Sport & Fitness

Compared to the other major court sports, handball seems so, well, simple. One ball, two teams, two goals. Unlike netball, you can move off the spot when you’ve got possession and playing positions aren’t fixed. Unlike basketball, you have to release the ball within three seconds, the net isn’t ten feet above the ground, and – for those who love a bit of rough-and-tumble – body-checking is legal. Why, then, is this fast, exciting, dynamic and skilful Olympic sport virtually unknown in Britain? Feature continues

The answer, arguably, is because we didn’t invent it; the modern game was devised in nineteenth-century Scandinavia and Germany. Indeed, a Danish teacher came up with haanbold as a replacement for football, which his headmaster claimed was responsible for too many broken windows. At first the game was played outdoors by 11-a-side teams, and it was this version that made a brief Olympic appearance in 1936. However, an alternative format began to emerge and, when handball returned to the Games in 1972, it was as a seven-a-side indoor sport.
By this time, the British Handball Association (BHA) had been set up and, in 1969, the first international match played – a 30-12 thrashing by Italy. For the last three decades, though, handball has remained typical of so many ‘second-tier’ activities in this country: beloved by a small band of devotees but lacking the ability to promote itself more widely. Meanwhile, its global growth continues: the International Handball Federation now has 155 member countries.

The 2012 Olympics is British handball’s big chance. The host nation can enter teams in all 26 sports, but UK Sport has stipulated that only those with a strategic development and performance plan will be funded. The BHA were quick out of the blocks, and their task is to produce squads that can meet a set of realistic targets. ‘We will not win a medal in 2012,’ says chairman Stevie Neilson, ‘but ultimately this is about creating a legacy for the future. We must use this opportunity to lay the foundations.’

In July, the BHA launched a search for players from other sports, encouraging gifted youngsters to recognise that their best chance of competing in London may rest with handball. ‘Six years is not long,’ admits talent spotter in chief Mick Hegarty, ‘but if the athletes are good enough and truly committed, we are confident that we can get them to international standard.’

Central to this process is a link with the Danish Handball Federation, who are aiding Britain’s fast-track scheme. Eight men and three women have relocated to handball academies in Oure and Aarhus, at the vanguard of a group that could become 40-strong next year – when GB team training will also shift to Denmark. Among them is Kelsi Fairbrother from Ruislip Eagles, one of the strongest clubs in the UK.
Intrigued? Fancy charging around the 40m x 20m court flinging the ball into goal at nearly 100kph? Although the BHA is working hard to promote the game in schools, opportunities for adults are still limited. In addition to Ruislip, the other London clubs are Great Dane – founded, natch, by a group of Danish players living in the capital and based at the SCORE Centre in Leyton; Olympia, who also play out of Leyton; Richmond-based Thames; the men-only London Heathrow; and a new women’s team, London Squirrels. A relatively small pool of players, then – but one with no wish to keep this all-action game to themselves.

For more details of clubs in London contact England Handball on 01706 229354/www.englandhandball.com.