(Handball at the 2034 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City? No longer just wishful speculation. I actually think it will happen now.)
Duncan Mackay, who has been covering Olympic Sports for more than 30 years recently posted an article on his Zeus substack (subscription required) that planning is well underway to dramatically reshape the Winter Olympics Programme.
While there have been many reports and commentaries discussing the merits of moving some Summer Olympics indoor sports to the Winter Olympics they have typically been pieces along the lines of that it’s something being floated for discussion.
Mackay’s article, however, makes it seem very much like a done deal, particularly with this sentence:
The article highlights that some expensive winter sports like bobsled could be gone and then specifically mentions volleyball and handball as sports that could be added. It then highlights that IOC officials are discussing the possibility of offering some sports “the opportunity” to switch from Summer to the Winter Olympics. And, that the offer might very much be one those sports really don’t want to refuse. As in, the alternative will be to no longer be in the Olympics, period.
Commentary
As has been discussed before, handball switching to the Winter Olympics would be an epic game changer for the sport, especially in countries like the U.S. Every four years Curling gets a real boost in popularity and it doesn’t take much to imagine handball very quickly getting an even bigger boost. Whereas, in the bloated Summer Olympics it’s tougher for handball to break through with all the competition from the other more well known sports.
And, this reporting is really big news because it very much sounds like Summer Olympic sports are moving to the Winter Olympics. That the “good idea” is becoming reality and much quicker than anticipated. Reporter Duncan Mackay has been around quite awhile and he surely was talking to people on the inside; to officials that wanted to get this message out.
Would it shock me if the International Handball Federation (IHF) is given “the opportunity” to switch to the Winter Olympics? No, not at all. And, given that, I would argue that the IHF should actually go proactive. That the next time they meet with IHF officials they should make it clear that they would very much welcome the opportunity to do so.
There would be repercussions. In particular, the IHF and Euroean Handball Federation (EHF) would need to sort out what would happen with their January big money maker events. They currently alternate the Men’s World Championships and Men’s European Championships every January. One organization would lose a monetary stream. But, the overall benefits would be enormous so I’d like to think something could be worked out.
There are also some real positives to such a switch. With the current setup athletes have a window every four years with 3 big tourneys (European Championships, Olympics, World Championships) in a 13 month span. The switch would eliminate that and would ensure that athletes have every summer off to recuperate.
And, from a U.S. biased perspective I can already see Team USA taking the court at the 2034 Salt Lake City Winter Olympic Games. Instead of another Olympic boost for the sport necessitating beating both Argentina and Brazil at the PANAM Games to qualify we would have another hosted Olympics just six years out from Los Angeles.