Kia ora koutou, Aotearoa Handball Whānau!
Welcome to another year of Handball, Kiwi-style.
In this first update for 2026, we reflect on the fantastic showcase for Beach Handball that was the 2026 Oceania Beach Handball Championships, seek input into our strategy update, and note a couple of highlights for the 2026 calendar.
Oceania Beach Handball Championships
Christchurch and the Pioneer Stadium sand courts delivered a superb advertisement for the joy and excitement that is Beach Handball this Waitangi weekend. Despite some last minute hiccups (our friends from Kiribati weren’t able to secure their Visas in time to make the start of the tournament, prompting a major re-shuffling of the game schedule to enable them to take a full part in the event when they eventually arrive on the afternoon of the 2nd day) the organisation of the event was first class, and an awesome product was able to be beamed around the world on the IHF YouTube channel.
Congratulations to the Australian squad who took out both the Men’s and Women’s divisions. They now go on to represent Oceania at the Beach Handball World Championships in Croatia in June, and we wish them all the very best for that.
Australia Mens and Womens teams
But the Aussies didn’t have it all their own way. A massive shout out to the New Zealand men who went through pool play undefeated, taking the Australians down 2-0 on the way to the final. Sadly our men were not able to repeat that outcome in the close-fought gold medal match, missing out on taking the final to a penalty shoot-out with a thrilling golden point overtime loss. Well done as well to our women who ended up in a three-way tie after pool play with two wins and a loss, but had to settle for playing off for third place in a count back.
Cook Islands Mens and Womens teams
And heart-felt congratulations to the Cook Islands women who upset their Australian counterparts in pool play to reach the final, securing the Cook Islands first ever win over Australia. That was a massive result. For Oceania to make an impact on the global stage it is critical for the competitiveness of our tournaments to increase. With the Cook Islands men also pushing both Australia and New Zealand hard on the sand at Pioneer Stadium, that increased level of competition was there for all to see. With some encouraging signs coming from other Oceania nations, the Kiribati delegation hopefully learning from their experience down under, and Tahiti and New Caledonia adding to the mix at the youth and junior level, Oceania Handball is on the up!
Willy Silcock with Romanian referees Daniela Andreea Enache and Corina Floriana Radut
At the conclusion of the Championships a very moving thank you and haka was given to tournament director and retiring New Zealand Beach Handball co-ordinator Willy Silcock by the New Zealand Handball squad. Willy, you put in an amazing shift to pull the Oceania Championships together to provide a fitting swansong for all your years in charge of New Zealand Beach Handball. The beach community and New Zealand Handball are deeply indebted to you for all you have done.
Thank you to the International Handball Federation, the Oceania Continent Handball Federation, the Christchurch City Council and law firm Dentons Kensington Swan for their support of the event. The IHF in particular really came to the party to ensure the Championships could still go ahead, despite the delay in the Kiribati delegation’s arrival. It was encouraging to see our international body’s often-stated commitment to our region playing out in practice, and much appreciated.
Last, a big thank you to the amazing Jun, and to Aaron and George, for their awesome work behind the lens and on livestream to capture all the action. And thanks also to all the volunteers from Canterbury Handball for making the event such a success.
NZ Handball Strategy Development
The NZHF Executive Committee is heading into a strategic planning session at the end of the month and we want to hear from as many of our stakeholders as possible to help inform that process.
Whether you're a player, coach, referee, club admin, volunteer, parent, or passionate supporter, your voice matters.
This is your opportunity to:
✔ Tell us what’s working
✔ Be honest about what’s not
✔ Share ideas
✔ Help set the direction for Handball in Aotearoa
Please take a few minutes to complete the Survey for Aotearoa Handball, answering the questions relevant to your role and experience.
Survey closes 26 February 2026
The Exec will be meeting on 28 February and 1 March to crunch through ideas on how we can best deliver on our core purpose of growing New Zealand Handball to its full potential, and delivering great Handball opportunities for all. The more voices we hear to contribute to that session, the better the outcome.
Key events for 2026
The domestic Handball programme for 2026 continues to take shape, but now with most of the key high-performance dates bolted down.
More details will follow on each of these events over the coming months, with further opportunities to get amongst it to be announced once details are known. And of course, in addition to these events each of our centres have their own initiatives under way, and we have some exciting school-based tournaments planned that will feature in future updates.
28 February-1 March, Auckland - Men’s junior and Open Try-out camp (for male players under 20 at the start of 2026, forming part of the IHF Trophy campaign but open to all comers). Additional try-out camps are planned to be held in Wellington, Canterbury and Otago during the first half of 2026.Contact youth@handball.org.nz for further details
28-29 March, Christchurch – Beach Handball Club Championships
23-24 May, Hamilton – opening weekend for HLA
27-28 June, Dunedin – 2nd HLA super weekend
10-13 September, Wellington – NZ Handball Cub Championships
17-18 October, Christchurch – HLA Finals weekend
6-11 December, Auckland – Oceania IHF Trophy for Junior Men (under 20 at the start of 2026) and Youth Men (under 18 at the start of 2026)
All of us have a part to play in the success of New Zealand Handball in 2026 and beyond. If you feel you have something to contribute, we would love to hear from you at secretary@handball.org.nz.
Yours in Handball
David Ireland
President, New Zealand Handball Federation