Tēnā koutou, Aotearoa Handball Whānau
We are now heading towards the business end of the New Zealand Handball calendar, with plenty on offer over the next few months for everyone with a thirst for Handball. In this month’s update I wanted to take a sneak peak at what we have to look forward to, and confirm a special opportunity for our female youth beach players that has been locked in for mid-next year. But first, let’s recap on a what has gone on since my May update.
Auckland Open
Another great tournament was successfully hosted by Auckland Handball on 8-9 June. Numbers were down a little on past years with travel costs proving an increasing challenge for many, but the competition was just as fierce and the camaraderie off the court just as strong – always a great environment for our community to get together. Congratulations to Auckland Handball for making it happen, and we look forward to next year’s edition.
Regional connect + new Inclusion & Respect Policy
A forum was held with representatives of our Regions at the end of June to exchange news and views from around the nation. Thanks to those who were able to take part. These forums help inform the strategies we need to put in place to continue to develop Handball in New Zealand, and ensure initiatives and events are coordinated. Much of the conversation centred around the logistics for Handball League Aotearoa, and it is pleasing to see the buy-in to that initiative and ongoing support from the Regions. The key message we have heard is the need for certainty in planning for next year’s running of the League, and we will be doing our best to lock in timings for 2025 as early as we are able to.
Another topic of discussion was the new Inclusion & Respect Policy that the NZHF Executive Committee has developed. That Policy is intended to provide all our stakeholders with a touchstone to ensure everyone is on the same page when it comes to matters of player safety and respect for our match officials, and ensuring everyone sees Handball in New Zealand as a safe space in which they can participate and contribute.
That Policy has now been adopted by the Executive Committee and appears on our website. You can access it here. We encourage all our stakeholders to take the time to go through it and put it into practice. Please let us know if you have any queries or feedback to share.
Youth Handball update
It was exciting to see two intermediate school-age tournaments successfully conducted in Auckland in June. There will be a similar-aged festival taking place in Wellington on 16 August. We are delighted to be able to support the future of Handball in this way, and look forward to assisting with similar initiatives in other centres. As always, if you would like a hand with any Handball development initiative aimed at our younger players, or want to contribute, please do not hesitate to get in touch with Frank at play@handball.org.nz
Moving up the youth age grades, the men’s Under 18 and Under 20 campaign is gathering steam as the boys look to book themselves a spot in next year’s Intercontinental Championships. The first leg of that journey is the Oceania IHF Trophy qualifiers booked in for Tahiti in mid-December, with a busy few months ahead for the squad as they prepare themselves. To find out more, and how you can support the team, contact Thomas and Olly at youth@handball.org.nz.
To round out the excitement for our youth players in this month’s update, we have just received confirmation that our Under 17 female beach handball players have been nominated to join the American Samoan girls in representing Oceania at the Under 17 Beach Handball World Champs in Tunisia in June 2025. This is an amazing opportunity for the rising stars of our female game, and provides them with a real focus for their training over the summer ahead.
Club Champs & Regional Champs
We are getting down to the wire on the registrations deadline for Clubs to participate in Club Champs in Wellington on 6-8 September. We are expecting a bumper turnout this year, with five Australian club teams expected to join in to add a distinct international flavour to this year’s competition. If your Club has yet to do so, please ensure you register here by 31 July to guarantee your place.
Tracking forward another month and we have the Regional Champs taking place in Christchurch on the weekend of 12-13 October. This year the event will double as the finals weekend for Handball League Aotearoa, providing a fitting climax to the 2024 Indoor Handball calendar. We hope to see good numbers front up both on and off the court to support their Region take home the silverware.
Referee course
We have another referee training course scheduled to take place over the course of August, as part of the lead up to Club Champs. This is an essential refresher for those likely to find themselves on the end of a whistle on a Handball court – but is also highly valuable for all players to provide you with a better understanding of the rules and expectations. Please contact Antoine at referees@handball.org.nz for further details.
Handball at the Olympics
Before our own annual Handball tournaments take place, there is of course the small matter of Olympic Handball dominance to be settled, now underway with preliminary round games already appearing on Sky Sport. There is also a beach handball showcase Olympic satellite event available to be viewed. Check out our Facebook page for further details – we will keep that updated as further information becomes available, and do our best to keep our supporters informed as to what is available to be viewed.
AGM 29 September
To finish this update on a real highlight, we are currently looking at holding this year’s NZHF AGM online on 29 September. As always, there will be spots available on the Executive Committee for individuals who feel they have something to contribute. If that’s you, please liaise with your Club to get yourself nominated. As part of the lead up to that, we are also hoping to find a space in the schedule for Club Champs to hold a rare in-person forum for our community to exchange views. Further details on that will follow once the Club Champs schedule has been finalised.
That’s it for this month. All the best for your Handball endeavours, whatever they may be, and thanks for your ongoing interest in New Zealand Handball.
David Ireland
President, New Zealand Handball Federation