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January 2008- March 2008
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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
TEAM P W L D F A Diff Pt
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.
HANDBALL NEWSEnglish edition 16, January 22 2008
GREAT DANE BEAT RIVALS CAMBRIDGE
TEAM P W L D F A Diff Pt
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
TEAM P W L D F A Diff Pt
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
TEAM P W L D F A Diff Pt
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 Lge Division One (South)
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
Men's National Lge Division One (North)
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.
HANDBALL NEWSEnglish edition 17, January 29 2008
HOLMRIS APPOINTED AS NEW
GB WOMEN'S HEAD COACH
TEAM P W L D F A Diff Pt
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
TEAM P W L D F A Diff Pt
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
TEAM P W L D F A Diff Pt
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
TEAM P W L D F A Diff Pt
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
Handball News is produced by Snowdon Sports for the British Handball Association. For details contact 0845 230 0803 or see www.englandhandball.com
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)
Women's National Lge Division One (South)
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.
Men's National Lge Division One (North)
Men's National Lge Division One (South)
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
TEAM P W L D F A Diff Pt
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
TEAM P W L D F A Diff Pt
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
TEAM P W L D F A Diff Pt
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
TEAM P W L D F A Diff Pt
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
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 Lge Division One (North)
Men's National Lge Division One (South)
Women's National Lge Division One (South)
Women's National Lge Division One (North)
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
HANDBALL NEWSEnglish edition 19, February 12 2008
Dominant Great Dane rely on Worms
TEAM P W L D F A Diff Pt
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
TEAM P W L D F A Diff Pt
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
TEAM P W L D F A Diff Pt
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
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 Lge Division One (South)
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.
Women's National Lge Division One (South)
Men's National Lge Division One (North)
HANDBALL NEWSEnglish edition 20, February 19 2008
GREAT DANE OVERWHELM
PLAY-OFF RIVALS CAMBRIDGE
TEAM P W L D F A Diff Pt
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
TEAM P W L D F A Diff Pt
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
Men's National Lge Division One (North)
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
Men's National Lge Division One (South)
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
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
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
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For more details please contact 0845 230 0803 or log on to www.englandhandball.com
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
TEAM P W L D F A Diff Pt
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
TEAM P W L D F A Diff Pt
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
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
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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.
Women's National Lge Division One (North)
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
National Division One Play-Off table
HANDBALL NEWSEnglish edition 22, March 4 2008 - page two
MESSAGE FROM AARHUS
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
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
TEAM P W L D F A Diff Pts
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
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
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.”
National Division One Play-Off table
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
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
HANDBALL NEWSEnglish edition 24, March 18 2008
GB WOMEN READY FOR ACTION
TEAM P W L D F A Diff Pt
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
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
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.
Women's National Lge Division One (North)
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
HANDBALL NEWSEnglish edition 25, March 25 2008
CHALLENGE TROPHY:MEET THE TEAM
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
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
Position: PV Age: 30
Club: BW Feldkirch
Name: Yvette Frings
Position: RB Age: 29
Club: TUS Lintfort
Name: Emma Dahlin
Position: PV Age: 17
Club: RP IF
Name: Lada Dungworth
Position: LB Age: 27
Club: SKP Banska Bystr.
Name: Cerys Walker
Position: GK Age: 18
Club: Grenna IF
Name: Laura Innes
Position: GK Age: 18
Club: Grenna IF
Name: Britt Goodwin
Position: LB Age: 23
Club: Gjoevik Vardal
Name: Sarah Bourne
Position: PV Age: 26
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
Position: GK Age: 18
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.
HANDBALL NEWSEnglish edition 25, March 25 2008
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
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