be when they

were given the chance to

have a go at the Olympic

sport in their local

shopping centre.

Coaches from the

Leyton Orient Community

Sports Programme set up

a court in the Stratford

Shopping Centre and

encouraged people to

come and have a go - with

more than 100 downing

their bags and taking to

the court.

One such onlooker was

18-year-old Mohammed,

who said afterwards: “We

just came here for some

shopping and noticed that

there was a game of

Handball going on in the

middle of the shopping

centre.

“We started watching the

session and, being sports

fanatics, when one of the

coaches invited us to play

we thought – why not? It has

been fun!”

And for seven-year-old

Khushboo, handball is just

about having a good time.

“I was having fun with my

friends from school,” he

said. “I like passing the ball

and will play it with my

friends back at school.”

For more information

about the LOCSP, contact

020 8556 5973 or email

[email protected]

Handball fun takes

High Street by storm

Eventually winning 23-

26, Great Dane never

quite shook off a skilful

Manchester side, who

were also just three goals

down at half time with the

score at 9-12.

Elsewhere, second-

placed Manchester

University kept their title

hopes alive with a 25-23

win over Oxford. With a

break for the British Cup,

Manchester University

face a crucial game when

the play-offs resume on

April 6 with a clash against

Great Dane.

In the final play-off

game, Cambridge

comfortably beat Bolton

37-22.

National Div One Play-offs: Manchester U 25 Oxford 23,

Manchester 23 Great Dane 26, Bolton 22 Cambridge 37.

RESULTS, Mar 9

British Handball given seal of

approval by European Federation


GB WOMEN READY FOR ACTION


Manchester U 5 5 0 0 112 66 46 10

Haslingden 5 3 2 0 103 99 4 6

Tryst 5 3 2 0 105 102 3 6

Liverpool 6 1 5 0 84 101 -17 2

Wirral 5 1 4 0 35 71 -36 2



British Cup newsRUISLIP Eagles will play

Oxford University in the

second round of the British

Cup after sweeping past an

under-strength Southampton

side in their round one clash

at Leyton on Sunday.

The Eagles fielded a ten-

man squad made up of

mainly first team players,

and won the clash 36-16 to

set up a tie with Oxford, who

received a bye through the

first round.

Elsewhere, Great Dane

scored a convincing win

over Gracemount on

Saturday, and will play the

winner of the Olympia

versus Tryst match.

The quarter final

matches are scheduled to

take place on the weekend

of April 26-27.

They have made impressive

progress in a very short time,

and the more experienced

players are doing very well in

their Danish club Grenaa.”

Five matches in five days is

a tough programme by

anyone’s standards, but with

opposition such as the Faroe

Islands, hosts Cyprus and

Estonia in the first three days,

the players will need to be on

top form. And with strong

teams such as reigning

champions Bosnia

Herzegovina in the opposing

group, their games won't get

any easier.

“Bosnia and Faroe Islands

are among the strongest

teams if they participate with

their best players,” added

Holmris, who has been with

the squad in Denmark making

final preparations before flying

to Cyprus.

“For us it is a good chance

to see where we are at the

moment and to get some

international experience. With

the lack of knowledge of the

other nations it is difficult to

say how our team will do in

the tournament, but we will go

for a top four result.”

They begin with a match

against the host nation at 4pm

British time on March 26, and

will meet the Faroe Islands

the following day at 6pm GMT

before tackling Estonia at 2pm

GMT on March 28.

The cross-group

matches and semi finals

take place on March 29,

with the minor places being

decided on March 30

before the final begins at

2.45pm GMT.

* Check out next

week’s Handball News for

more details of the 16-

strong Great Britain

squad who are flying the

flag in Cyprus.


BUOYED by their victory over Luxembourg earlier

this year, the Great Britain women’s team travel to

Cyprus next week for the European Challenge

Trophy at Larnaca from March 26-30.

GB Women celebrate their victory over Luxembourg in January. Will they be celebrating

after the Challenge Trophy?

With a match every day

for five days, the

competition will provide a

stiff test for the squad,

while it will also give new

head coach Jesper

Holmris his first real

indication of just how far

the new-look squad has

come since being re-

shaped through the influx

of athletes from the

Sporting Giants and Talent

ID schemes.

“Preparations are going

very well,” said Holmris.

“Our players at the

Handball Academy in

Aarhus are doing well and

they are improving a lot

technically, tactically and

physically.

“The new Talent ID

players have really got the

game under their skin.

British Handball receives

glowing praise from UK SportTHE British Handball

Association was this week

praised by UK Sport as a

“shining example of what a

can-do attitude can

achieve” in the latest

quarterly review.

As part of UK Sport’s

Mission 2012 project, all

Olympic sports are being

assessed to see whether

they are on track to deliver

their objectives for the

London Olympics.

UK Sport’s Head of

Performance Peter Keen

described his time

studying British handball

as a “revelation”, and went

on to pay tribute to the

morale and commitment of

the athletes, as well as the

motivation of BHA officials.

“The short time I spent

assisting handball with their

Mission 2012 review proved to

be a revelation,” he said. “I

met people that had grasped

fully the challenge of taking a

small, low-profile sport and

starting to produce teams

capable of competing in the

Olympic Games.

“In less than two years they

have established a

professional training

programme for their athletes

whose morale and the

commitment is judged by

world experts to be the match

of the best they have seen.

“Handball is an example of

what can be achieved in a

short space of time with a can-

do attitude, adequate funding

and a highly motivated group

of individuals committed to a

clear goal.”

Lorraine Brown, the

Performance Programme

Manager with the World Class

Handball Programme, added:

“I am delighted that the

commitment of the athletes

has been acknowledged.

“We are extremely grateful

to the Danish Handball

Federation for their co-

operation and help in setting

up the Great Britain Academy,

and look forward to a

continued good relationship.

“The Mission 2012 review

process has been a useful

and positive exercise for

British Handball, and we look

forward to future reviews.”

British Cup, round one: Great Dane 39 Gracemount 22,

Southampton 16 Ruislip 36, Oxford bye v Salford, Olympia

18 Tryst 20 (aband 50min).

RESULTS, March 15-16


CHALLENGE TROPHY:MEET THE TEAM



Name: Sophie Keen

Position: PV Age: 22

Club: Grenna IF

Name: Lynn Peacock

Position: CB Age: 28

Club: Grenna IF

Name: Louise Jukes

Position: RB Age: 23

Club: Grenna IF

Name: Kelsi Fairbrother

Position: RW Age: 18

Club: Grenna IF

Name: Paige Garvey

Position: LB Age: 17

Club: Haslingden

Name: Chloe Lam-Moores

Position: LW Age: 16

Club: Haslingden

Name: Lesley Robb


Club: BW Feldkirch

Name: Yvette Frings

Position: RB Age: 29

Club: TUS Lintfort

Name: Emma Dahlin


Club: RP IF

Name: Lada Dungworth


Club: SKP Banska Bystr.

Name: Cerys Walker

Position: GK Age: 18

Club: Grenna IF

Name: Laura Innes


Club: Grenna IF

Name: Britt Goodwin


Club: Gjoevik Vardal

Name: Sarah Bourne


Club: Kongsvinger IL

Name: Holly Lam-Moores

Position: LW Age: 17

Club: Grenna IF

Name: Jesper Holmris

Position: Head Coach

Age: 37

Name: Sarah Hargreaves


Club: TMS Ringstead

GREAT Britain women begin their European Challenge Trophy fixtures

with a match against host nation Cyprus tomorrow, Wednesday, and

the eyes of the nation will be upon the new-look squad as they tackle

their first competitive international match.

No team member has

more than one

international cap, but

despite their

inexperience at this

level the team is aiming

for a top four finish in

the eight team

tournament.

Following tomorrow’s

clash, they play the

Faroe Islands on

Thursday and Estonia

on Friday, before cross-

group matches and the

knockout stages on

Saturday and Sunday.

For more details see

Eurohandball.com and

Britishhandball.com for

regular updates.




And the winner is… Miriam

Pupalova receives her award.

HANDBALL coach

Miriam Pupalova was

named as London

Community Sports

Coach of the Year at a

prestigious awards

ceremony at Chelsea

Football Club’s

Stamford Bridge base

earlier this month.

Miriam has played a

leading role in bringing

handball to communities

across East London,

and has also been

crucial in starting a

schools coaching and

coach education

programme across the

same region.

Every week the

training and coaching

schemes that Miriam

has helped set-up

involve up to 1,000

children, both at schools

and clubs across the area.

“It was great for me to

receive the award,” said

Miriam, 29 and originally

from Slovakia. “Handball is

still a developing sport in

this country, so it’s great to

be recognised for my

work.

“The awards ceremony

was really good and I

enjoyed it a lot. I was

nervous and there were

some great people there

who were also nominated

for awards.”

Other candidates for her

award included Pete

Ward, who has helped

bring rugby union to the

community and set-up

three new clubs, as well as

Darren Bernatovich, who

has helped dramatically

increase the participation

in out-of-school sports.

As well as her work in

schools, Miriam helped set

up the Squirrels Handball

Club which encourages local

schoolchildren to gain

experience of handball

through playing with senior

players from other countries,

and she is planning to set up

a mens under-23 team next

year to achieve similar

goals.

Handball fun hits Warrington schools

Basic handball skills were picked up quickly and put to good

use by all teams involved in the tournament.

Action from the five-team girls competition at Culcheth,

Warrington.

FIVE schools from across

Warrington took part in a

mini-handball festival at

Culcheth earlier this month,

with dozens of youngsters

finding out for themselves just

how much fun the sport can

be.

Teams of girls and boys

from Culcheth, Croft,

Winwick, Twiss Green and

Glazebury schools took part

in round-robin league

matches, with Culcheth girls

and Twiss Green boys

emerging victorious.

The event was organised

by the Warrington School

Sports Partnership.

PRESTIGIOUS AWARD FOR TOP

HANDBALL COACHPupalova named as London

Community Sports Coach of the Year

Come and try

handball in LiverpoolLIVERPOOL Handball

Club are appealing to

people across their region

to come and have a go at

handball at a series of trial

events this summer.

International and

National League players

and coaches will be on

hand to offer guidance to

all comers at the “Come

and Try Handball”

sessions at the Greenbank

Sports Academy.

No previous experience

is necessary, and all ages

are welcome.

The dates for male

players are June 5, July 3

and August 7, while

women are invited to

come and try the game on

June 19, July 17 and

August 21.

All sessions run from 7-

9pm, and will cost just

£2.00 per person, and

you can either register as

a team or an individual.

For more details of the

scheme, contact club

chairman Peter Irving at

Liverpoolhandballclub

@yahoo.com

handball news edition 15-25

Documents

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