USA National Championships (Format Problems and Solutions)

There was a lot of hot air expended in the forum section of our website in regards to the format for this year’s National Championship. Aside from the hot air, though, most of the complaints we’re pretty legitimate. This commentary will look at the basic problems with the format, the process that was used and provide a proposed solution

[b]National Championship (Format)[/b]

Rather than traditional pool play, the Federation first informed clubs that this year’s tournament would use a simple knock out format. It didn’t take too long for clubs started to complain. The problems identified included the following:

1) The seeding of the 20 teams was highly suspect. Notably, the Condors with national team player, Gary Hines, were seeded very low.
2) The single elimination tourney format combined with the poor seeding, undoubtedly would have resulted in some quality teams playing for either 17th, 9th or 5th place.
3) Eight teams were subjected to play-in games that not only placed the losers into finishing no better than 17th place, it required them to play an extra game prior to playing a 100% fresh team in the round of 16.
4) Not securing a facility for Sunday morning games, thus not providing enough time to easily adapt the format.

To the Federation’s credit, they listened to the uproar that ensued, recognized the inherent problems with the original format and replaced it with a new format. Instead of 8 teams being immediately subjected to elimination games, each team losing in the first round will now be given a 2nd chance to play their way back into the round of 16. After the round of 16 the knockout format then gives way to pool play. While better, the new format is still not without flaws. Namely the seeding is still highly suspect and the round of 16 games are still paramount. Two strong teams could still meet in that early round and one of them will be sent down.

[b]National Championships (The process for developing the format)[/b]

But, while there were problems with the format, what I find even more troubling is how the Federation came up the format. First off, last Fall the Federation quickly put together a competition rulebook that laid out in detail a semi complicated scheme for qualification to the National Championships. This competition rulebook was rushed and inherently failed to recognize that the club structure needed to pull it off simply didn’t exist yet. It took awhile to recognize this, but eventually most aspects of the rulebook were thrown out for the 2008-2009 season. The 2009 championships became an open tournament and requirements for U.S. Residency and Citizenship were thrown out when challenged.

And when it came time to lay out the format and seeding for the tournament, the Federation did so in a manner so non transparent it makes the IHF look good. I had thought that it was simply done in-house by the staff, but according to some email traffic I’ve seen it appears that a select group was quietly chosen to participate in the development of the format and the seeding of the teams. Hey, I exchange email with the West Point coach from time to time and the Carolina guys seem OK, but surprise, surprise, I noticed that those clubs and Chicago (the Tech Director’s club) fared pretty well in the original seeding matchups. Hypothetical here, but if they had been matched up in the first round vs. the Condors, I’m thinking the first format probably would not have survived its in-house sanity check. Keep in mind that I’m not alleging intentional foul play. I’m just saying you’re less likely to recognize a potential problem effecting some other club. And obviously, no matter how good a job they might have done there is an inherent perception problem in that these folks were never identified. Imagine if word got out that Coach K was secretly sitting in on the selection committee for the NCAA Tournament and Duke got great seeding in Greensborough and UNC was sent out to Boise.

[b]The Solution[/b]

Not much can be done for this year’s tournament beyond the band-aid that’s already been applied. Next year, however, it should be a different story. Here's what should be done:

1) Establish a Competition and Organization Committee: The committee should contain 4-5 respected Federation members from the different regions of the country. The Federation staff can take the lead, but the committee should be an integral part of the planning and decision making process.

2) Take a good hard look at the competition rulebook. There needs to be a balance between what we would like to have in terms of national and regional competition with what’s realistic considering the current state of our club programs. A meaningful and fair qualification format for Nationals is feasible, it just needs some thought. The rulebook should be adjusted accordingly and then a formal review should be conducted. Keep in mind that it also can’t be foisted upon the clubs and be successful. The clubs are going to have buy in to it and this is where those 4-5 respected Federation members can go a long way towards making that happen

3) Stick with the rules outlined in the revised rulebook. As long as you do a good job of developing a realistic qualification system this shouldn’t be a problem. Yes, there should still be some flexibility, for unseen circumstances, but in general, clubs will prefer a clearly defined set of rules that they need to follow.

From a big picture standpoint, it’s starting to get a little old to keep saying, “let’s get it right next year”. Depending on when you want to start counting the new Federation is either a year old or approaching it. Some good things are happening. It looks like some high quality officiating will be at the tournament and the long term impact of the Bundesliga deal could be huge. The Federation needs to recognize, however, that the “we’re the new guys” excuse is no longer valid anymore.

2009 IHF Presidential Election Information Center

The IHF Presidential election will be held at the IHF Congress, June 4-7, 2009 in Cairo Egypt.

[b]The Candidates for President[/b]
– Hassan Moustafa (Egypt) Current President
– Jean Kaiser (Luxembourg)
– Gudmundur Ingvarsson (Iceland) (Withdrawn)

The following articles and commentary are related to the candidates. If you would like to submit an article or commentary please send an email to editors@teamhandballnews.com

3 June 09: Commentary: Will Handball minnows seize the opportunity at the IHF Congress?: http://teamhandballnews.com/news.php?item.770
3 June 09: Jean Kaiser outlines plans for world-wide Handball development: http://teamhandballnews.com/news.php?item.769
1 June 09: Karabatic and Schwarzer endorse Kaiser; Richardson expresses support on YouTube: http://teamhandballnews.com/news.php?item.767
30 May 09: Commentary: Why Hassan Moustafa should be re-elected as IHF President: http://teamhandballnews.com/news.php?item.766
28 May 09: Associated Press: Officials push for ouster of handball president: http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/2009-05-28-1980126860_x.htm
27 May 09: Christer Ahl: Agreements between the IHF President and Asian President opened the way for the fraud in Olympic Qualifying: http://teamhandballnews.com/news.php?item.763
26 May 09: Christer Ahl: Fundamental IHF problems cannot be resolved without new leadership: http://teamhandballnews.com/news.php?item.762
24 May 09: Jean Kaiser further outlines plans for IHF: http://teamhandballnews.com/news.php?item.760
23 May 09: IHF Sec Gen Muehlematter makes case for re-election: http://teamhandballnews.com/news.php?item.759
18 May 09: Essay Contest: Why Hassan Moustafa should be re-elected for another term as IHF President: http://teamhandballnews.com/news.php?item.754
16 May 09: Jean Kaiser: Candidate for IHF President (Questionnaire Response): http://teamhandballnews.com/news.php?item.752
13 May 09: Commentary: Yes, We Can (Part 2): http://teamhandballnews.com/news.php?item.751
11 May 09 : IHF to New Candidates: No Time for Introductions at Congress: http://teamhandballnews.com/news-i750-4.html
6 May 09: Jackson Richardson Endorses Kaiser for Presidency: http://teamhandballnews.com/news-i746-4.html
3 May 09: Commentary: Yes, We Can (Influence the outcome of the IHF Election): http://teamhandballnews.com/news.php?item.743
30 March 09: Commentary: IHF Memo Misleads and Fails to Address Key Issues: http://teamhandballnews.com/news720.html
27 March 09: IHF Memo Fires Back at Sec Gen Muehlematter and GCH’s Butzek: http://teamhandballnews.com/news.php?item.719
11 March 09: IHF Releases Full Candidate Lists for 2009 Elections/Moustafa and Roca Propose Funding for “Less Gifted” Federations: http://teamhandballnews.com/news.php?item.704
2 March 09: Commentary: IHF Council misses its chance for an “I am Spartacus” moment: http://teamhandballnews.com/news.php?item.698
23 February 09: Group Club Handball: Moustafa Conduct Puts Handball's Olympic Status in Danger: http://teamhandballnews.com/news.php?item.695
19 January 09: VIDEO: German News Show Reports on IHF Accounting Irregularities:
http://teamhandballnews.com/news.php?item.677
14 January 09: HBL President Witte: Handball Olympic Status in Jeopardy: http://teamhandballnews.com/news670.html
10 January 09: “Campaign Committee for Clean Handball” Sends Missive on IHF Corruption: http://teamhandballnews.com/news.php?item.666
20 August 08: Commentary: An Improbable Run that Almost Never Happened: http://teamhandballnews.com/news573.html
15 July 08: Analysis: Asian Olympic Handball Qualification: Details of the Fiasco: http://teamhandballnews.com/news.php?item.535
17 January 08: Who is Erik Eggers? http://teamhandballnews.com/news.php?item.438
20 December 07: AIPS: Heated press conference leads to IHF back-flip on Asian Handball Olympic qualification tournament decision: http://www.aipsmedia.com/index.php?page=news&cod=1730&tp=n
18 December 07: Asian Olympic Qualification results ruled null and void; Restaging of the entire tournaments planned: http://teamhandballnews.com/news.php?item.427
4 December 07: VIDEO: Korean News on Olympic Qualification: http://teamhandballnews.com/news.php?item.422
3 September 07: Asian Men’s Olympic Qualification (Kuwait Beats Host Japan while Koreans Express Outrage Over Referee Bias): http://teamhandballnews.com/news.php?item.380

Yes We Can!; Oui, Nous Pouvons!; Si, Se Puede! (Influence the outcome of the IHF Election)

While living in France for 5 years I worked in an international office with colleagues from throughout Europe. Every once in a while I would conduct straw polls of these colleagues over lunch on happenings in America to get a sense as to whether a particular phenomenon was uniquely American. Back in 2007, one such question posed to 7 colleagues was, “Do any of you guys know who Barack Obama is?” The answer was a unanimous, “No.” My prophetic response was, “Get ready, you will.”

To be fair, at that time, the U.S. election was several months from the first primary and France was focused on their own Presidential election, so it wasn’t that surprising that the African American with a funny sounding name was unknown by my educated and fairly well informed colleagues. Of course, everyone knows who he is now, but I also know, even though I haven’t spoken to many of them since I left, that most are surely amazed that a black man who had only been a state senator 5 years earlier is now the leader of the most powerful country in the world. Reluctantly, and perhaps a little bit sheepishly, they would also acknowledge that a similar event could never happen in their own country. Of course, many Americans would have said the same thing 20 years ago. Heck, many were still saying that the day before the election when he had a commanding lead in the polls.

So, what is the point with this diatribe on American politics? The point is to inform some folks in the International Handball community that [b]elections are never a foregone conclusion [/b]and that the power of ideas can go a long way. O.K., I may be just one crazy American who writes about Handball, but I get emails from a lot people all over the World, some in very well informed places, so I think I have a pretty good pulse of this nebulous International Handball community. And what totally perplexes and bewilders me is the near universal dissatisfaction with the current IHF Presidential coupled with the perception that his re-election is a foregone conclusion. Those two conclusions just don’t add up.

I’m not foolish enough to think that the IHF is a cornerstone of democracy in which every voter will independently weigh the merits of each candidate and then choose the best one. No, I fully realize that there will be some backroom dealing with promises being made and some voters can and will be swayed to vote in a way that perhaps benefits themselves and not necessarily their country or International Handball in general.

But, I cannot and will not believe that all 157 potential voters will blindly vote for a particular candidate or can be bought off by a few handballs and a nice hotel room. Instead, I think most of the voters are swayable, [b]particularly if they are fully informed[/b].

One critical aspect of this election should also not be lost to the readers of this website who live in a country where Handball is relatively unknown is that the vote will be [b]one country, one vote[/b]. This means that Cameroon’s vote, the Cook Island’s vote, Costa Rica’s vote and Hong Kong’s vote counts the same as Germany’s and France’s. It’s not practical for a random German fan among millions to call his Federation President on the phone to talk about the upcoming election, [b]but it’s quite feasible to do so in a country where a few thousand or even a few hundred care about the sport[/b]. And if calling is not possible a simple email or hand written letter could be sent.

[b]And can personal contact make a difference? You better believe it can.[/b] It would not surprise me one bit if there are Federation Presidents out there in far flung locations who are not fully aware of the events that have transpired in international handball over the past few years. Or if they are aware, they’ve only gotten one side of the story. An email from a member of their Federation highlighting their election concerns may not immediately cause a Federation President to change their vote, but it should encourage him to start asking questions.

Some will say that we, the Handball fans of the world, are naïve and that we can’t influence the way nations vote next June in Cairo. To those people, I say:

[size=14][b]YES, WE CAN![/b][/size]

Contact your Federation President and let him/her know that you care strongly about his upcoming vote.

[b]National Federation Contact Information[/b]
Countries A-D: http://www.ihf.info/front_content.php?idcat=119
Countries E-H: http://www.ihf.info/front_content.php?idcat=120
Countries I-L: http://www.ihf.info/front_content.php?idcat=121
Countries M-P: http://www.ihf.info/front_content.php?idcat=122
Countries Q-T: http://www.ihf.info/front_content.php?idcat=123
Countries U-Z: http://www.ihf.info/front_content.php?idcat=124

Handball Royalty Moving to Washington D.C.

Former Spanish National Team Captain and 3 time Olympian, Inaki Urdangarin, is relocating to the United States. Urdnagarin, who is married to Princess Cristina, has accepted a position with Telephonica and will be posted in the Washington, D.C. area. No word yet as to whether the DC Diplomats will sign him up as well.

Washington Post: “Spanish princess and family moving to Washington”: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/23/AR2009042301127.html
Inaki Urdangarin Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I%C3%B1aki_Urdangar%C3%and
DC Handball Club: http://www.dchandball.com/

Austin RockStars Handball Featured on Local News

The Austin RockStars Handball club was recently featured on the local channel 8 news in Austin, Texas. The videos are available on line at the links below. The handball being played in the videos is a slight modification of the sport called American Speed Handball.

News 8 Austin Article: Perhaps unknown to most, mystery sport is 2nd in world: http://www.news8austin.com/content/headlines/?ArID=238763&SecID=2

Austin News 8 Videos
– Overview of Handball: http://www.news8austin.com/shared/video/video_pop.asp?destlist=65361
– Interview with Dede Pinkova: http://www.news8austin.com/shared/video/video_pop.asp?destlist=65362

Austin RockStars: http://www.austinhandball.info/default.aspx

American Speed Handball Rules: http://www.austinhandball.info/docs/American_Speed_Handball_Rules_R1.pdf

Québec Youth Teams Fare Well in Prague Tournament

The Québec elite programs recently took part in the Prague handball cup in the Czech Republic , 389 teams from 21 countries took part in this year's edition the 18th. Quebec entered the tournament with a men and women's team in the 1990-91 categories .

On the men's side , there were a total of 45 teams in the MA category. Quebec managed to finish second in group play with 2 wins, 2 ties and 1 loss. The lost, however, in the 2nd round to Ajax Copenhagen, the eventual tournament winner, 16-12. The players of coach Sébastien Allard had a great tournament and they made Quebec handball proud .

On the women's side it was an amazing tournament as the girls won their first 6 games, including a victory over Ajax Copenhagen, one of the top twelve teams in Denmark. In the second round they remained undefeated winning both games and moved on to the semi-finals. In the semi-final match they overcame a deficit of 6-1 to tie HBC Slavia Praha. Unfortunately, they lost the shootout. In the Bronze medal game they lost by a score of 14-12 to MHK Bytca from Slovakia. Coaches Jean-Simon Bourgault and Marc St-Laurent were amazed by the quality of play that the girls showed throughout the tournament.

Quebec handball is really proud of these young athletes and their coaches and they are looking forward to their participation in the Granollers cup in Spain and Partille cup in Sweden this summer.

Link to Prague Handball Cup Tournament: http://www.phc.cz/index.php?lang=en

(Submitted by Marc St-Laurent of Québec Handball)

2009 USA Team Nationals Format

The current format of this year's Nationals is creating quite a stir among the participants.

A flurry of emails have been exchanged within the team handball community over the past 24 hours. The 2009 Nationals seeding format has been under heavy scrutiny by those attending.

I've started a forum thread so that everyone can chime in on this very heated topic.

On a personal note, there appears to be an abundance of evidence pointing to a lack of team handball knowledge and tournament experience among the NGB staff members.

The current NGB continues to struggle when it comes to elementary team handball concepts.
The seeding format ([link=docs/usath09.pdf]click here[/link] for details) is not only flawed but, with very few exceptions, laughable.

It is unfrotunate that with so little time left on the clock befoe the Nationals are set to pass off, the handball commnunity continues to be shafted.

Champions League Semifinals (1st leg) Audio Commentary

Two big games this weekend as the semifinals of the European Champions League get under way. On Saturday, Hamburg hosts Ciudad Real in a rematch of last year’s semifinal. Last year, Ciudad Real, the eventual champion, edged Hamburg on aggregate, 60-59 over two matches. Sunday’s match features heavily favored Kiel hosting Rhein-Necker Lowen and Jackson Richardson.

Saturday 25 April 1700 CET Ciudad Real at Hamburg Video Link: http://www.ehftv.com/ec/cl/men/2008-09/video/000565
Audio Commentary: http://teamhandballnews.com/request55.html (Right click to listen on your computer/left click to download)
– Audio commentary needs to be synched with the efhtv.com video. Depending on your computer's setup, you may be able to play both the audio and video simultaneously. Alternatively, you can download the audio file to an MP3 player.

Sunday 26 April 1730 CET Rhein-Neckar Lowen at Kiel Video Link: http://www.ehftv.com/ec/cl/men/2008-09/video/000566

EhfTV.com www.ehftv.com will be providing live and tape delayed web streaming of the matches for free. Subject to video availability and personal time constraints I will try to post an audio commentary of the Hamburg – Ciudad Real game on Saturday evening.

BBC Reports on Handball

The BBC recently did a couple of stories on Handball. The first story was aired in Britain and is focused on the British Handball contingent currently playing for the German Bundesliga club, Essen. Note that there is an audio file available for listening towards the end of the page

British Handballers Star in Germany: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8007803.stm

The second story was broadcast on the BBC World Service and is about Handball’s increasing popularity and a decision by the World Service to cover the sport in greater detail. As a frequent listener to the World Service, while living in Europe, I can recall hearing the word Handball only once during 5 years, so this is a welcome development. The BBC World Service is also truly a “World Service” with listeners in practically every corner of the globe

BBC World Service (Over to You) (April 18, 2009):
– BBC Website Stream: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p002rqt5 (Note: The Handball story begins at the 8 minute mark; only available on the BBC website until April 25th)
– Team Handball News Recording: http://teamhandballnews.com/request54.html (Left Click to listen/ Right click to download)

Golden opportunity.

The US Handball community had the unique opportunity to be part of history. The fact that most chose to ignore it comes as no surprise!

The THN forums have been filled with expert testimony and opinion on why the Miami experiment did not succeed. You see, and JR hit on this, if the event was 99% successful the media would still harp on the 1% negatives. It certainly is easier to destroy than to build something. Some of you know this damn well.

So, what really happened in Miami?

A lot, actually, and most of you were not there to see it.

Let’s start with the idea of hosting such an event on US soil.
The fact that two Americans pulled it off, despite many obstacles – most of which were US made (if you get my drift), is not only commendable but should also be preserved as evidence that one’s desire, experience AND credibility can (and will) materialize into something special and unique, in spite of rogue entities and against all odds.

The opportunity we have to criticize and second guess the likes of Zaharia, AC and the LNH was bourne out of a courageous dream. To not congratulate the principals behind the MIAMI LNH project is selfish. And in poor taste, I might add.

Plead what you will about why you were not in Miami. Excuses are like you know what. And I don’t buy them. Anymore. If there was a bag of gold waiting for you in Miami, my guess is you would have been there. I am of the belief that [b]"it’s not that people are unable to make it, it's that they choose not to make it." [/b]The 38 members of the Quebec youth teams who traveled by bus nonstop all the way from Canada to Miami. certainly proved that where there is a will, there is a way. But who cares what I think, right?

Having closely covered team handball last summer for NBCOlympics.com (thank you USATH), the Miami Coupe de la Ligue was a fitting conclusion to a personal whirlwind international team handball experience. It began with France’s MNT winning the Olympic Gold in Beijing, culminated with the World Championship Title in Croatia and ended with a memorable live appearance of some of the best team handball the world had to offer in Miami, FL. Narcisse, Martini, Karaboue, Richardson and even Nicolas, to name just a few, provided me and those at the American Airlines Arena, with the perfect blend of French handball past, present and future.

The intimate setting of this event was unique even to the French fans. The opportunity to mix and mingle with their idols away from the stickum and the small handball arenas, was something the French fans, and the media, will cherish for a very long time.

With just under 12 months to go until the 2010 LNH Coupe, the Frenchies have plenty of time to analyze and point fingers. My hope is that those in charge of this magnificent event are wise enough to ignore the negative local media buzz and look to kick this event up a notch.

Harness the positives! Recognize the hard working organizers, from the leadership of AC Tellison and Cristian Zaharia on down to the tireless efforts of John Eckart and Mike Garrity – whose names will not appear anywhere besides this article – the great venue, first class accommodations, great support of the community, and build on that!

With enough time and a better understanding of what is expected from all parties involved, the LNH, Coupe De La Ligue and New World Sports should have no problems making everyone happy in 2010.

Bags of gold notwithstanding!

Handball Growth in the Pacific Northwest

Handball is growing in the Pacific Northwest. On Saturday April 25th, from 1:30 – 4:30 PM, the newly created Oregon State University Handball Club will be hosting a mini tournament with a team from Portland, OR and a team from Seattle, WA.

This year alone, the Pacific Northwest handball community has grown from 2 to 4 teams with the additions of Seattle and Corvallis, to a 5 year old Portland – Vancouver rivalry, thus creating more playing opportunities.

A tournament was hosted by Vancouver in November 08, which saw the host team finishing first followed by Portland and Seattle. In December 08, Seattle hosted its first tournament with Vancouver winning ahead of Portland, CalHeat and Seattle. Portland and Corvallis have been playing games on a monthly basis.

If you are interested in joining any of the existing teams, or want to come watch the April 25th games, let us now and email us at info@portlandhandball.com

Also, if you’re looking for a team to play with at the U.S. National Championships, Seattle is looking for players. Contact TJ Ogden at info@seattleteamhandball.com

Editor’s note: Thanks to Portland’s Stephane Roux for the report. And a reminder to all: If you would like for an article to appear in Team Handball News send your suggested write-up to editors@teamhandballnews.com.

If You Build It, Will They Come?

Field of Dream (1989): Omnipotent voice to Iowa farmer, Ray Kinsella: “If you build it, he will come.” http://www.hulu.com/watch/12939/field-of-dreams-if-you-build-it-he-will-come

A Field of Dreams Was Built….

Field of Dreams is a movie classic that tells the story of an Iowa farmer Ray Kinsella (played by Kevin Costner) who is compelled by an omnipotent voice he hears in his cornfield to plow under the corn and construct a baseball field. His relatives tell him he’s crazy, but he ignores them and constructs a full scale field complete with manicured grass, dugouts and bleachers. Banned for life players from the 1918 Chicago White Sox then appear out of nowhere to play pick-up games.

I don’t think Cristian Zaharia, A.C. Tellison and Alain Smadja heard an omnipotent voice calling out to them, “If you build it, they will come”, but like the Kevin Costner character they set out to build their field of dreams. And make no mistake about it they truly built a Handball field of dreams. The setting at American Airlines Arena was world class and one that the international Handball world rarely sees outside of the occasional matches staged at the Cologne Arena. Certainly, no French clubs have ever played each other in such a fine facility. Aside from the facility, the organization of the tournament appears to have been flawless, at least from my on the floor observation. 4 teams, their staffs, officials and delegation were transplanted thousands of miles and 6 time zones away to a country that aside from the Olympics has never hosted a major Team Handball event. And yet it was as if the tournament was being conducted at the Bercy Arena in Paris. Trust me; logistically a lot of things could have gone wrong. Ask the Croatians about the flooring fiasco they had in Zagreb during the World Championships and imagine the snickering comments that would have been made if that had happened in Miami. The setting and seamless execution of this event are truly to be commended. Not to mention 3 competitive matches, one of which was an upset of epic proportions. All well in good….

But, They Didn’t Come

Writer Terrence Mann to Iowa farmer, Ray Kinsella: “Ray, people will come Ray. They’ll come to Iowa for reasons they can’t even fathom. They’ll turn up your driveway not knowing for sure why they’re doing it” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDyM4CfExXU

But unlike the end of the movie where fans drive out to the middle of nowhere to see baseball played next to a cornfield very few wandered off the street to see these matches in downtown Miami.

Attendance is always a sticky and charged issue, whether it is the Montreal Expos or the National Mall during the Million Man March http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Million_Man_March. For sporting events, it is particularly relevant because it is an undeniable measuring stick that is difficult to hide. Not that teams don’t try. Sometimes they inflate the number through free and substantially reduced ticket giveaways and for TV purposes they’ll even let everyone sit in the lower sections. And we’ve all been to games where they announce the crowd total and everyone looks around and says, “Oh really.” It’s no surprise that the term “an announced crowd of” is universally acknowledged to actually mean “an inflated figure with little basis in reality”.

For the Coupe de la Ligue tourney this past weekend, the attendance figures posted in different media outlets have ranged from 300 – 4,500. For the first match, I would estimate the crowd to have been around 1,000, thanks to several hundred school kids being bused in and given a great opportunity to see world class Handball up close. For the last 3 matches, I would say it was around 300 – 500. I didn’t count the number of people there, but rest assured if I had, it wouldn’t have taken long. But there’s no real point in arguing on the exact figure. There might be disagreement on the severity of the adjectives (paltry, low, sad, disastrous, disappointing) used to describe the low turnout, but everyone (organizers, players, fans, and media) would agree that it was way, way too small for an event of this magnitude.

There are a number of factors that have been mentioned as having an impact on attendance. Here are a few:

8 ) The economic crisis resulted in fewer fans (both French and U.S based) choosing to pay for the trip
7) The Easter weekend presented some with family conflicts
6) The ticket prices were too high
5) Spring break in Miami prevented field trips from local schools
4) The location of Miami (on the tip of a peninsula) meant that virtually everyone had to fly there
3) The timing near the U.S. National Championships prevented some from attending due to the cost of two trips in close proximity
2) Insufficient advertising failed to inform potential attendees

All of those contributed to the low turnout, but by far the biggest reason is

1) Team Handball is virtually unknown by the vast majority of the citizens of North America and convincing people to invest time and money to attend a sporting event that they know nothing about is a very, very difficult sell.

I could give you a hundred anecdotes about just how unknown this sport is in the USA, but by far my favorite is the number of times I’ve been asked a question about the sport that is obviously related to the 4 wall version http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_handball which is similar in name only. Of course, this is to be expected by newcomers, but what really drives me crazy is the number of times that these questions come from friends and relatives who already know that I played on the U.S. National team and have a website devoted to the sport.

The local organizers may have forgotten or downplayed this handicap and perhaps the French league did not fully understand the magnitude of the challenge they were facing, but it should now be abundantly clear. Already, the French League President, Alain Smadja has talked about spending more on advertisement for next year’s event. This will undoubtedly help, but it will take much more than a good advertising campaign to get a good crowd.

The silver lining in regards to edition 1 of this American adventure is that the organizers and the French league have proven that they can transplant this tournament to the U.S. Undoubtedly they’ve learned a lot by going through the whole process once and organizing it next year will be simpler based on that experience. This should also give them more time to focus on a sound strategy to boost attendance. I’ve got some suggestions that may help, but I’m still a skeptic as to whether the challenge is insurmountable, given the current state of Handball in the U.S. I’ll discuss these suggestions and the challenges involved in a future post. Stay tuned.

Earlier commentary (May 2008) on the challenges of hosting the event in the U.S.: http://teamhandballnews.com/news.php?item.494

French Reports on Coupe de la Ligue

Some post mortem articles and videos have appeared on several French websites. Here are a few worthy of note:

Handzone’s Francois Dasriaux gives a measured critique of the event titled, Good Idea!, Bad Choice? In his commentary he outlines several of the mitigating factors that contributed to the poor attendance, but also critiques the American organizers for not more effectively marketing the event. He also points that more coordination with USA Team Handball would have resulted in a few more fans. Despite these critiques he does point out the positive reactions of the players and the fact that the German Bundesliga is contemplating a similar venture and that the potential is there for better execution the next time around.
Handzone: Good Idea, Bad Choice?: http://www.handzone.net/asp.net/main.news/news.aspx?id=52501

Le Parisien wrote that Alain Smadja, the President of the French League is going to sit down with the American organizers and plan better for next year’s event. In particular, he notes that more advertising is needed and that he would like to see the event in New York City.
Sport24.com Smadja Wants New York: http://www.sport24.com/hand-volley/fil-info/smadja-veut-new-york-254694/

Hand 7 has a couple of video interviews. One with Alain Smadja and one with several players after the all star game. Over and over again the players emphasize that they really enjoyed the tournament, they just wish there were more fans there.
Hand 7: Player interviews (Video): http://www.hand7.fr/visio/videos/coupe-de-la-ligue-les-all-stars-font-leur-show.html
Hand 7: Alain Smadja interview (Video): http://www.hand7.fr/visio/videos/coupe-de-la-ligue-itw-d-alain-smadja.html

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