NSW Club team Sydney University have won the inaugural Australian Men’s Indoor Handball Championships held at Sydney Olympic Park between March 14-16. Sydney Uni and Hills Heat handball competed in the group of five teams from 3 States. Hills Heat placed third in an exciting weekend of handball. Second placing team St Kilda, Victoria will also compete in the Oceania event in New Caledonia in June. See photos at the Handball Australia Facebook page and fixtures on the Handball Australia website.

Just a quick reminder that EOIs (Expressions of Interest) are due this Saturday for players seeking to be considered for Handball Australia national squads. Squads are Women’s, Youth (U18) Women & Men, Junior (U21) Women & Men – though actual age limits may vary pending competition events and Youth/Junior may be combined. We’re also seeking interest from Boys born between 1996-1998 for an additional possible opportunity.

Send forms to sec-gen@handballaustralia.org.au Forms are on the Handball Australia website at http://www.handballaustralia.org.au/#!hp-information/c7ip

NSW is hosting the Australian Men’s Club Championships qualifier 14-16 March at Sydney Olympic Park. Five teams (incl Hills and Sydney Uni from NSW) will be playing for the right to represent Australia in the Oceania qualifier for the SuperGlobe Continental tournament. We’re after a range of helpers for general and official duties. Could anyone interested in helping out please email Alex at president@handballaustralia.org.au

The NSW Handball AGM is planned for Wednesday 7pm on April 9 at Sports House, 6a Figtree Rd, Sydney Olympic Park.

All members are welcome. Clubs please send a delegate. Please RSVP to Secretary-General if you are planning to attend so we can make sure we have a room booking to accommodate the group. Bronwyn@nswhandball.com.au

NSW Club teams took 2 of the 3 titles on offer at the Australia Beach Handball Championships, including an all NSW final in the Mixed division. Congratulations to all our NSW participants and thanks to Allira Hudson-Gofers for organising us all.

Twenty teams from across Australia competed in the Australian Beach Handball Championships at Scarborough beach in Perth, Western Australia (WA) between February 13-16. Categories were Open Men’s, Women’s and Mixed.

Men (8 teams in two pools)
Gold: East Melbourne (Vic) def Tang (NSW) 2-0
Bronze: WA Gold (WA) def NT Harbourside (NT/NSW/ACT) 2-0

Women (6 teams in 1 pool)
Gold: Tang (NSW) def Melbourne BHC (Vic) 2-0
Bronze: WA Foxes (WA) def SA Sharknados (SA) 2-0

Mixed (8 teams)
Gold: Tang (NSW) def NT Harbourside (NT/NSW/ACT) 2-0
Bronze: Monash (Vic) def WA Vipers (WA) 2-1

For more details on rankings and fixtures http://beachhandball.camandco.com
And for more action photos from the event see http://www.facebook.com/handballaustraliamain

Thanks to Handball West (headed up by Denise Westhaeusler and Michael Bone) for organising the event at a great venue.

The Australian women’s team is performing well at the World Championships, currently on in Serbia. Despite going down to Germany 15:36, the girls held the European handball powerhouse team even for the first fourteen minutes, lost ground in the middle, and then again regrouped to hold them to a solid end. Player of the Match was Sally Potocki, from Sydney Uni (currently playing in Germany). See the Handball Australia Facebook page
and the IHF website for Fixtures and Results (and streaming details on Home page).

The NSW Handball dinner was a really enjoyable night with many new faces as the juniors and their families celebrated with us. It was held at the Canarvon Golf Club at Lidcombe overlooking the links.

The NSW junior teams were presented with their medals, as were the senior league winners (Sydney Uni women and Hills Heat Men) and player contributions acknowledged. Russell Garnett was also inducted into the NSW Hall of Fame – he passed on the banner to our juniors and encouraged them to continue as he had.

Looking forward to see the juniors back in force next year and playing in our regular competition.

NSW Handball’s end of season presentation dinner is being held at the Canarvon Golf Club Lidcombe on Sunday Dec 6. Details at https://www.facebook.com/events/1387950464780206/

NSW Handball is seeking expressions of interest and applications for the following coaches and manager’s positions. These positions are for a 2 year term commencing in 2014 with a review after 12 months. Coaches are required for the Under 21, Under 18, Under 16 and Under 14 teams in both the men’s and women’s categories. Coaches will need to be available to attend the school’s championships as well as all training sessions.
Applications close with the secretary, Bronwyn Thompson, on 31 January 2014 at bronwyn@nswhandball.com.au.

With summer approaching, Beach Handball is back. Bring your friends and head to the beach on Sunday afternoons. Details on the NSW Beach Handball Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/155995061086914/