President's Update - April 2024

Tēnā koutou, Aotearoa Handball Whānau!

Hard to believe it is the end of April already – a third of the year gone, but plenty of Handball action still to pack into the remaining two thirds of the year.

Handball League Aotearoa

Perhaps one of the most significant initiatives we have undertaken in recent years, Handball League Aotearoa throws off on 4-5 May (Super Weekend) in Christchurch. Played at two separate full court venues (Celebration and Mainpower Stadiums) and featuring representative teams from all four of our recognised regions, Canterbury Handball has served up a fantastic launching pad for this bold new competition concept. Super exciting to have locked in a high performance competition that involves the entire nation with games spread from May to October!

Thanks to all of our volunteers from around the regions who have bought into the concept and supported the launch going ahead.  We acknowledge the challenges faced and appreciate the commitment of our wonderful Handball community to make it happen. We also appreciate your ongoing commitment to fill in the blanks between the book-end League weekends in Christchurch, with the winners in October able to claim bragging rights as New Zealand’s premier competitive Handball region for 2024 in either the Men’s or Women’s division (or both!).

If you can’t be there in person to witness the historic opening weekend, catch it on NZ Handball Live livestream.

Gathering the cream of New Zealand’s Handball talent together for the weekend to launch the League also provides opportunity for our National Women’s Team to get together for some early season training with their recently appointed coaching and management team https://handball.org.nz/news/2024/4/15/announcing-coaching-and-support-team-for-the-womens-national-team,  and for our senior Men to get together to reflect on what they achieved at this year’s Asian Champs. But the immediate representative focus for us is on the future…   

Junior and Youth Squads

Our coaches and management structure has now been confirmed for the Men’s Youth (Under 18 at the start of 2024) and Junior (Under 20) Teams to represent New Zealand at the Oceania IHF Trophy qualifiers at the end of the year (https://handball.org.nz/news/2024/4/13/announcing-coaches-and-team-delegation-for-mens-youth-and-junior-national-teams) We are now looking to build up those squads – while we hope to see many return from the previous campaign, there are plenty of openings for new faces to join the ranks. If you hold a New Zealand passport, were under 20 at the start of the year, and are interested in being considered but have not yet been in touch with the coaches, please check out the EOI registration details (https://handball.org.nz/news/2024/4/20/eoi-for-youth-and-junior-boys-high-performance-squads) or contact high-preformance@handball.org.nz.

We currently have EOIs out for those keen to be involved in the Women’s Youth and Junior squads, in either a playinghttps://handball.org.nz/news/2024/4/26/eoi-for-youth-and-junior-girls-high-performance-squads or coaching/managementhttps://handball.org.nz/news/2024/4/23/eoi-for-youth-and-junior-womens-coach-and-management-team capacity. We were thrilled with the depth of talent that came through last year for the IHF Trophy qualifiers held in New Caledonia, and are looking to build on that with an eye on 2025.

Queenstown and development

Of course, Handball is not just about High Performance. The traditional annual Social Tournament was once again successfully held in Queenstown 13-14 April, with over 40 players taking part. It is one of the more iconic events on the Handball calendar, much fun and camaraderie and a great opportunity for our Indoor handballers to celebrate all there is to enjoy about Handball in a stunning setting. The Sunday mash up of quick-fire, shortened mixed teams games was a particular highlight this year. Thanks to Queenstown Lakes District Council for its generous support of the event, Britt and the team at the Queenstown Events Centre for all their help, the Locker Room for its fine hospitality for the Saturday night social, and Leo and the rest of the Queenstown Handball community for hosting such an enjoyable event.

There are some great development initiatives happening around the country, from Invercargill to Auckland. In the past month NZHF has fielded requests to support new youth training initiatives in Taranaki, Wairarapa, Rotorua and Auckland, which is super encouraging – as is the depth of talent being grown out of Christchurch and Dunedin, in particular.

We are also currently working on some Introduction to Handball modules and coaching resources that we hope to be able to make available later in the year, as well as getting some competition underway amongst selected clusters of Intermediate Schools.

Beach

Sadly, the 2023-24 Beach campaign has now drawn to a close. Another strong showing on the sand, thanks to all those involved, particularly the new faces to the management team who made that happen. The domestic highlight had to be the North v South Championships held at the end of March, with a great turnout of our passionate Beach Handball community. Congratulations to the North Men and Women for a Strong showing retaining the Silverware for another year. Another highlight was hosting our first international side in the “Dirty Pigeons” at our New Zealand Champs. Thanks to the Australian-based side for coming over the ditch and we hope to extend our hospitality further over Oceania in the future. Having a number of teams go over to the Gold Coast to compete in the Australian Beach Handball Champs 18-21 April, with a couple of national team exhibition games against the Australians, was a great way to wrap up the summer of Beach.

At this stage we are still hopeful of getting teams together to represent New Zealand at the Oceania Under 16 Beach Handball qualifiers, currently planned for Rarotonga at the end of August. There are a few logistical challenges to overcome for that to happen, but fingers crossed that will go ahead. If you want to find out more information on this please see our Expression of Interest here (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSccS1hYSWNr-g79OLeJ5Bw34K7bMpRAa96gON5qKaDGUx1dTA/viewform)

Auckland Open and Club Champs

Once the Handball League Aotearoa opener is out of the way, domestic attention switches to the Auckland Open, taking place on 8-9 June. It’s not far away now, and we look forward to seeing another great turnout of the New Zealand Handball Community on the North Shore.

 Looking further ahead, Club Champs is all go for 6-8 September in Wellington. There has already been a lot of interest from Australian Clubs wanting to come over and take part, and this year’s NZHF showcase event is shaping up to be our best ever. Club registration details will be coming out soon. Make sure you lock it into your schedule!

We look forward to catching up on a handball court somewhere soon

David Ireland

President, New Zealand Handball Federation

EOI for Youth and Junior Girls High Performance squads

The NZHF is excited to kick-off the Youth and Junior Girls High Performance squads for 2024/25 seasons. These squads are open to all players born after January 1st 2004. We strongly encourage any young player with aspirations to play for New Zealand or be part of the training squad to improve their performance. We are also keen to hear from talented athletes from other sports who may want to accelerate a switch to handball.   

Application Deadline: 31 May, 2024

Register your interest now. Further information can be found in the form.

2023 IHF Trophy Oceania - Junior

2023 IHF Trophy Oceania - Youth

EOI for Youth and Junior Women's Coach and Management Team

The NZHF is excited to kick-off the Youth and Junior Girls High Performance squads for 2024/25 seasons. We are seeking motivated applicants to form the team management that will be responsible for developing the level of performance within the squad as part of the NZHF high-performance strategy.

We are seeking applicants for the following positions:

• Head Coach 

• Assistant Coach 

• Goalkeeping Coach 

• Team Manager 

• NZHF delegate liaison

Applicants are required to complete the information requested in the form and provide a supporting CV and cover letter no later than 19th of May 2024 (extended to 31st of May 2024). 

Please contact Karl Fitzpatrick at high-performance@handball.org.nz for more information. 

2023 IHF Trophy Oceania - NZ Youth and Junior Womens Teams

EOI for Youth and Junior Boys High Performance squads

The NZHF is excited to kick-off the Youth and Junior Boys High Performance squads for 2024/25 seasons. These squads are open to all players born after January 1st 2004. We strongly encourage any young player with aspirations to play for New Zealand or be part of the training squad to improve their performance. We are also keen to hear from talented athletes from other sports who may want to accelerate a switch to handball.   

Application Deadline: May 19, 2024

Register your interest now. Further information can be found in the form.

2022 NZ Mens Youth Team - IHF Trophy Oceania, Second Place

2022 NZ Mens Junior Team - IHF Trophy Oceania, Third Place

Announcing Coaching and Support Team for the Women's National Team

New Zealand Handball Federation is proud to announce the coaching and support team for the Women’s National Team.

Leanne Dawson : Manager 

Emilio Munoz : Strength and conditioning coach

Olivia Hodgson : Massage therapist

Aaron Bell : Media manager / Photographer

Justin Cope : Goalkeeper Coach

Ezer Handelsman : Assistant coach

Cyprien Pesques : Head coach

The team released the following statement.

The New Zealand women's handball staff team comprises a diverse group of volunteers dedicated to the future development of women's handball in NZ.

Cyprien Pesques - Head Coach

Leading the team is Coach Cyprien, who brings extensive experience from his 12-year career playing in France and more recently playing in New Zealand. With over six years of coaching experience in France and two years in New Zealand, Cyprien also holds a master’s degree in physical activity and coaching. Assisting him is Ezer Handelsman, from Israel with international playing experience. Ezer is enthusiastic about sharing his playing expertise and contributing to the team's coaching efforts and the vision for the team. Supporting the coaching staff is Manager, Leanne Dawson, Goalie Coach, Justin Cope, strength and conditioning coach, Emilio Munoz, a physiotherapist, massage therapist, Olivia Hodgson, and media manager, Aaron Bell. Together, they form a support network dedicated to the success and well-being of the women's handball team.

The primary objective of the 4-5 year campaign is to reintroduce New Zealand women onto the global stage of handball, with the aim to secure the team’s first win in an international competition. The ultimate goal is to participate in the World Cup in 2029.

2024 Training Camp

The coaching staff are also dedicated to raising the profile of handball and contributing to the development of local players who are passionate about the sport and capable of competing at an international level. Our primary goal for this year is to create a squad of players committed to improving their indoor high-performance technical and tactical skills. The intent is to foster a supportive and enjoyable learning culture among the team, with 5-6 training camps scheduled over the 2024 year.  

Across New Zealand, we have a small pool of talented individuals who are eager to develop into international-level players. Despite NZ handball having a relatively small pool of active players, the existing players demonstrate great commitment, a strong work ethic and a supportive team culture. The current squad are excited for the up-and-coming campaign,

With the NZ Handball Federation’s commitment to growing handball across NZ, and the introduction of the Handball League Aotearoa to support player development, we will likely see an increase in participation of women playing handball competitively.

Presently handball operates on a self-funded basis, common for minority sports. However, to compete on the international stage effectively, the team needs to establish mechanisms and pathways that provide financial support to playing, ensuring fairness and accessibility across the sport.

2024 Training Camp

Announcing Coaches and Team Delegation for Men's Youth and Junior National Teams

New Zealand Handball Federation is proud to announce the coaching staff and team delegation for the Men’s Youth and Junior National teams.

Youth Team Head Coach - Frédéric Han

Youth Team Assistant Coach - Paul Pringot

Junior Team Head Coach - Hayden Juranovich

Junior Team Assistant Coach -  Jack Gallagher

Goalkeeper Coach for both Teams - Alex Brown

Manager for both teams - Olly Donaldson

Head of Delegation - Thomas Schmider

Following a successful 2022-2023 campaign were the Junior team placing third and the Youth team finishing second at the 2022 IHF Trophy Oceania - representing Oceania at the 2023 IHF Men’s Youth World Championships. We wish the delegation more success in the future.

2022 IHF Trophy Oceania

Frédéric Han - Youth Team Head Coach

Fred formerly coached the Senior Mens National Team before moving his focus to youth development.

“The main goal is winning the next IHF trophy and look at opportunities on International Handball scene.”

In order to achieve the goal, the team needs to grow and for players to develop skills and confidence .

“Recent International campaigns have demonstrated that there is a future for NZ Handball. This future will need to be built with new players so it is a chance for them to show what they are capable of! We have a great pool of young athletes but most of them are just discovering Olympic Handball. We ought to continue recruiting talent as early as possible and giving them opportunities to perform.”

Hayden Juranovich - Junior Team Head Coach

Hayden has been the head coach for 3 years. He was the head coach of the youth team that played at the 2023 IHF Men’s Youth World Championships in Croatia. He plans to build on the progress that was made last year with the squad that participated in the world championship and qualify for the next IHF intercontinental phase.

“The current pool of players is talented and hard working. They have so much enthusiasm and passion for the game which is great to see.”

“The local handball community has been a major contribution to the team. Without their support and dedication to the sport , none of this would be possible. They put so much effort in each region to provide the best for these players.”

EOI - Under 16 Youth Beach Handball Oceania Qualifiers

Calling men and women youth beach handball players.  Interested in representing New Zealand in Youth Men's and Women's Beach Handball?  If you are born after the 1st of January 2008, register your interest.  The Oceania Qualifiers will be held in Rarotonga, Cook Islands.  Winners will represent Oceania at the IHF Youth Beach Handball World Championship.

Registration closes 30th March.

2017 Youth Beach Handball Oceania Qualifiers

You can hear from 2017 youth beach handball representatives - Paul Ireland and Gus Hamilton.  Learn their journey from youth representative to becoming a member of the Senior Men's National Team.  The interview starts with Senior Men's Captain Jimmy Cochrane.

Announcing the formation of the Handball League Aotearoa (HLA)

The New Zealand Handball Federation (NZHF) is excited to officially launch the inaugural Handball League Aotearoa (HLA) for the upcoming 2024 season. The HLA will be the premier showcase of handball in New Zealand for regional teams and provides more opportunities for players, coaches, and referees to be involved in high-level handball. With limited access to international games against more experienced opposition, it is crucial that New Zealand develops a strong local league. 

The HLA forms a key part of the NZHF’s strategy to address this challenge and aims to improve the quality of handball at the high-performance level across the country. It will be the primary league for aspirational players, referees, and coaches to showcase their talents and stake a claim to represent New Zealand in future international events. 

The first edition of the HLA will feature regional teams representing Auckland, Wellington, Canterbury, and Otago, competing across eight rounds throughout the regular season and culminating in a regional finals weekend to be held in Christchurch on October 12th and 13th .

Each team will play the other team from their Island four times, twice home and twice away, in addition to playing each of the two teams from the other Island twice (with double points). Points will accumulate throughout the season and the winning teams will be crowned at the conclusion of the regionals finals weekend in October. HLA will have both Women’s and Men’s divisions.

Crossover matches will take place at ‘Handball Super Weekends’ hosted by Canterbury Handball, with the first weekend on May 4th and 5th, and the finals on October 12th and 13th. The inner Island matches (Auckland vs Wellington and Canterbury vs Otago) will be arranged to take place in July and August, with each team hosting the other, or meeting in between.

For more details of the league, go to Handball League Aotearoa page and the event page of games.

President's Update - February 2024

Greetings, Aotearoa Handball Whānau

A belated welcome to 2024, Kiwi Handball style. It’s only the end of February, but already plenty has happened in 2024 on the New Zealand Handball front, and we are really excited about what the rest of the year holds in store.

Our Men’s Team doing New Zealand proud In the Middle East

What a fantastic way to finish an international tournament!

Our Senior Men’s Team knew they would be up against it when they headed to Bahrain in January for the 21st Asian Men’s Handball Championships. Our previous campaigns to the Asian Champs – Men and Women – have failed to produce a win, despite a couple of close results and periods of footing it with the best Asia had to offer.  After four years in the international wilderness, the Men kicked off the 2024 Championships with a lot of ground to make up.

That gap in the level of play we were used to certainly showed in the early games. By the final game of the Championships against India we were staring down the barrel of another winless campaign. But never count a Kiwi out! Superbly led by the ever-green Jimmy Cochrane and a player of the match performance from Paul Ireland, New Zealand powered to a five goal win to finally get the monkey off our back. With a mounting casualty list, it was a massive effort from our men and just reward for all the years of effort that got the team to that point. Congratulations to coach Roland Van Den Tillaar and all the squad for what they achieved. And thanks to our new-found supporters in Bahrain for getting behind the team!

National League

What the latest Asian Championships has taught us is that if we want to be competitive on the international stage, we have to increase the number of competitive games our players are exposed to. There is no substitute for game-time.

With the above in mind, and in response to feedback from around the regions of players hungry for more opportunities to flex their muscles, we are now putting the final touches on the National League concept floated last year. Keep an eye out for further updates over the next few weeks as we lock down the final logistics following consultation with the Regional Associations.

Meantime, we have a calendar of upcoming events. More details will be posted in our event page - https://handball.org.nz/events. Unfortunately, the Trans-Tasman  clash we had previously hoped to take place at the start of May has fallen through, but there’s still plenty coming up for everyone!

BEACH

2024 National Beach Womens Champion - Dirty Pigeons

2024 National Beach Mens Champion - Barad-dur Beach Bros

At this time of year, of course, Beach Handball dominates the domestic scene. Another superb programme on the sand has been put together, with the National Beach Championships having just successfully concluded in Christchurch. Congratulations to the Dirty Pigeons from Australia and the Barad-dûr Beach Bros for taking out the Women’s and Men’s titles respectively, and to all who took part. Fantastic to have a team from across the ditch taking part. We have a couple of teams looking to reciprocate for the Aussie Beach Club Champs in April – great to see the Trans-Tasman rivalry and Handball camaraderie thriving. Also pleasing to see the strong uptick in the number of female Beach players coming through, encouraging signs for the future of the Women’s game.

Next up on the Beach calendar is the North v South Championships taking place at the end of March. If you haven’t experienced the excitement of Beach Handball live, that should be a great event to get along to. 

Volunteers and admin

Now that we have got the NZ Exec organisational restructure bolted down - Organisation Structure, we are looking out for volunteers to help out with the various portfolio areas. The idea is that many hands make light work – and a heck of a lot more fun!

You can find the EOI details here EOI Form. No prior experience necessary, with each portfolio overseen by one of the Executive Committee. All we are after is people passionate about helping New Zealand Handball become the best that it can be. And there is no shortage of work to be done.

The other volunteer initiative underway at present is the appointment of coaches for our various high performance sides. EOIs are currently in circulation, and we hope to be in a position to make some announcements on that front later in March, with the immediate focus being the launch of the Junior and Youth Men’s campaign for the IHF Trophy later this year.

Of course, Handball in New Zealand is built on the backs of our wonderful volunteers all around the country, outside of the national Exec roles. It is great to hear news of various initiatives kicking off in our Handball centres to set up the year ahead. All the work you do to support grass roots Handball and keeping it going throughout the country is greatly appreciated. You are the life blood of our sport.

Last, and sorry to end on a negative note – we have been plagued by fake Facebook accounts of late, with various unfortunates trying to pass themselves off as NZ Handball. All we can ask is that you be wary, and check that any posting you are following or sharing is the real deal. Our official social media accounts can be found on the top right of our website - CONNECT WITH US. And remember, our livestream YouTube account is NZ Handball Live,we will not ask you to create an account nor pay subscription to view livestream games.

All the best for your Handball in the year ahead

David Ireland

President

Leading NZ for the final time

Transcript of the article written by Matt Markham published in Ashburton Guardian, 20 January, 2024

As his side reaches the business end of an international handball tournament on another continent, Mid Canterbury’s James Cochrane has mixed emotions.

Speaking to the Ashburton Guardian this week from Bahrain, where he’s captaining the New Zealand team in the Asian Handball Championships, the reigning Mid Canterbury Sportsperson of the Year knows the end is nigh.

He’s made the decision that this will be his last tour away with the national side and his return to New Zealand at the end of the month will mark the end of an international career that has sparked many incredible experiences and moments in the sport he loves.

“I’ve had an amazing career full of many opportunities, tours and experiences” the 36-year-old said.

“This will be my last tour. We have a bunch of youth players coming through.  It feels like it’s my time to step away as a player.

“I have a beautiful family of three children under five and my wife Bex at home.  She has always been so supportive of me in fulfilling my dreams, but for me it’s time to prioritise them more and spend so much more time with them.

“it’s not just the time away at tournaments, but the training and training camps away and build ups that take up many weekends throughout the year.

“I’m looking forward to that time with family.”

While new Zealand was yet to get a win on the board at the championships at the time of speaking to the guardian, Cochrane said the opportunity to once again lead his country was something he was very humbled by.

“I am very proud to lead this group of guys.  We have worked hard and have ambitious goals, so anything I can do to motivate, lead or inspire I will do.

“Whether that’s through words or actions, I hope I can do what I can for this group.

“To many people in New Zealand, they don’t know handball, but to me it’s a massive, big part of my life and to play for New Zealand is such a privilege, especially in a sport that’s given me so much.”

The Asian championship is regarded for New Zealand as the Olympics of Handball and while the wins might not have come yet in this particular tournament, being there and taking on the professional players of the game, was a huge result for the sport.

“Every game we play we continue to develop and grow.  The more we can do this the better it will be for us as a sport and the more competitive we’ll become at this level.

“Handball in New Zealand is a growing sport and the high-performance side of it is the strongest it has ever been.  A cliché as it sounds, I want to leave the sport in a better position than when I found it and I feel like I will be achieving that.”

New Zealand have already played powerhouse handball countries like Iran, South Korea, China and Saudi Arabia and were set to play Hong Kong in the early hours of Saturday morning.

They’ll round out their tournament against Chinese Taipei on Monday morning and then play one other game against a yet to be determined side before heading home.

Matches aren’t televised but can be viewed and watched delayed through the New Zealand Handball website and on their social media channels.

“Our second half against Saudi Arabia was probably our second-best half of the tournament.

“We still let too many goals in, but if we can play to this level against some of the other nations, we’ll give ourselves a chance to tip up some teams.”