There was no official announcement from the IHF or PATHF (Website down yet again), but the Chile Federation website celebrates the news that Chile will be participating in the 2009 Men‘s World Championships in Croatia. The Chilean notice also indicates that Chile will be playing in Group B, the same group that Cuba had been drawn into

At the Men’s PATHF Championship this past summer Cuba beat Chile 37-30 for 3rd place. Chile did demonstrate that they were the 4th best team at that tournament, though as they beat both Greenland and Canada (the two previous PATHF 3rd place finishers) in Group play to advance to the semifinals. Chile is a team on the rise with several players currently playing in Europe. Additionally, they actually had the top two scorers at the PATHF Championship, Emil Feutchmann with 34 and Francisco Chacana with 27 goals respective in 6 matches.

This is not the first time that Cuba has qualified and not participated in a major international tournament. Notably they qualified for the 1992 Olympic Games, but declined to participate due to financial constraints. Cuba also has a history of handball defections with several former National Team players currently playing professionally in Europe.

2009 World Championships Playing Schedule: http://www.ihf.info/upload/News/20081014_PlayingSchedule_MWCH_CRO.pdf
Chile Website Announcement (Spanish): http://www.balonmano.cl/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=177&Itemid=30
2008 Men’s PATHF Results: http://teamhandballnews.com/news.php?item.525

Brazil defeated Argentina, 27-24, to claim their 2nd straight PATHF Championship. Brazil struggled early in the match and trailed 6-7 at the 20 minute mark. A four goal run made the score 10-7, 5 minutes later and Brazil never relinquished the lead. Argentina stayed close throughout, but were never able to come closer than 1 goal down earlier in the 2nd half.

Cuba overcame a 17-18 halftime deficit to defeat Chile 37-30 in the 3rd place game. In addition to securing the Bronze medal, Cuba also secured the 3rd and final PATHF spot for the World Championships in Croatia next January. This marks Cuba’s return to the World Championships after an absence of 10 years, mostly due to financial reasons.

In the 5th place match Greenland earned their first victory of the tournament, defeating Uruguay 28-21.

[b]Final Standings[/b]
1) Brazil
2) Argentina
3) Cuba
4) Chile
5) Greenland
6) Uruguay
7) Canada

Link to standings: http://www.ligahand.com.br/confe/panmasc.html
Link to Greenland Newspaper articles and pictures (Danish):
http://www.ag.gl/program/index.php?sprog=2&action=vis_nyhed&t_id=1&nyhed_id=164&start=0
Link to Brazil Federation article (Portuguese): http://www.ligahand.com.br/confe/not2806bras.php

Brazil and Argentina will again meet in the PATHF final for the 4th consecutive time, but this time around Cuba and Chile made sure it wasn’t a foregone conclusion. In the first semifinal Argentina held off Cuba 33-32. In the second semifinal, Brazil held off Chile for a 26-22 victory. Brazil dominated the first half leading 19-10 at the break. In the second half, however, they only managed 7 goals as Chile made the score respectable in the end. In all likelihood, though, Coach Ribera rested key players in the 2nd half in anticipation of their showdown with rival Argentina. There is no love lost between these two sides as evidenced by the brawl that erupted at the PANAM Games this past summer:

In the consolation semifinal Canada bowed out of the tournament with a 23-21 loss to Uruguay. The loss places Canada in 7th place and relegates them to Division 1. Alexis Bertrand scored 10 goals in the match to lead Canada. In the December 2009 timeframe Canada will participate in the Men’s Division 1 Championship with the Dominican Republic, USA and other nations that did not participate in this year’s PATHF Championship.

Link to standings: http://www.ligahand.com.br/confe/panmasc.html
Canada Sportcom article (French): http://www.sportcom.qc.ca/news/2008/news20080627-07.html

Team Canada’s hopes of qualifying for the 2009 World Championships were dashed today as Chile beat Canada 28-23. Chile took a commanding 17-9 lead into halftime and Canada chipped away at the lead, but could no closer than 4 goals down with 5 minutes remaining in the game. Argentina easily defeated Greenland in the other Group A match, 31-22. Argentina secures 1st place with an unblemished 3-0-0 record, Chile takes 2nd with a 2-0-1 record, while Greenland and Canada tied for 3rd with a 0-1-2 record. Due to a better goal differential Greenland takes 3rd. In Group B play, Brazil, as expected, beat Cuba 33-21 to secure 1st place.

The semifinals will pit Brazil vs. Chile and Argentina vs. Cuba. Due to the Dominican Republic’s non-participation it’s not entirely clear how classification 5-7 will be accomplished. Most likely Canada will play Uruguay on Friday, with the winner than facing Greenland. If so, the Canada – Uruguay match will be a relegation match, with the loser having to play in the Division 1 Championship Tournament in the Dec 2009 timeframe. The top 2 teams from Division 1 Championship qualify for the 2010 PATHF Championships.

Link to standings: http://www.ligahand.com.br/confe/panmasc.html

Greenland Newspaper articles and pictures (Danish): http://www.ag.gl/program/index.php?action=nyheder&sprog=2&t_id=1&shifter=5&music=1

Sportcom Canada Article: http://www.sportcom.qc.ca/news/2008/news20080626-06.html

In Group A play, Chile defeated Greenland 31-28, all but ending Greenland’s hopes for qualifying for the 2009 World Championships. Greenland again started out slow trailing Chile 19-12 at half time. Greenland can only hope to qualify for the semifinals by defeating unbeaten Argentina. Even if that happens they will still require Canada to beat Chile and then hope for a better overall goal differential. In the other Group A match Argentina beat Canada 26-15. Canada can feel good about playing Argentina close in the first half (13-10), but they are surely concerned with their second straight low scoring 2nd half, as they only managed 5 goals in the last 30 minutes. Tomorrow’s group A match between Chile and Canada should decide 2nd place. Notably, it is a rematch of the 2004 PATHF Bronze Medal game where Canada upset host Chile to qualify for the 2005 World Championships. More recently, however, Chile beat Canada 29-20 at the PANAM Games last summer.

In Group B play, Cuba beat Uruguay 28-24 in a closer than expected contest. Cuba will play Brazil tomorrow to decide 1st place in the Group.

Side Note: Greenland's Minik Dahl Hoegh, who had 12 goals against Chile, has signed with one of Denmark's premier clubs, GOG Svendborg, and therefore will be playing in the Champion's League next year.

Link to standings: http://www.ligahand.com.br/confe/panmasc.html

Canada Sportcom article (French): http://www.sportcom.qc.ca/news/2008/news20080625-03.html

Greenland Newspaper articles and pictures (Danish) http://www.ag.gl/program/index.php?action=nyheder&sprog=2&t_id=1&shifter=5&music=1

In a key Group A match, Greenland and Canada played to a 20 – 20 draw. Greenland had a disastrous first half as they only managed 6 goals to Canada’s 11. Argentina, the prohibitive favorite in Group A beat Chile 36 – 25, but Chile played them close in the first half trailing only 13 – 11 at the break. Chile, Greenland, and Canada all have realistic expectations of finishing 2nd and advancing to the semifinals. The Canada – Greenland draw will add some additional suspense should both those sides beat Chile as overall goal differential will decide 2nd place, meaning every goal will count in their matches vs. Argentina and Chile.

In Group B, Brazil easily defeated Uruguay 38-13, while Cuba was idle due to the unexpected decision of the Dominican Republic to not participate at the last minute.

Link to standings: http://www.ligahand.com.br/confe/panmasc.html

Sportcom Quebec Article (French): http://www.sportcom.qc.ca/news/2008/news20080624-04.html

The Pan American Team Handball Federation (PATHF) drew the 8 nations participating into two separate groups today. The resulting groups are:

Group A (Argentina, Greenland, Chile, Canada)
Group B (Brazil, Dominican Republic, Uruguay, Cuba)

Notes:
– The pairings on each rung of the ladder were 1) Brazil, Argentina; 2) Greenland, Dominican Republic; 3) Chile, Uruguay; 4) Canada, Cuba Apparently, the Dominican Republic, simply took the USA spot in the draw. The USA had placed 4th at the 2006 championship and hence was seeded in the 2nd group. The Dominican Republic had qualified for the tournament as the 3rd place team from the Division 1 Championship and probably should have been seeded in the 4th group. Granted every team simply has to win their matches, but more thought could have gone into the seeding and draw.
– The top 3 teams will qualify for the 2009 World Championships in Croatia. The top two teams in each group will qualify for the semifinals, so those 3 spots will come from those 4 teams. Argentina and Brazil are the odds on favorites to play in the Gold Medal match. Cuba, which played well at the Pan Am Games will be the odds on favorite to advance from Group B. Group A should have an interesting fight for the 2nd spot between Greenland, Chile and Canada.
– Argentina’s veteran National Team player, Eric Gull has returned to the National Team after an extended absence. Gull, along with fellow Spanish League professional Andres Kogovsek played in Argentina’s loss to Iceland in Olympic Qualifier play in Croatia. Gull’s return is likely linked to Argentina’s selection of new National Team coach, Eduardo Gallardo. Gallardo previously coached Argentina’s top club team, River Plate as well as Argentina’s Youth Team which placed 4th at last year’s World Championship. http://teamhandballnews.com/news.php?item.367 According to Ruben Gomez, a former Argentine IHF Official and owner of the Mexico Forum website http://handball.mforos.com/ , Argentina has sent a youngish team to the qualifiers with an eye towards 2012. 4 players are over 30, but most of the rest are in their early 20’s.

The IHF has reiterated to the PATHF that Greenland should be reinstated as a full member of the PATHF. The PATHF had requested an appeal of the IHF's earlier decision, but was informed by the IHF that their failure to pay the required administrative fee in a timely manner had exhausted the PATHF's legal options.

Article from Play the Game Website: http://www.playthegame.org/News/Up_To_Date/IHF_backs_Greenland_over_continental_handball_federation_membership_07050001.aspx

The PATHF Junior Women’s Championship is currently taking place in Argentina. Eight teams are participating. In the first day of Group Play regional powers Brazil and Argentina coasted to easy victories, while Mexico edged Canada 24-23 and Greenland beat Puerto Rico 34-26. As the World Junior Championships will be in Brazil, two teams in addition to Brazil should qualify for the tournament.

Pool Play continues on the 12-13 March and the Semifinals/Final are 14-15 March

The following websites can be checked for updates

Argentina Federation: http://www.balonmanoargentina.org.ar/
Canada National Team Site: http://www.canadianhandball.com/index.php
Mexico Handball Forum: http://handball.mforos.com/1179288/7368584-panamericano-juniors-femenino-resultados-posiciones-y-comentarios/

Greenland has received notification from the PATHF that they now will be allowed to participate in the PATHF Junior Women’s Tournament scheduled for March 10-16, in Argentina. As reported earlier, the PATHF appeared to be stonewalling Greenland by not providing scheduling information concerning the tournament. Additionally, formal correspondence between the PATHF and the IHF concerning Greenland’s membership status implied that the PATHF had not recognized the IHF Court of Arbitration ruling that Greenland should be reinstated as a full PATHF member.

The notification that Greenland received, however, dispels that notion and fully acknowledges Greenland’s right to play in the upcoming tournament. But while Greenland is cleared to play for this tournament, the PATHF still maintains that Greenland’s status as a PATHF member still needs to be fully resolved either through the IHF appeal process or other legal action. The PATHF, however, concedes that until such time a ruling reverses the current status quo, Greenland is a full member and will be allowed to participate in PATHF tournaments.

Greenland Saga Continues (Jan 08): http://teamhandballnews.com/comment-n444.html
IHF Ruling: Greenland Reinstated as Full PATHF Member (Nov 07): http://teamhandballnews.com/comment-n410.html

[html] According to a report on the Canadian Handball Federation website, the Pan American Team Handball Federation (PATHF) has informed member nations that the USA will no longer host the 2008 Senior Men’s Pan American Championship. The Championship was originally scheduled for 24-28 June, 2008 in Atlanta, Georgia and it’s organization was being supported by the Dekalb International Training Center (DITC) in nearby Dekalb County, Georgia. PATHF nations have two weeks to submit bids to host the tournament.
The Championship tournament also serves as qualification to the 2009 World Championships and the top 3 teams will book tickets for Croatia next January. With Brazil and Argentina both heavily favored to qualify, Team USA would likely have battled the remaining nations for 3^rd place. As the USA narrowly lost to Greenland in 2006, the home court edge could have played a decisive factor in this year’s championship. Additionally, concerns with defections might have resulted in Cuba deciding not to participate. Now with the Championships moving to a TBD country the USA will have neither home court and the Cubans will be the odds on favorites for 3^rd place.

This is the second time in recent history that the USA was scheduled to host a Pan American Championship only to see the tournament moved to another country. The 2005 Women’s Championships were scheduled for Cortland, New York, but were moved due to visa complications for visiting nations.  Just this past Summer, Mr. Marc Daniel Gutekunst of the DITC traveled to Brazil to present the PATHF Exec Committee with their plans to host and according to VP-PATHF North America, Dennis Berkholtz they received unanimous support from the committee.
Team Handball News is not certain as to the exact reason for the USA withdrawal, but Email correspondence with the Greenland Federation indicates that it was somehow related to TV broadcast requirements. As the USOC has not decided on whether to certify a new USA Handball Federation there is no official body to address this issue. A request for information from the DITC has so far been unanswered.

Canadian Website Notice: http://www.canadianhandball.com/2007 PATHF Exec Committee Notes: http://teamhandballnews.com/news.php?extend.359 [/html]

[html] In November of 2006 the Pan American Team Handball Federation (PATHF) downgraded Greenland’s full membership to an associated membership. This change in membership status meant that Greenland could no longer participate in qualification events for any Handball World Championships (youth, junior or senior). Greenland appealed this decision to the IHF Arbitration Commission and in November of 2007 the Commission ruled that Greenland should be reinstated as a full member of the Pan American Team Handball Federation (PATHF).

Team Handball News has now learned, however, that the PATHF has not accepted this decision and has requested that the IHF “set aside the decision of the arbitration Commission and to allow PATHF to explain in writing its arguments in support of the decision taken by its Continental Congress.” In a letter to the IHF dated, December 12, 2007, the PATHF claims that the IHF did not follow due process and failed to either hold oral hearings or request that the PATHF submit written arguments in support of their case. It should be noted, however, that this PATHF claim appears to be in direct contradiction to the Appeal finding which noted the following, “This Commission regrets to note that the Pan America Federation offered no response to this appeal nor did it offer a defence to the claims, making the work of the Commission much harder.”
The IHF Office has forwarded the PATHF letter to the Arbitration Commission on 18 December, but as of this date there has been no further action taken by the IHF. In the meantime, the first PATHF qualification tournament since Greenland’s reinstatement, the PATHF Women’s Under 20 Championship, is rapidly approaching. Scheduled for February in Argentina, Greenland has contacted the PATHF and Argentinia Federation for information, but there requests have gone unanswered. Frustrated with these apparent delaying tactics the Greenland Handball Federation (GHF formally requested on January 18, 2008 that the IHF step in and take action to ensure that Greenland can participate in this tournament. As of this date, Greenland has not received a response back from the IHF concerning this request. [/html]

The International Handball Federation (IHF) Arbitration Commission has ruled unanimously in favor of reinstating Greenland as a full member of the Pan American Team Handball Federation (PATHF).

Last November, without warning, the PATHF Congress downgraded Greenland from a full PATHF member to an associate member on the grounds that Greenland does not have a National Olympic Committee. Then, despite taking this significant action, the PATHF neglected to inform the Greenland Handball Federation (GHF) of this change in status until April of this year when the GHF sought information concerning PATHF qualification for the Junior World Championships. The change in status was significant in that Greenland which had already qualified 3 times for the World Championships, including the most recent Championship in Germany this past January, would no longer be allowed to compete in PATHF qualification matches.

Stunned by this change, Greenland sought redress with the PATHF and IHF, and filed a formal appeal with the IHF in May. The appeal simply asked that Greenland be given the right to play in PATHF qualification matches as a full member and that Greenland be given the right to play in qualification matches for the upcoming Junior World Championships in August.

Last Friday, November, 16, the IHF Arbitration Commission released its ruling. The commission which reviewed the case consisted of the Chair, Charalambos Lottas of Cyprus, Markus Plazer of Austria and Mustafa Fathy Hussein of Egypt. In the ruling, the Commission noted that the Junior World Championships had already taken place so they would only address the membership status question. Additionally, the Commission noted with regret that the PATHF offered no response or defense to the appeal submitted by Greenland making the work of the Commission harder.

In it’s ruling the Commission noted that Greenland was accepted as a full member of PATHF in 1998 and under the PATHF statutes, the PATHF had a 12 month period to exclude the Greenland Federation. And since this 12 month period had lapsed by several years, “any decision made for the membership of the Greenland Federation to the PATHF has to be made in connection and in accordance with the IHF bylaws.” And since the IHF bylaws do not include any language that can exclude a federation on the grounds of failure to belong on the National Olympic Committee the Commission ruled in favor of Greenland, declaring that the earlier PATHF decision to downgrade Greenlands membership null and void.

Greenland was predictably pleased, but also conciliatory. National Team Manager Kurt Lauritsen said the following, “It is a great victory not only for Greenland Handball but for the development of Handball in general. I hope all the countries in the PATHF will work together on development instead of seeing how they can exclude other countries to get a better chance for their own country. I also hope, that we can get a constructive dialogue in the future with the PATHF and that we don’t have a "struggle" with them to get our seeding back for the upcoming men and women Pan American Championships.”

Requests for comment from the PATHF have, so far, been unanswered. Unanswered questions include whether the PATHF will accept the IHF decision or will seek further legal action. Additionally, with Greenland now able to compete in PATHF tournaments, the composition for the PATHF championships is now up in the air. Currently slated for 8 teams the PATHF will need to decide whether to have a 9 team field or to keep it at 8 teams and exclude the Dominican Republic.