The British Handball Program has been busy identifying new talent and sharpening their skills. Here’s a couple of articles about their ongoing program:

BBC Sport: “Handball addict gives up day job” http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/olympics_2012/6987576.stm Profile on 23 year old Rugby convert Tim Maynard

British Handball Federation: “Handball Hopefuls in Denmark” http://britishhandball.worldhandball.com/DesktopDefault.aspx?menuid=1093&itemid=1662 Story on British Handball Talent Identification program

The reigning Hungarian League Champion and perennial EHF Champions League participant Veszprem will take on Danish 1st Division side Viborg in an exhibition match in London on 25 August. The match is being sponsored by WorldHandball.com www.worldhandball.com and is intended to help broaden the exposure of the sport as they continue their preparation for the London Olympics in 2012. The venue for the match is the Crystal Palace and the England National Team will play against a UK all-star team prior to the main event

This match is likely the highest level club handball match to ever take place in a non-traditional handball nation. The move mimics the efforts of several American sports leagues which have staged games in Europe and Asia as well as European Soccer sides which have gone on tour. Hopefully, this will be just the start of a marketing wave that will see matches take place in other locales around the world.

Veszprem Website: http://www.mkbveszprem.hu/
Viborg Website: http://www.vhk.dk/
Tickets: www.britishhandball.com

British Handball has appointed Morten Arvidsson to coach their Women’s World Class Program. As is customary in many European programs, Arvidsson will coach the British team on a part-time basis, as he is also the head coach of the German club, HCL Leipzig. Notably, Leipzig won the German women’s club championship last year and is currently tied for first place this year.

British Federation Article: http://britishhandball.worldhandball.com/DesktopDefault.aspx?menuid=1093&itemid=1438
HCL Leipzig Club site: http://www.hc-leipzig.de/

In preparation for the 2012 London Olympic Games, UK Sport has launched a talent search for tall athletes to participate in the British Handball Development Program. The program is seeking to identify good all-around male athletes taller than 6’3’’ (190 cm) and female athletes taller than 5’11’’ (180 cm) between the ages of 16 and 25. For additional news and audio interviews on this program check out the England handball website

http://www.sportfocus.com/webpro/handball/nlstory.cfm?ID=22655&NLID=42045

Commentary: Will there be a lawsuit from short athletes demanding their own program?

This past October saw the reinstitution of the Tri-Nations Tournament between England, Scotland and Ireland. A round-robin was played over 3 days in Scotland. The surprise result was the Ireland Men, defeating both England and Scotland to take the title (hey, I didn’t even know they played Team Handball in the “Old Country.“). Both the English and Scottish sides, however, were missing key players who are currently playing in Denmark. http://www.sportfocus.com/webpro/handball/nlstory.cfm?ID=20924&NLID=42045 The English Women secured the women’s title, by also sweeping the competition.

England Report Women): http://www.sportfocus.com/webpro/handball/nlstory.cfm?ID=20928&NLID=42045
England Report (Men): http://www.sportfocus.com/webpro/handball/nlstory.cfm?ID=20925&NLID=42045
Scotland Report: http://www.scottishhandball.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=97&Itemid=2
Ireland Report: http://www.olympichandball.org/news/news/225/00239.html

Side Note: In case you are wondering why there are separate England, Scotland and British Handball Federations it’s related to the rather complicated sporting and national relationships that exist. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland consists of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. For many sporting competitions, (e.g. world cup soccer) England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have separate teams. The IOC, however, only recognizes the UK for Olympic Competitions, so a British team has to be fielded. Hence, the three separate federations with a linked relationship. For Handball, the IHF recognizes the British Handball Federation and British teams (if they qualified) would participate in IHF events.
The EHF recognizes the British and Scottish Federations and they have played in the European Challenge Tournaments. At some point in the future, however, the combined team might seek to participate in EHF tournaments as it would provide a consistent roster in preparation for the 2012 Olympics.