Women's World Championships Underway

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No upsets in the first day of competition, but the underdog teams made it interesting in several contests, with China scaring Romania, Japan hanging tough against Hungary and Congo narrowly losing to Spain. All told, 8 of the 12 underdogs covered the handicap spread and in many cases by several goals. Day 2 should feature some interesting contests with the upstart teams that battled the group favorites close having realistic expectations of beating the 2nd best team in the Group. Matches to watch:

Group B: Macedonia played the Russians close today, but lost. If they want to advance to the Main Round they'll need to beat favored Brazil.
Group C: Angola will play Austria with the winner likely advancing
Group D: China vs Poland for the Main Round
Group E: Japan vs Spain for the Main Round
Group F: Ukraine vs Korea. Ukraine needs a win or they are headed to the Presidents Cup

Match reports on all of the games are available on the left hand side of the screen from Handball-World. Anybody who wants to help with editing the match reports, please drop me a line at john.ryan@teamhandballnews.com

Women’s World Championships (What the Sports Books Think)

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According to a survey of online Sports Books, Russia and Norway are the odds on favorites to win the 2007 Women’s Handball World Championships. The defending World Champion Russians are slightly more favored at 1.6 to 1 while Norway, the current European Champions are 1.75 to 1. Romania is the next team in line at 5-1 odds and 4 other teams (Hungary, South Korea, France and Germany) are grouped at 15-1.

Longshots grouped between 120-1 and to 500-1 include Spain, Ukraine, Croatia, China, Poland, Austria, Macedonia and Brazil. The remaining 9 nations are all viewed as 3000-1 or greater longshots. Brazil, which won a tournament last weekend in France, however has seen its odds fall in some books to as low as 39-1.

The odd for teams to win each preliminary group are(from www.expekt.com:

Group A: France(1/4 ) Croatia(11/5), Argentina(249/1), Kazakhstan(499/1)
Group B: Russia (1/20), Brazil(8/1), Macedonia(14/1), Australia (499/1)
Group C: Norway(1/20), Austria (10/1), Angola, (14/1), Dominican Republic(499/1)
Group D: Romania(1/10), Poland(9/2), China(39/1), Tunisia (249/1)
Group E: Hungary(1/5), Spain(27/10), Japan(99/1), Republic of the Congo(249/1)
Group F: South Korea(11/10), Germany(13/10), Ukraine(4/1), Paraguay(499/1)

With only 2 teams advancing to the main round, these odds, on paper, point to a only a few key battles in the preliminary round. In Group B, Brazil and Macedonia should battle it out for the 2nd spot and in Group C, Angola should challenge Austria. Group F could be a real dogfight, with South Korea, Germany and Ukraine all having realistic expectations to reach the Main Round.

The handicap (point spread) lines have also been posted for the first day’s games on Sunday. Australia has the dubious distinction of the being the biggest underdog with a 31 goal handicap vs. Brazil. The Aussies aren’t likely to pull off a miracle, but with several players playing competitively in Europe they are unlikely to suffer a defeat similar to 2005’s 57-9 loss against Hungary. Paraguay is the other huge underdog and they have 30 goal handicap vs. the South Koreans.

[b]Odds to win World Championships (www.bet365.com)[/b]
Russia 1.6 to 1
Norway 1.75 to 1
Romania 5-1
Hungary 15-1
Korea 15-1
France 15-1
Germany 15-1
Spain 120-1
Croatia 120-1
Ukraine 150-1
China 150-1
Poland 150-1
Austria 250-1
Macedonia 300-1
Brazil 500-1
Angola 3000-1
Japan 5000-1
Tunisia 5000-1
Argentina 5000-1
Australia 5000-1
Congo 5000-1
Dominican Republic 5000-1
Kazakhstan 5000-1
Paraguay 5000-1

[b]2 December 07 Handicap Lines (www.bet365.com)[/b]
Austria -15.0 vs. Dominican Republic
Brazil -31.0 vs. Australia
Croatia -14.5 vs. Kazakhstan
France -16.0 vs. Argentina
Germany -3.0 vs. Ukraine
Hungary -14.5 vs. Japan
Norway -8.5 vs. Angola
Poland -5.5 vs. Tunisia
Romania -12.0 vs. China
Russia -9.5 vs. Macedonia
South Korea -30.0 vs. Paraguay
Spain -11.0 vs. Congo

Women’s World Championships (The Olympic Ramifications)

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While only 1 team will claim the title of Champion at the World Championships next week in France, several nations will be playing for 6 spots in 3 Olympic Qualification Tournaments which will take place 28-30 March 2008. The 3 tournaments will consist of 4 teams playing a single round robin over 3 days with the top 2 teams going to the Olympics. Some nations have already earned spots in a qualification tournament, but they will be hoping to improve their chances by placing 2nd to 4th and thereby earning the right to host a tournament. Nations will be assigned to qualification tournaments using the following format:

[b]Tournament 1: [/b]
2nd Place WC (Host)
7th Place WC
2nd Place Europe: Russia
2nd Place PATHF: Cuba

[b]Tournament 2: [/b]
3rd Place WC (Host)
6th Place WC
2nd Place Africa: TBD in January
3rd Place from the Continental Championship for the best Continent at WC (Currently France, Argentina, South Korea or Africa-TBD)

[b]Tournament 3: [/b]
4th Place WC (Host)
5th Place WC
2nd Place Asia: South Korea
3rd Place from the Continental Championship for the 2nd best Continent at WC (Currently France, Argentina, South Korea or Africa-TBD) or Oceania

But it won’t be as simple as taking the teams that finish 2nd through 7th and writing their names in the open space. As some nations have already received automatic qualification for the Olympics they won’t count in the standings. Additionally, there is a hierarchy for each path to qualify, so it’s important that you follow the higher precedence first in order to determine who qualifies. Confused? Let’s follow it step by step:

First, there are 4 ways in which a nation can qualify to participate in the Olympics. Those 4 ways in order of precedence are

Be the host nation (1 slot) ([b]China[/b])
Win the World Championship (1 slot) (TBD)
Win a Continental Championship (4 slots) (Norway, Brazil, Kazakhstan, Africa-TBD)
Place 1st or 2nd in one of 3 Qualification Tournaments (6 slots)

These 4 methods are also in order of precedence. This means that if a nation has qualified via 2 or more methods, its qualification is associated with the higher of the two methods. For example, if the host nation China were to win the World Championship (an unlikely prospect), it would qualify as the host nation, not the World Champion. Similarly, if the European Champion, Norway, were to win the World Championship (a definite possibility) they would qualify for the Olympics as the World Champion. The significance of this precedence order is the bearing it will have on the nations waiting in the wings to secure either an automatic bid or bids to one of the three qualification tournaments. For instance, should Norway with the World Championship, Russia (2nd place at the European Championship) would receive the automatic European slot.

Further complicating matters is that there is an order of precedence to determine who will participate in the 3 qualification tournaments. Nations can qualify for these tournaments in 4 ways

4a) Place 2nd -7th at the World Championships (6 slots)
4b) Place 2nd at their Continental Championship (4 slots)
4c) Place 3rd at their Continental Championship (if their Continent is ranked 1st at the World Championships) (1 slot)
4d) Place 3rd at their Continental Championship (if their Continent is ranked 2nd at the World Championships or Oceania Champion if Oceania places 1-12 at the World Championships) (1 slot)

So, as nations earn their spots at the World Championships the next nation in the pecking order will move up, causing a complex series of musical chairs. Here’s the outlook for the different Nations (grouped by their continent)

[b]EUROPE[/b]
[b]Norway:[/b] Already qualified for the Olympics as the European Champion
[b]Russia:[/b] As the 2nd place team at the European Championship, Russia has already secured an Olympic Qualification tournament bid. Russia, of course, will be looking to win the WC, but the next best think would be a Norwegian victory as that would give them the 1st place European spot and automatic qualification for the Olympics
[b]France:[/b] Barring an unlikely uprising from the non European teams, France has already secured a spot in an Olympic qualification tournament since they are the 3rd place team from the European Championship.
[b]Germany, Hungary, Croatia, Poland, Spain and Austria:[/b] These nations can also secure the 2nd or 3rd place Europe spots. But the farther you go down in the pecking order, the more difficult it will be. Germany simply needs Norway to win the title or for France or Russia to finish in the top seven. Austria, on the other hand would need for 6 or 7 of the teams that placed ahead of them at the European Championships to finish in the top 7. Possible, but not likely. (Scenario details are below)
[b]Macedonia, Ukraine and Romania: [/b] These teams have only 1 way to secure an Olympic Qualification Tournament bid. They have to finish in the top 7.

[b]Sweden:[/b] Sweden isn’t playing in the World Championships, but they still can still get a spot in one of the Olympic Qualification Tournaments as the 2nd or 3rd place European team if teams that placed ahead of them at the European Championships also secure the 1st to 7th place spots at the World Championships. (Scenario details are below)

[b]Denmark:[/b] Well, the Danes are mathematically out. But, if Austria were to qualify in this manner, there will probably be some soul searching in Copenhagen. If Denmark could have placed 10th instead of 11th at the European Championships they would have qualified instead of the Austrians.

[b]ASIA[/b]
[b]China:[/b] Already qualified as Olympic Host
[b]Kazakhstan: [/b] Already qualified for the Olympics as the Asian Champion
[b]South Korea:[/b] As the second place team at the Asian Championship they’ve already secured a spot in an Olympic Qualification Tournament. The defending Silver medalists will be looking to bounce back from their surprising failure to secure the automatic Asian spot and place in the top 4, so they can host an Olympic Qualification Tournament
[b]Japan: [/b] As the third place team at the Asian Championship they will be hoping that Asia can secure the 2nd best continent. If Asia does, Japan will be placed in an Olympic Qualification Tournament

[b]PATHF[/b]
[b]Brazil:[/b] Already qualified for the Olympics as the PATHF Champion
[b]Argentina: [/b] As the third place team at the PATHF Championship they will be hoping that Brazil can secure the 2nd best continent for the PATHF.
Dominican Republic, Paraguay: These teams have only 1 way to secure an Olympic Qualification Tournament bid. They have to finish in the top 7.

[b]Cuba: [/b]Cuba won’t be at the WC, but as the 2nd place team at the PATHF Championship they’ve already secured a spot in an Olympic Qualification Tournament.

[b]AFRICA[/b]
[b]Angola, Tunisia, Republic of the Congo:[/b] Africa’s continental championship will be played in January 2008, so the automatic Olympic bid is TBD. One of these teams will likely get that automatic bid, but for now they will need a top 7 finish

[b]OCEANIA[/b]
[b]Australia:[/b] Oceania doesn’t have an automatic bid for the Olympics. To get a place in an Olympic Qualification Tournament Australia will need to get 12th place or better.

[b]Unintended Consequences?: [/b] Because the IHF chose to use a set formula for assigning teams to the Qualification Tournaments the Bronze medal game could result in the 2 nations participating questioning the benefits of winning. Why? Well, by that point in the tournament it will likely be clear as to which teams will be participating in each tournament. And in all probability hosting Tournament 3 will be a much better proposition than hosting Tournament 2. Tournament 2 will include the 6th place World’s Team, an African team and a European team while Tournament 3 will have the 5th place World’s Team, an Asian team (South Korea if they don’t finish top 7, otherwise Japan), and probably either Cuba or Qatar. If South Korea places in the top 7, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to quickly assess that Tournament 3 would be a much easier tournament for qualification. And in order to get the better tournament you would [b][i]need to lose the Bronze Medal game[/i][/b]. Of course, things could pan out differently, but the teams will know before they take the court who their potential opponents will be. The solution: Next time around a seeded draw would be a way to avoid that situation.

[b]Detail for European 2nd or 3rd place:[/b] As there are several European teams at the World Championship, its fairly complex as to the different exact scenarios. Additionally, Norway’s threat to win the title complicates the scenarios as a title victory for them also gives Russia automatic qualification. Suffice to say here’s the details for those so inclined.

[b]If Norway wins the WC[/b]

To get the Europe 2nd place spot….
France: Needs no help
Germany: Needs France to place from 2nd to 7th
Hungary: Needs all of the following nations (France, Germany) to place from 2nd to 7th
Sweden: Needs all of the following nations (France, Germany, Hungary) to place from 2nd to 7th

To get the Europe 3rd place spot….
Germany: Needs no help
Hungary: Needs 1 of the following nations (France, Germany) to place from 2nd to 7th
Sweden: Needs 2 of the following nations (France, Germany, Hungary) to place from 2nd to 7th
Croatia: Needs all of the following nations (France, German, Hungary) to place from 2nd to 7th
Poland: Needs all of the following nations (France, German, Hungary, Croatia) to place from 2nd to 7th
Spain: Needs all of the following nations (France, German, Hungary, Croatia, Poland) to place from 2nd to 7th
Austria: Needs all of the following nations (France, German, Hungary, Croatia, Poland, Spain) to place from 2nd to 7th

[b]If Norway doesn’t win the WC[/b]

To get the Europe 2nd place spot….
Russia: Needs no help
France: Needs Russia to place from 1st to 7th
Germany: Needs all of the following nations (Russia, France) to place from 1st to 7th
Hungary: Needs all of the following nations (Russia, France, Germany) to place from 1st to 7th
Sweden: Needs all of the following nations (Russia, France, Germany, Hungary) to place from 1st to 7th

To get the Europe 3rd place spot….
France: Needs no help
Germany: Needs 1 of the following nations (Russia, France) to place from 1st to 7th
Hungary: Needs 2 of the following nations (Russia, France, Germany) to place from 1st to 7th
Sweden: Needs 3 of the following nations (Russia, France, Germany, Hungary) to place from 1st to 7th
Croatia: Needs all of the following nations (Russia, France, German, Hungary) to place from 1st to 7th
Poland: Needs all of the following nations (Russia, France, German, Hungary, Croatia) to place from 1st to 7th
Spain: Needs all of the following nations (Russia, France, German, Hungary, Croatia, Poland) to place from 1st to 7th
Austria: Needs all of the following nations (Russia, France, German, Hungary, Croatia, Poland, Spain) to place from 1st to 7th

New York State Team Handball Federation Press Release.

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Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Handball in NY State
Press Release November 19, 2007

For immediate release

State Teams Seek Nassau Players For International Handball Teams

The New York State Team Handball Federation has issued a call for new players of the international sport of team handball to fill rosters of two men's and two women's teams to compete against local clubs and prepare for the United States national team.

The New York Eagles Team Handball Club under the direction of Coach Jesse Sorensen, a player on the United States' national team, has openings for a goalie, four wings and two pivot men.

Coach Brian Bednarik, European trained and now playing for the United States, has similar openings on his Long Island Osprey team for beginning and players prepared to compete in the international handball word at a level below the national class. Both coaches acknowledged their search would be centered on locating speedy and tall men between the ages of fifteen and twenty four with good hand-eye coordination and who can cover the basketball-size court and throw the ball accurately.

The Federation also announced openings for women interested in leading two state-wide teams to compete against local club and college teams.

[b]About Handball[/b]
Handball (or "team handball") is a fast-paced game involving two teams of seven players who pass, throw, catch and dribble a small ball with their hands while trying to score goals. The team with the most goals wins the game. A game consists of two 30-minute halves with a 10-minute half-time break.

[b]Even the ancient Greeks…[/b]
The sport of handball as it is played today certainly has a checkered history. The very fact that man has always been more adept at using his hands than his feet lends credibility to the claim made by famous sports historians that he started playing handball much earlier than, say, football.

[b]Ancient forms of handball[/b] The games that were precursors of handball can only said to be distantly related to it in terms of their structure and rules of play. Nonetheless, the games of "Urania" played by the Ancient Greeks (and described by Homer in the Odyssey) and "Harpaston" played by the Romans (and described by the Roman doctor Claudius Galenus in 130 to 200 A.D.) as well as in the "Fangballspiel" (or 'catch ball game') featured in the songs of the German lyrical poet Walther von der Vogelweide (1170-1230) all contained certain features that can be described as ancient forms of handball.

[b]Modern handball[/b]
Modern handball was first played towards the end of the 19th century. For instance, one such game was played in the Danish town of Nyborg in 1897. The real impulses emanated from Denmark, Germany and Sweden. The founding fathers of field handball were probably German physical education experts who gained recognition for field handball as a separate sport at the turn of the century, based on the games of "Raffball" ('snatch ball') and "Königsbergerball" (Konrad Koch 1846-1911). In Sweden it was G. Wallström who introduced his country to a certain sport named "handball" in 1910.

For additional information contact:
Richard A. Benack, Secretary,
New York State Team Handball Federation, Inc.
(516) 640-4265
124 4th Street,
Garden City, NY 11530-5934
dickbenack@optonline.net

Spanish Clubs vs. German Clubs in the Champions League: Make it so!

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Editors Note: The article below is incorrect. See Meteo's comments and my response. The good news is that we will indeed get at least 3 Spanish League – German League showdowns.

The EHF decision to do away with the round of 16 and quarter finals home and away 2 game playoffs and replace it with 4 groups of 4 clubs with only the winner of each group advancing was a great move. The top 16 clubs will now have to fight tooth and nail for the four semifinal spots over a 6 game home and away schedule and it will also avoid two top teams meeting in an elimination match too early in the competition. I’ve got nothing to complain about with that setup.

What I do take issue with, however, is the EHF decision to not arrange the draw so that clubs from the same nation are not matched up against each other in the next group phase. This means the following worst case scenario could arise with the draw:

Group A: Kiel, Gummersbach, Flensburg, GOG Svendborg (3 German, 1 Danish)
Group B: Ciudad Real, Barcelona, Medvedi, Zagreb (2 Spanish, 1 Russian, 1 Croatian)
Group C: Portland San Antonio, Andemar Leon, Montpellier, Ivry (2 Spanish, 2 French)
Group D: Hamburg, Szeged, Celje, Gorenje (1 German, 1 Hungarian, 2 Slovenian)

This could actually happen and on top of the German and Spanish clubs playing each other we could also see the two Slovenian and French sides play each other. Why? The very best part of the Champions League is the opportunity for fans to see clubs they normally don’t get the opportunity to see and for each National league to stake its claim for superiority. Instead we could be subject to several national derbies. Do we really need to see Flensburg and Kiel play each other again twice? Maybe, but only later in the competition.

Why not simply follow the same rules as the first group phase and keep clubs from the same nation from playing each other? If it’s the right thing to do for the first round groups its even more so for the final groups. And with 4 German sides and 4 Spanish sides we would have 4 German-Spanish showdowns. Would that be compelling handball—You bet!

Let’s hope the EHF makes this simple fix for next years Champions League and while they’re at it why not make a video stream available for purchase via the internet. It wouldn’t take me two seconds to pull out my credit card for that.

From the "virtual" mailbag.

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I've mentioned to our US readers that I am often flooded with emails containing some very tough questions. For the most part I have tried to answer those questions individually. It was certainly easier and more… personal. If and when I was unaable to provide an answer, I would often seek it from those in the know.

This Thanksgiving, for your reading pleasure, I thought I'd go back into my mailbag and post some of the questions and my answers, for everyone to read. I shall refrain from naming the source of the questions, however I will name the geographical location of that inquiring mind.

Q1: Why is the USOC so secretive when it comes to releasing team handball information. (Idaho)
A1: I too thought that they were secretive. I am now convinced that they do not have the personnel to handle the necessary communication to an ever-so-dwindling US team handball community. The easiest way to get answers is to contact those in charge, directly. That will not assure you of an answer but it will allow you to open the lines of communications directly to the source(s). At times, THN has done a good job getting some "one on one" interviews with key US Team Handball political players. While some of their answers were fluff, THN has always been able to, at the very least, get those principals to go on record on certain topics.

Q2: WNT has a great website but nobody posts the juicy stuff in there? Like, why is Dawn Allinger the head coach? What happened with Christian? (New Jersey)
Q2: There are two answers to your questions. The first one, the official one, confirmed by everyone involved with the WNT program is that there was time for a change and Dawn was the logical choice. The unofficial one, however, plays out like a daytime soap opera. It has everything from backstabbing, to personal dislikes, to power trips and egos… My guess (and it is a guess) is that the truth is somewhere in the middle. It matters very little how and why it happened. Let's hope that the WNT can get some positive results in the upcoming qualifiers. All will be forgotten. (note: I replied to this email before the WNT's failed qualifying event in whatever third world country they played in…)

Q3: The Nationals this year (note: Delaware) were not as good as they were last year in Houston. I see the same people organizing the event. I was told that here is no USAT H F. Can you explain? (Illinois)
Q3: Not sure why you felt that last month's Nationals were worse than those of 2006. If you are referring to competition, I would agree. Less teams means less talent. Notable absentees such as the Condors (Men) and ATH (Men) had a lot to do with it. The fact that the MNT was in Chile fighting for a spot at the 08 Olympics had a lot to do with the watered down level of competition as well. On the other hand I believe that West Point, NYTHC, Miami and Chicago had more than provided some great handball matches. On the women's side, where it was all Chicago (and their Eastern European contingent), it would have made very little difference. You may want to clarify what particular area of the Delaware Nationals was not as good as last year's. To answer your question re: the organizers I will have to tell you what they told me: they are all volunteers and are doing it for free and for the love of the game. If next year you would like to be part of teh org. committee, drop them an email and pray that you wil be included.

Q4: I do not have time to practice handball but I like to play at tournaments. Which tournament are better? (Utah))
Q4: Your best bet is to check with your nearast team handball club in your area. In your particular case Salt Lake Warriors. Ideally, you would want to attend the same tournaments they do. It will be alot easier for you to get playing time, especially if you are willing to travel. In terms of tournaments, I have attended a few and I think that for the most part, they all do an adequate job hosting them. My personal favorites are Miami, West Point, Chicago and Atlanta. They all feature no more than 4 teams. One game a day each on Friday evenings, Saturday afternoons and Sunday mornings). Each one features IHF rules matches (2 X 30 minutes halves), regular size courts, good officiating and extraordinary facilities. I would also like to include Chapel Hill (UNC) on that list, as they run both women's and men's tournaments every six months. The only difference is that they often play 2 X 25 minutes halves to accommodate around 10 particpant teams.

I will dig up some more q&a for you.

In the meantime, don't hate. I always love hearing from those of you who can spell. Keep those question, comments and complaints coming at bogdan@teamhandballnews.com.

Happy Turkey Day!

IOC Investigates Olympic Qualification in Asia – Rematch Under Consideration

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My colleague, Christian Ciemalla at Handball-World reports on what in my opinion could end up being the most significant Handball related news story ever. The possibility that the Asian Handball Federation and by extension the International Handball Federation may fess up to a fixed match and actually replay it is unprecedented. As a child, I remember playing “do-overs” at recess for controversial calls, but I don’t recall it ever happening in organized competition. Stay tuned for further developments and don’t be surprised if you start seeing more on this story in non handball related news outlets.

Handball-World Article: http://www.handball-welt.de/o.red.c/news.php?GID=1&auswahl=11833

A Handball Rhodes Scholar

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Congratulations to Canadian Junior International Goalie Aaron Trachtenberg for being selected to the prestigious Rhodes Scholar program. Probably a safe bet that he is the most accomplished Handball player to ever be so honored.

Winnipeg Sun Article: http://winnipegsun.com/News/Winnipeg/2007/11/19/4668594.html

IHF Ruling: Greenland Reinstated as Full PATHF Member

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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.

PATHF Div 1 Championships (Canadian Perspective)

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Editor’s Note: I had intended to have an audio podcast interview with Men’s Assistant Coach Mike Nahmiash, but due to technical difficulties we’ll make due with some notes from our conversation.

[b]Canada’s Matches[/b]

Canada – Puerto Rico: Mike noted that Puerto Rico had an athletic team and that Team Canada led at one point by 5 or 6 goals before Puerto Rico mounted a comeback. With time running out Puerto Rico scored a final goal which at first was not allowed due to time having expired. Upon further review, however, the officials reversed their decision and awarded the tying goal.

Canada – Dominican Republic: Probably the key victory for the Canadians at the tournament as they had lost to the Dominicans at the Pan American Games this past summer. The Canadians were somewhat aided by the fact that a couple of naturalized Dominicans of Cuban descent did not make the journey to Havana.

Canada – Mexico: Mike noted that the Mexicans appeared to have sent a younger team than the one that had gone to the Pan American Games. Canada controlled the game from start to finish.

Canada – Cuba : No doubt as to the final outcome as the Cubans totally dominated this match. Mike did note that the game likely would have been closer, but Canada chose to play without its two backcourt players (Maxime Godin and Alexis Bertrand) who are playing competitively in France. With 2nd place already locked up it and with both players expecting to play matches in France soon it was not viewed as necessary for either player to play.

[b]Technical Meeting:[/b] Representatives from each of the 5 teams attended an organizational meeting with PATHF VP Mario Moccio. The following was noted:

– It was not expected that Greenland will be reinstated and it was noted by Mr Moccio that it was his understanding that the IHF does not intend to overturn the PATHF’s decision to strip Greenland of full membership in the PATHF.

– The Cuban delegation expressed concern with the PATHF Championship taking place in the United States. Mr Moccio indicated that it is still scheduled to take place in the United States next June, but that this decision would be reviewed at the PATHF Congress in December.

Handball-World News Box Now Online

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As you may have already noticed, you can now click on articles in the Handball-World News Box on the left hand side of the screen. Handball-World has the most extensive coverage of Handball in the world and is regularly updated, often faster than the official sites of the competition. And I'm not just saying that because I'm the Editor of English language content for the site. :-)

If you would like to add the text box to your website, [link=http://www.handball-world.com/o.red.c/service2.php?rst=0100]this neat little page[/link] will generate the code for you. It's in German, but if you know how to install such code, you'll quickly figure out what means what :-)

Korean Handball Movie Preview Available for Viewing Online

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The South Korean movie, “The Best Moment of Our Lives,” will be released in South Korean theaters soon and a promotional preview is now available for viewing online. The movie revolves around the 2004 South Korean Olympic Team which lost to Denmark in the Gold medal final in Athens. The match was notable for going through 2 overtimes before being settled in a penalty shoot-out. The preview mixes scenes from the Gold medal match with training and preparation for the Olympics. The movie according to online user groups, the film will show the sacrifices that married veteran players in their 30’s made as well as conflicts they had with their new coach and the European methods he introduced.

Preview: http://www.veoh.com/videos/v1437437MYtc95T7

USOC Restarts Men’s National Team Resident Training Program/NGB Certification Still on Hold

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The USOC has announced that they are starting a Men’s National Team resident program in Atlanta, Georgia. Players in the Atlanta area have already started practice 3 times a week at Morris Brown College under the direction of interim coach Chris Cappelmann. The goal is to ultimately establish the program so that athletes will be able to train full time with support from the Dekalb International Training Center, the USOC and ultimately a new Handball Federation.

In terms of certifying a new federation, I spoke recently with Eric Parthen, USOG National Governing Body (NGB) Development, and he indicated that the USOC is still evaluating both proposals and performing due diligence background checks. He anticipates that they will provide a recommendation to the USOC BoD in late 2007 or early 2008.

The full text of the USOC letter concerning the National Team is available at Matt Van Houten, the USOC Athlete Advisor Council member for Team Handball, Myspace Blog: http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=73440975&blogID=324342930