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XVIIIth Women’s Handball World Championship Diaries

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Violi Calvert with Bruno Pottard [Plaisir Mondial Site Director] and few volunteers [in red]

Today was our last day here in Plaisir.  Unlike most of this week, the sun was out and there were blue skies for most of the day.   So with light steps, we made our way to Palais des Sports Pierre de Coubertin to watch Australia play its last game in the World Championships at 12 noon.

And what a game it was!  Australia played an intense defence style for most of the match.  However, this was a case of a victory so near yet so far! 

A bit of information on Paraguay – A check of the International Handball Federation website of information showed that Paraguay had not participated in the last four World Championships.

Australia had the throw off, with Aminta Thomas opening the scoreboard at 2:16 game time.  This was levelled by Paraguay with a goal from a fastbreak at 3:30 game time.   Tight defence by the Aussies resulted in three minute blocks wherein Paraguay did not score.  Australia had good chance of levelling the score towards the end of the first half.  But a number of technical faults and missed shots, including three penalties, saw the first half closed with the score of Australia 8 : Paraguay 9.

Second half was very like the first half.  Australia did not let up on in its intense defence tactics.  It was great to see that our players looked vital right through to the end and looked as though they were going to pull a win. However, again we trailed by one goal in the second half.  Final score was Australia 14 : Paraguay 16.

As usual, the Australian Support Team was very lively and vocal.  The Support Team had the whole of the stadium chanting “Let’s go Aussies, Let’s go!” every time Australia had possession of the ball. The Australian Support Team was boosted with the attendance of Seb Louis and a friend.  Seb who is from New Zealand and the IT Officer of the Oceania Handball Federation is a keen handballer himself and makes time to attend most of handball events.   Thanks to all for coming far and wide to support our players.  It was lovely to have met you all.

Lilly Maher shooting for goal - Photo John Calvert

Talking about the Australian Support Team, it had been recognised by the venue officials and the spectators as the best group of supporters.  The venue officials had made concession to sit the Aussies together despite their tickets would have seated them in different parts of the stadium.  On behalf of the Aussies, we would like to thank the Site Director (Plaisir) Mr Bruno Potard; the Director of Organisation in “Ile de France” Mr Alain Dessentenne; and the President of Organisation in “Ile de France” Mr Georges Potard and all the lovely volunteers for all their help and making our stay in Plaisir a memorable one.

At the Media Conference, Head Coach Katsu Kinoshita expressed his admiration for the Team’s performance.  He said that “we would take away a lot of valuable experience that we could build upon.  We had a goal to achieve on a personal and Team level.  I believe we achieved them, although not to the level we would have wanted.  I wished it could have been better.  I admire the passion each player has for the sport and their desire to keep improving.”

There was laughter in the Media Conference when a member of the Press commented on Paraguay Coach’s animated and very vocal instructions from the sideline.  Paraguay Coach, Oscar Ayala said that he and the Paraguay Team came to the WC with a deep passion to perform well.  He felt that it was “mission accomplished” with the Team being placed on 23^rd position.  He said “I admit that I and the players need to learn how to channel our passion to be more effective.  We have learned that there are other ways to play the game.”

In addition to my comments, as an avid handball fan only, I wish to share below comments from a few people with more experience and technical knowledge of the sport.

Vernon Cheung, Assistant Coach – “Definitely the best game was saved for last.  Knowing it was the last chance to make a good performance, the Team gave everything.  There were some lapses in focus at times but the fighting spirit of togetherness brought them back to equal it in the second half and a chance to win the game.  Overall we were happy because we started to believe in each other.  A great effort from everyone.  The players should be proud!”

Raelene Boulton ( No 8 ) preparing to take a 9 metre foul, with team mates Katia Boyd ( No 4 ) and Solveig Petersen ( No 7 slightly obscured ), creating a 'wall' - Photo John Calvert

Katia Boyd (Player No. 4; plays in Lugi, Elite Division in Sweden; 2007 WC is her third World Championships)  - “The most impressive aspect of the last game was the effectiveness of our defence.  We kept up the pressure for 60 minutes and kept our opponents to 16 goals.  Very impressive.  Today we showed we have taken a step forward and that we can play aggressive defence the whole game and I am proud of all the girls for achieving that.  The next step forward we need to take is in attack as today we still made too many simple technical errors.  I look forward to the next World Championships and taking our Team one step further….with belief, passion and heart!”

Dorothy Potocka, (Referee in Australian handball competition; mother of Sally -Player No. 29):  “I thought it was a very physical game.  The game was anybody’s; either side could have won it.  We needed to play more aggressive tactics when they were one player down.  My heart was willing the Team to win, but that did not happen. I have been told by the venue officials that we had the best group of supporters.”

Dorothy also shared with us her news that she was advised today that IHF had accredited her to attend the Quarter Final, Semi Final and Final games in Paris to do observing duties.  She has to observe the Official Table’s performance.  This was recognition of Dorothy’s in-depth technical knowledge of the sport.  In fact, she is the only person in the Oceania Region who can instruct in table duties for IHF qualification.

Congratulations to the Australian Women’s Team for an impressive campaign at the 2007 WC.  We are all proud of you. Congratulations too to the Officials for a job well done!  

The next important events for the Australian Handball Federation would be to qualify in 2008 for the Women’s Junior and Youth, and the Senior Men’s World Championships (Croatia). 

To our readers, thank you for your support.  Special thanks too to our Photographer for pictures and our friendly Webmaster for his help with the diary notes.

Au revoir France!   Merci pour les souvenirs.  Farewell. Thank you for the memories.

All the best…Cheerio…Mabuhay…Zivili.

Violi Calvert

Media and Public Relations

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A few Australian supporters at the game against Dominican Republic - Photo John Calvert

We are now on our fourth day in Plaisir!   Today started okay enough – we moved to a hotel room with better 'wifi' connection.  It was also not raining which encouraged us to venture out for late brunch of lovely pizza and pasta. 

En route to the venue, we picked up a few Aussies who caught the train in from Paris – Lee Schofield, Darryl McCormack, Joel and Karin Blondell.  They are all “skinny”, the train station is only close by and it was raining, so we felt confident the Giandarme would be lenient if we got noticed by them. As we were going into the venue, we bumped into Dorothy Potocki who flew in this morning.

Brief information about Dominican Republic - A check of the information on the International Handball Federation website indicated that that they were not in the last five World Championships.  This could mean since then they have developed a much stronger team that qualified them for the 2007 WC.

Dominican Republic [DOM] won the toss and opted to defend.  The first attempts at goal by both sides were unsuccessful.  Raelene Boulton was first to score in the match, from a pass from Katia Boyd, at 3:04 game time.  Although not achieving what they set out to do, there were good aspects of the Team’s play during the first half.  The Team’s defence was energetic which resulted in blocks of two – three minutes that DOM was not able to score. Cathy Kent as usual made a number of brilliant saves. It is also worth noting that Caitlin Wynne had started to find her usual form back and Olivia Doherty had a successful comeback from injury.  Despite the valiant effort by the Team, half time closed with a score of Australia 7 : DOM 12.

Overall, the second half was not much different from the first half. Australia had a  number of fast breaks and intercepts but the missed shots and technical faults let the team down, once again.  Towards the end of the match, Australia exerted better defence and tried to hold off DOM from scoring.  However, successive five goals by DOM cemented its win.  Final score was Australia 14 : DOM 26.

Lilly Maher ( back to photo No. 6 ) being fouled in attack, as Olive Doherty ( No. 3) watches - Photo John Calvert

After the game, I made a bee-line to Darryl McCormack for his comments about the game and the Team.  For those who may not know Darryl, he had represented Australia in four World Championships.  In two of those WC’s, he was Team Captain.  He also has been playing for H65 Club in Sweden with Lee Schofield in the last two years.  Darryl’s comments:  “Australia has brought a new style of handball to the World Championship.  For an “under-developed” handball country to bring a new style of playing is exciting.  The girls showed the true Australian spirit right to the end of the game, no matter what the score was.  The good thing was that they also played more traditional handball in this game, with fast starts and fast breaks.  It was good that they were able to score ‘easier’ goals against the opponents.  Although it was not apparent, there was good structure with the defence and positional changes.  However, fatigue and not communicating well with each other during play affected their game.  It is important to note that to play 60 minutes in a high level competition demands high energy.”

I also managed to obtain comments from Olivia Doherty, who had this to say:  “"Being sidelined due to injury in our first three games was mentally and emotionally difficult. Perhaps one of the hardest things I have faced in my short handball career. That being said, my appreciation when taking the court for my first time against Argentina, was far greater after experiencing so much frustration and disappointment. Tonight, after regaining my confidence, I was able to completely focus on playing hard. It was nice to score a couple of goals against Dominican Republic. I look forward to 'unleashing' again in our final game against Paraguay tomorrow!"

Sally Potocki ( holding the ball ) looks for a pass or a gap in defense - Photo John Calvert

At the Media Conference, Head Coach Katsu Kinoshita congratulated the Dominican Republic Coach.  Katsu also said that “the Australian Team had performed well despite the result.  We still have one more game to play.  Although we are the ‘under dogs’, we held our heads high and are still working towards our goals.  We hope to come back a much better Team next time around.”

From comments from players who had been in the Australian Team in past WC’s and in 2000 Sydney Olympics, the current Team is far improved and stronger one.  The Team had set goals which they have achieved but not to the level they were aiming at.   

C'est la vie.  Demain est un autre jour.  That is life.  Tomorrow is another day.

Go Aussies!

Cheerio for now,

Violi Calvert

Media and Public Relations

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Violi Calvert outside the venue with the Australian flag waving in the background - Photo John Calvert

Bonjour!  Today is “rest day” for everybody.  Or at least should be, but because 'wifi' in our hotel had not worked for the last two nights, we had to go to the Media Centre to communicate with our friendly Webmaster and get the blog and photos through.  Paris can wait another day.

This morning’s weather was much better than yesterday’s.  When we got to the stadium and saw the Australian flag waving in the breeze, we felt the pride that the Team has in representing its country. In turn, we the supporters are very proud of the players for all their hard work and their passion for handball and Australia.

So yesterday’s match against Argentina was not what everyone expected. I guess we could say we had “a bad hair day”.  Seriously, the game was not all ‘ugly’ as it had good aspects as well.  For example, there were blocks of two-three minutes where the opponent was not able to score.  Also great to see Olivia Doherty back on court to help the Team and Meg Miller having a number of great saves.

After lunch, we went to the Team’s hotel.  The Team officials and players held a lengthy meeting in the morning.  I guess that was to review yesterday’s performance and also set their goals for the next games.    We caught up with some of the players and were pleased to capture on camera their smiling faces.

Later in the evening, we also met up with the Team when they watched the match between Argentina and Dominican Republic.  No doubt they are particularly taking notes of the style of play of Dominican Republic players who are our last President’s Cup opponents.

Smiling faces greet the new day from a few of the players - Photo John Calvert

I would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the Team officials, the unsung heroes who work tirelessly 24/7 when away with the Team.  We have referred to comments from Katsu Kinoshita [Head Coach], Vernon Cheung [Assistant Coach] and Steve Jackson [Team Leader] in previous diary notes.  I now managed to catch Di Terril-Wynne [Team Manager], Laura Baquie [Physiotherapist] and Petra Winkler-Hirter [Massage Therapist] to get brief comments about the tournament, team, challenges and joys.

Di Terril-Wynne:  “These World Championships were always intended to provide a wonderful learning opportunity for our young team but our girls have steadily worked towards achieving our goals and have improved with every performance.  As a result of the game against FYR Macedonia and other 15 minute terrific performances, they now have a belief that should only inspire them to strive for even greater improvement.  This is a team to be very proud of!”

Laura Baquie:  “The girls have been courageous in facing their injuries and niggles and have displayed strong commitment in maintaining and improving their physical fitness prior to and during the World Championships.  Olivia Doherty, in particular, displayed great spirit and determination when side-lined from the competition in Saint Brieuc to come back and provide significant contribution to the President’s Cup. A fun-filled spirited team with young talent emerging through the ranks!”

Some members of the team pose for a photo as they watch Argentina and Dominican Republic play - Photo John Calvert

Petra Winkler-Hirter:  “It’s a great experience being part of the Team during the World Champs.  It’s rewarding to see the players giving 100% and knowing that I assisted their recovery.  I am glad that we haven’t had any major injuries so far and hope we won’t have any more, so that we have a strong team for the last two games.  We have to give our best and need all the support we can get.”

With all these positive vibes, we are all looking forward to the Team’s next games.

Remember our date tomorrow at 14:30 p.m. local time [00:30 Australia time] to watch Australia play Dominican Republic.

All the best Team!  We are right behind you.

Cheerio for now,

Violi Calvert

Media and Public Relations

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Violi Calvert next to a 'Sold Out' sign for the Australia vs Argentina Match - Photo  John Calvert

Welcome to Plaisir!  As you can see from the poster, tickets were sold out!  This was really not a surprise considering that the capacity of the Pierre de Coubertin Gymnasse is only 2400 and the tickets cost only 8 Euro Dollars.   

Today turned out to be a bleak day… it was raining and the chilly wind was vicious.  The game was scheduled for 6.30 p.m. but we thought it was a good idea to find and have a look around the venue in the morning to save us the worry of finding our assigned location within the stadium closer to game time.  On the way out, we came across Arlene and Tao Gofers who also checked out the venue.  So far, day was not so bad. 

Then we set off to visit the Team in their hotel and caught up with Steve Jackson, Team Leader. Unfortunately, it was rest period so we did not get to take photos as intended.  As it was nearly 2 p.m. we decided to have lunch at their hotel.   However, when served it was not what I ordered and had to be returned!  Hmmm. 

Anyway, back to handball.  Brief information about Argentina – places in previous World Championships:    2005 – 20^th; 2003 – 23^rd; 2001 – did not qualify; 1999 – 24^th. 

Just as the day had not progressed well, likewise with the Team’s game.  From doing okay in the first fifteen minutes or so during the first half, the Team slowly went on a decline.  The fire the players had in the last two games in the Preliminary Round was not evident.  The gap in the score at the close of half time was still respectable, with score at Argentina 15 : Australia 8. 

Caitlin Wynne breaking through the Argentine defense as Raelene Boulton ( No. 8 ) and Katia Boyd watch on - Photo John Calvert

During the second half the Team tried to hold off the Argentineans.  However, the South Americans doggedly pushed on to further increase their lead. Their defence and goalkeeping denied several attempts at goal by Australia. Also, whilst the opponents continually succeeded with their shooting, our girls’ missed shots increased.  In fact, it was only Nicky Hughes who was able to score a goal for Australia during the second half.  The final score was very disappointing for the Team and the supporters - Argentina 31 : Australia 9. 

At the Media Conference, Australian Head Coach Katsu Kinoshita was asked to comment about the Team’s game.  He said:  “We need to pick up what we started in the beginning of the World Championship.  Unfortunately we did not achieve what we set out to do today.  We’d need to perform better in the next couple of days.”  Katsu offered his congratulations to the Argentinean Coach who said that during the first half, the teams were playing at the same level. 

Cathy Kent was also interviewed by Jean-Yves Lhors of www.handzone.com , a French handball website.  Cathy was asked why she wanted to play handball in France.  She explained that after playing for three years in Sweden, she wanted to try a new style of handball, and cheekily said because of the warmer weather. 

Earlier today, two Australian handballers who are based in Sweden - Lee Schofield and Darryl McCormack – arrived to help cheer on the girls.  After the game, I “picked on” Lee to ask for his comments on the game, whilst indicating to Darryl he would do the next one.  Lee had played handball during the 2000 Sydney Olympics Game and in four World Championships. 

Solveig Petersen sees a gap in the Argentine  defense - Photo John Calvert

Lee said that: “This was first match I have seen although I have been following the results and statistics on the internet.  I did not see the best of the girls today.  I am still proud that they did not give up and tried to hold onto to the last minute of the game.  From what I heard, the training camps and non-competition games in Switzerland had been great experience for the girls. The game against FYR Macedonia showed how far the girls have developed.  There are two matches to go and I hope that the girls get some reward for their hard work.” 

Tomorrow is a handball-free day for the Team.  Hopefully the players would be rested and feel re-charged before they play against Dominican Republic. 

Hope you stay with us as we continue to cheer on and support our Team. 

Cheerio for now,

Violi Calvert

Media and Public Relations

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Hello from La Verriere which is about 20 km away from Plaisir where Australia will play the President’s Cup matches! We could be forgiven for claiming that today we have had a “moving day“ in more ways than one.  The Team, officials and supporters spent most of today moving from St Brieuc to a new accommodation either in Plaisir or in a close by suburb.

We were also ‘moved’ by all the warm and positive comments about the Team’s performance yesterday.  The animated conversation in the Media Centre ranged from expression of surprise to admiration of how Australia gave FYR Macedonia a fright for most of the first half.

Today’s issue of Le Telegremme reported ‘Une formidable surprise’ that Australia played so well against a much experienced team.  Ouest-France stated that it was of little surprise that Cathy Kent was given the award 'Player of the Match' for some of the brilliant saves she made. It also spoke about the comments made at the Media Conference by Katsu Kinoshita, Australian Women’s Team Head Coach, that the Team focussed on their objectives rather than what was on the scoreboard. Australia is now keen to implement the lessons learnt from the previous games in its performance in the President’s Cup.

One player who is especially eager to be back on court, after sustaining an injury to her quadricep during the training camp in Switzerland, is Olivia Doherty. It was decided to “reserve” her to play in the President's Cup tournament rather than risk making it worse by playing in the Preliminary Round.  She warmed up with the Team before the game last night and would be okay to play in the next games.

In one of Katsu’s interview, he referred to the ‘strong sense of mateship’ as one of the Team’s strengths. The players all believe that whatever results they get is due to team effort. This includes the ones who spend a short time on court or sit on the bench as they give the Team the assurance that help is always on hand.  In addition to this, there is incredible on-court and behind-the-scene work undertaken by the officials. 

As the Team prepares for the game against Argentina tomorrow, I wish to share a poem which captures the pride of the Team’s supporters.  Thanks to Stuart, father of Kim Tennant, for this offering:

To support our handball girls

We fill with pride

We are on a fantastic ride

Our girls they do us proud

And we, the Cheer Squad do it loud

Cos we Aussies are the real true blue

Aussie, Aussie, Aussie through and through!

Hope you stay with us in Plaisir. Cheerio for now!

Violi Calvert

Media and Public Relations

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Violi Calvert outside the Mont Saint Michael - Photo John Calvert

Today is our last day here in St Brieuc!  As the game was scheduled for 6.30 p.m., some of the Team supporters took the opportunity to play tourists during the day.  The Gofers went for a drive to Dinan which is a 15^th century city; whilst we took the opportunity to visit the famous Gothic abbey, the Mont Saint Michel which is located on the coast of Normandy in northwest France. The Benedictine abbey is an architectural masterpiece built in the 13^th century.

The spirit in the Australian camp was still high from yesterday’s result.  The local paper Le Telegramme highlighted in its news report Australia scoring the first goal in the game and that it was only after several attempts that Russia was successful in scoring back.

The Australian Women’s Team Leader, Steve Jackson, was still feeling ecstatic and proud that his charges held back the current World Champion from scoring for approximately five minutes [between the 8:45 to 13:17 game time] in yesterday’s match. 

A bit of information on today’s opponent, FYR Macedonia – places held in previous World Championships:  2005 – 15^th; 2003 – not qualified; 2001 - 21^st; 1999 - 8^th;  and 1997 - 7^th.  

Allira Hudson-Gofers ( with ball) fouled - Photo John Calvert

Much to everyone’s delight, except their opponents’, Australia’s performance today was even better compared to the previous day’s play. In fact they had a brilliant first half. Our players were even more confident and focussed on their individual and team objectives. They dominated the play for the first 25 minutes or so. The Team’s intense defence and attack moves rattled the Macedonians. The first goal of the game was made by Katia Boyd from a pass from Raelene Boulton at 1:52 game time.  This was followed by two goals by Allira Hudson-Gofers which brought the score at FYR Macedonia 0 : Australia 3 at 4:11 game time.  Then they led the match by 4 points [FYR Macedonia 4 : Australia 8] at 14:16 into play and denied their opponents the opportunity to score for at least three blocks of five minutes or so. There were several fantastic saves, including one for a penalty shot, made by the Australian Goalkeeper, Cathy Kent.  However, two minutes before the close of half time the other team was able to regroup and managed to claim a three goal lead.  Half time score was FYR Macedonia 12 :  Australia 9.

The crowd was more animated today, with the Australian Support Team leading it to a very vocal cheering for the Australian Team. Together they chanted “Let’s go Aussies, let’s go”, interspersed with the “oi oi oi” cheers.  I imagine that tomorrow there would be a few of them with sore throats.

During the break, I managed to get some comments about the Team from Karin, mother of Joanna Blondell:  “It’s good to see the first game nerves disappearing and the girls showing us that they are in the match and making their opponents work a bit more for their goals.  Full marks to the Team for not giving up (despite the scoreboard) and for showing everyone that they appreciate the support from the public.”

Throw it to me, throw it to me! - Photo John Calvert

The second half saw a more invigorated and determined FYR Macedonian Team. In the first four minutes of coming back from the break, it successively scored four goals. It then slowly continued to widen the gap despite the steadfast effort by the Aussies who held their opponents scoreless in two minute blocks.  Right to the last second, they did not give up.  The final score was FYR Macedonia 30 : Australia 13. Despite what was on the scoreboard, the crowd cheered the Australian Team for its  valiant effort and skilled play..

In addition to the enthusiastic support to the Australian Team by the spectators, the Player of the Match Award was presented to Australia’s Goalkeeper, Cathy Kent, in recognition of her brilliant performance.  Congratulations Cathy! Usually this award is not given to a player of the losing Team but there was no doubt in the WC officials’ minds that Cathy rightfully deserved it.  Cathy was quick to point out that what she achieved was due to Team effort and praised the way the players defended.

In response to a question at the Press Conference, Australian Women’s Team Head Coach, Katsu Kinoshita, explained that the Australian Team was not focussing on what was on the scoreboard.  Instead the Team was concerned with achieving what they meant to be doing. He admitted it was unexpected that the Australian Team would lead for most of the first half.  He also said that the Team would take the valuable experience from the Preliminary Round to further improve its performance.

When Katsu was asked whether he thought the Women’s Team performed better since he had taken over the position of Head Coach, he said that it would not be right for him to comment on “what is past” and instead passed the question on to Cathy Kent who was also at the Press Conference.  Cathy said that she had been in three World Championships and comparatively speaking, she felt that the Team is at its best level since she started playing but believed it needs to continue improving to be more competitive in world handball. 

The Coach of FYR Macedonia congratulated the Australian Team for the way it played the game against his Team.  He admitted that they underestimated the ability of the Australian Team and decided to give their younger players the experience of playing in the WC in the starting line up.  However, this proved to be an incorrect judgement so they had to call on their more experienced players and even then it took them to the near end of the first half before they could turn the game in their favour.

Asked to comment after the game, Assistant Coach Vernon Cheung said “Tonight was another step in the right direction. The first half showed that the Australian Team could be competitive on the world stage. With all the excitement, focus was lost in the second half; however, the “never say die” attitude won over the crowd!”

As we said in the first diary note, it was hoped that the Women’s Team would match, if not better the achievements of the Men’s Team at the Men’s World Championship held in Germany in January 2007.  Well, they have certainly matched it so far; the Women’s Team still has a chance to “do better” by improving its ranking after the Placement Match.

Before then, the Team is focussing on its performance at the President’s Cup which will be held from 6^th December in Plaisir, France.  In this phase of the tournament, Australia will play:

So it is au revoir to St Brieuc and its lovely handball community. To the Team, Good luck as you go in the President's Cup matches!

To our readers, hope you stay tuned.  Voir vous tous dans Plaisir!

Violi Calvert

Media and Public Relations

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Chabala ( Games Mascot ) with volunteers and Violi Calvert ( left)  - Photo John Calvert

Hello again from St Brieuc!  Today started in a much better way - the sun was shining for a change.  I thought this was a good omen that the Team would have a great game.  Everyone was relaxed not only due to the sunny day, but also because the game was not till 6.30 in the evening.   A number of the players spent their free time between 10 a.m. and 12 noon doing some retail therapy at the shops close by their hotel.  Some of the supporters also took the opportunity to enjoy coffee whilst talking about handball – what else is there to talk about?

As we previously mentioned, today Australia plays against Russia.  Another tough day in the office for the Australian Team.  Russia won the 2005 World Championship; was in 7^th place in 2003; world champion in 2001 and 12^th place in the 1999 World Championship.  It was also placed 4^th  in the 2004 European Championship.

Before the game, I was able to catch up and got comments from a few members of the Australian Support Team.  Kim Tennant’s father, Stuart commented:  “What a great time we supporters are having.  It is just fantastic to be in St Brieuc with the Team – Go Aussie (forever)!”  Her grandfather, Ian Struthers summed up his view of the World Championship as “Pride, hope and fun!  Oz Forever!”   Rosa Boyd’s mother Helen also commented: “What a gallant effort from the girls!  The atmosphere is electric and the local supporters are right behind us.  Go girls!”

Katia Boyd anticipating destination of ball - Photo John Calvert

At today’s game, Australia had a good first half! Russia had the throw off but was unable to score from their first attempts at goal.  Raelene Boulton, Australia’s Team Captain, was first to score from a pass from Katia Boyd, at 0:53 game time.  Australia led by 1 for one minute and twenty six seconds before Russia levelled it to 1:1.  The Australian players were more relaxed compared to yesterday’s game against Brazil.  Their defence was tight although their enthusiastic play resulted in a number of technical faults being committed.  There were also a number of brilliant saves made by Cathy Kent.  Half time score was Australia 4: Russia 22.

Australia again had a good start with having more shots at goal than Russia for the first two  minutes and thirty-six seconds of the second half.  Aminta Thomas’ second attempt at goal from the left wing was successful and opened the Team’s scoring at 33:41 game time. After being surprised by Australia’s tenacity during the first half, Russia tightened its defence during the second half.  This may have forced more technical faults being committed by Australia.  Nevertheless, Australia could be proud that it held the current World Champion at the final score of Australia 7 : Russia 40.  Unfortunately, this score does not reflect the energetic and passionate play by the Australian Team.

Head Coach Katsu Kinoshita said that he was happy that the Team achieved what they set out to do.  In preparing for the game, he impressed upon the players that “they should not be overtaken or overwhelmed by the thought that they are playing against the world champion”.  He felt that “the players were specifically focussed during the first half and showed that they believe in themselves.”

Anxious Russians after Australian attempt at goal  - Photo John Calvert

Vernon Cheung, Assistant Coach, also commented:  “We were happy with the intense start which continued throughout the first half.  In the second half, the fatigue set in and the Russian size and strength were too much to handle.  Overall it was a very pleasing result against the potential 2007 World Champion.”

Raelene Boulton also said: “We were happy to kept Russia to forty goals.  We surprised them that we could defend.  We learned a lot on our attack and hopefully we can improve on that in tomorrow’s game.”

During the Press Conference, the Russian Coach, Evgeny Trefilov also expressed his admiration for the Australian Team.  When asked how he would compare the game his team played today with yesterday’s, he said that it would not be right to do that as Australia is a young handball nation in comparison with FYR Macedonia.  He also felt that Australia has the potential to keep improving.

To the Team, L'Australie bien faite!  We are all proud of you.

To all of you, once again: À tous d'entre vous, dites merci pour votre soutien!

Cheerio for now,

Violi Calvert
Media and Public Relations

Left to right: Joel & Karin Blondell; Jenny & Joey Thomas - Photo John Calvert

Bonjour!  Despite waking up to a showery and bleak looking day, I was feeling excited thinking about the Australian Team playing its first game in the WC.  But first things first, we drove around the town centre to find breakfast outside the hotel.  No such luck as everything was shut till 10 a.m. so we went back to Eskemm Hotel where we are staying.

As they say in the classics, 'every cloud has a silver lining'.  We met part of the Aussie Supporters Team also having their breakfast in the hotel’s dining room!  They were from Allira Hudson-Gofers’ family; namely David Hudson [Allira’s other half] and parents Arlene and Tao Gofers.  Well, I thought this was an excellent opportunity to get some comments from them.  David said “I’m very proud of Allira’s achievement, so far and I know that she’s going to ‘lay the smackdown’ on the opposition.  Go Ostraya!”  Proud mother Arlene had these to say:  “We have travelled for 34 hours, come approximately 27 thousand kilometres to watch our daughter Allira be part of the 24 national teams playing in the Handball World Championship.  “Excited” is understated; “proud” is insufficient but we are here to support Allira and the rest of the Australian Women’s Handball Team.  We wish them the best!”

A bit of information about Brazil – They were placed 7^th in the 2005 Women’s World Championship, their best place ever.  In 2003, they were placed 20^th; 12^th in 2001; 16^th in 1999.  They won the PANAM Confederation 2007 Championship.

During the first half, the Aussies appeared tense.  They committed a few travel, double-dribble and charging violations.  The Brazilian Team which has taller and bigger players, played a tight defence which blocked several good attempts at goal by the Australians.   The first half also showed some brilliant saves by Cathy Kent, the Australian Goalkeeper, and intercepts by Katia and Rosa Boyd.  The first Australian goal was from Aminta, courtesy of a pass from Katia at 13:25 into play, which brought the score at 10 – 1.   Half time score was Brazil 21: Australia 6.

Australia ( Green ) watching a lobbed attempt  at goal from Brazil. - Photo John Calvert

During the break, we got to meet the rest of the Australian Support Team -  Aminta Thomas’ mother Jenny and brother Joey; Johanna Blondell’s mother Karin and older brother Joel; Rosa Boyd’s mother Helen; Solveig Petersen’s boyfriend Martin Sorensen; Kim Tennant’s father Stuart and grandfather Ian Struthers. The Team’s loud cheering was certainly very vocal and lively.

The second half saw a more relaxed Australian Team, which held the overall goal score with a respectable margin.  Although Australia scored three less goals, they decreased Brazil goals by six during the second half [Brazil 15: Australia 3]. Australian defence during the second half was better. There were more fast breaks which unfortunately were effectively checked by Brazil. The crowd showed its admiration for the tenacious play by our players by enthusiastically cheering them on.   Bearing in mind that we were playing a much highly-ranked team in world handball, we are proud of what the Team has achieved.  The final game score was Brazil 36 : Australia 9.

After the game, three Australian players met media representatives for short interviews.  Kim Tennant answered questions from Ronan Tanguy of Telegrane de Brest newspaper; Cathy Kent had quite a long interview by Henri Seckel of www.handball2007.fr whilst Caitlin Wynne was interviewed by Loic Tachon who also writes for Ouest France.  The three players overall response indicated that they came up fighting and working towards agreed goals, and despite an unimpressive score line they stood their ground.  They also considered that the valuable experience they had from the game would help them improve further.

Australian Head Coach, Katsu Kinoshita ( Green Top) at the Press Conference - Photo John Calvert

I managed to get comments about the game from Australian Head Coach Katsu Kinoshita after he finished answering questions in the Press Conference after the game.  Katsu mentioned that the team’s key defence tactic was “anticipation” of the ball’s directions; however during the first half the Team somehow “reacted” rather than “anticipated”.  He felt that during the second half, the Team accepted the difference between Australia and Brazil and worked towards achieving their goals rather than worrying about the outcome.

Johanna Blondell said she was happy with her play and assisting the Team towards agreed goals.  Aminta Thomas said that it was an honour to play for Australia and that it “felt good, no…felt great to score the first goal for Australia in its first game in the World Championship.”

The overall Team spirit was high and the players are optimistic that they would improve in their performance with the valuable experience gained from the game.  I guess it is good to be in this frame of mind as they prepare to play against Russia, which won 2005 Women’s World Handball Championship.

Stay with us and keep cheering on our Team as they do their best against great odds.

To the Team, Toute la meilleure Équipe!    To you all, Merci pour votre soutien.

Violi Calvert

Media and Public Relations

Violi Calvert outside playing venue - Photo John Calvert

Hello from St Brieuc, France!  This is where the Australian Team, as winner of the 2007 Oceania Region Qualifying Tournament, will be playing the Preliminary Round of the XVIII IHF Women's World Championships.  I am thrilled that with the help of our friendly Webmaster and our Photographer, I will be bringing you informal and behind-the-scene accounts of the championship; both the on-court and off-court challenges and fun time of our Team, officials, and the supporters; and our interaction with the organisers, the Media and the spectators. We are keeping our fingers crossed that we’d achieve as good as, if not better, results as we did during the Men’s World Championship in January 2007.

After 10 hours of waiting around at airports and 21 hours of being on two flights from Sydney, we touched down at Paris at 5.30 this morning.  Being on standy-by, the 10 hours of waiting was due to not getting seats on the first flight out of Sydney and then out of Hongkong.  This was followed by 5 hours of driving which was made comfortable being given a Merc instead of a small car, at no extra charge.  I would like to think that this was a sign of overall more good things to come!

Despite feeling the tiredness by the time we got here, we decided to proceed to Salle Steredenn the games hall or venue to get our accreditation documents instead of checking in at our hotel. With the help of St Brieuc L’Organisation Locale du Mondial 2007, in particular by Stephanie,  the process was quick, informative and friendly.

In addition to having the proper documentation done, we also got lucky to watch and cheer on the Australian Team which was training.  The Team looked sharp and enjoying the fast pace they were put through by Head Coach Katsu Kinoshita, with some help by Vernon Cheung, Assistant Coach. Katsu expressed his satisfaction with the Team’s performance at the training.  Also in attendance during the training were Steve Jackson, Team Leader; Di Terril-Wynne, Team Manager, Laura Baquie, Physiotherapist and Petra Winkler-Hirter, Massage Therapist.

At the end of training, we met Loic Tachon, Charge de Communication, of www.adapei22.com .  Loic interviewed Katsu, with some interpretation help from Aurelie Duclos who is one of the Volunteers (Liaison Officer) looking after the Aussies.

We were supposed to have dinner with the Team at their hotel but we were held back to sort out problems with net access from our room.  Anyway, we still got there later and saw their smiling faces.  We even got lucky that lovely hotel staff fed us.

Before Katsu held a meeting with the Team, we managed to have a short chat with him.  Katsu felt that during the two-week camp in Switzerland, the players achieved their individual goals and at the same time that the Team achieved its overall goals.  Whilst he thought that there were “should have” or “could have” situations, he is confident that the Team will achieve what it has set out to do in the WC.  Katsu attributes the Team’s strengths to the players’ trust and respect for each other, which are essential to achieve their goal to improve the standing of Australia [and Oceania] in the handball world community.

Tomorrow, 2^nd December, Australia will play against Brazil.  Stay tune for the feedback on this game.  To the Team:  Équipe de bonne chance!

To you all, Au revoir pour maintenant!

Violi Calvert

Media and Public Relations

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