Home

Latest News

Sasha Dimitric Enjoys Comfort of Home

The Australian Handball Federation [AHF] is pleased to advise that Sasha Dimitric, the Father of Australian handball, is now home after a period of stay in hospital.  Sasha is well on his way to full recovery after a setback in his health and with the regular physiotherapy he is receiving, he is confident to be back on his feet soon.

Sasha is now also able to spend short sessions on the computer. If you want to send him your get well wishes, you may use the form below.  The messages will not be published but they will be forwarded to Sasha.

The AHF, all the Australian Handball family and his many friends, wish Sasha all the best and a speedy recovery.  Everyone looks forward to seeing him back in the handball court providing advice and inspiration to players, not to forget taking photos for posterity.

2009 Pacific Cup and Junior Championships

The Australian Handball Federation [AHF] is pleased to advise that arrangements are all in place for the conduct of two significant handball events – the Pacific Cup and the Junior Championships.  Both events will be held in Sleeman Sports Centre, Chandler [Brisbane area].

The AHF wishes to thank the Queensland Team Handball Association [QTHA] for hosting the events, in particular Stephen Harbort, who is Competition Manager.  The assistance of other members of the QTHA and participating teams is also appreciated.

The Pacific Cup will be contested by four teams:  Australia, Handball New Zealand, New Zealand Handball Federation and Queensland.  The Queensland team was formed to fill the gap resulting from New Caledonia’s withdrawal from the competition.

The Junior Championships has a “State of Origin” flavour with participating teams only from New South Wales and Queensland.   Due to work and study commitments of players, other states did not have enough number for full teams.  The four titles to decided in the Junior Championships are u18 women’s, u18 men’s, u21 women’s and u21 men’s.

The AHF wishes all the players and officials a successful and an enjoyable participation in the tournaments.

To keep up with the latest results and fixtures
from the 2009 Pacific Cup &
the 2009 Junior Championships
visit our 'Events' page or
click here

New Australian Handball Federation Board

The Australian Handball Federation [AHF] elected a new Board at its recent Annual General Meeting.

The AHF congratulates Paul Smith for being elected unopposed to the position of President.  Alex Gavrilovic who held the position of AHF President since 2006, did not stand for re-election due to his appointment to the Organising Committee of the London 2012 Olympic Games.  

Paul Smith has served as a member of the AHF Board for a number of years as a Director.  He brings to the AHF a wealth of experience, not only in sports administration and the law, but also in dealing with government.  He is currently a Member of the Land Court of Queensland.  He has been a member of the Queensland Judiciary for over 9 years. Paul was admitted as a Barrister in 1982. Prior to his judicial appointment, Paul held the very senior position of Assistant Deputy Director General, Premier’s Department, Queensland and was responsible for policy co-ordination across all areas of the Queensland Government.

Paul is a Churchill Fellow, a Visiting Professor to Novosibirsk State University, Siberia; a Fellow of the Centre for International Legal Studies, Austria, and a Harvard-trained Mediator.  He has lived all his life in Ipswich, Queensland.

The new AHF Board is comprised of the following:

The AHF thanks Alex for all the good work he has done for handball in Australia and the Oceania Region.  Alex was employed as the Handball Competition Manager by the Sydney Organising Committee for the Olympic Games from 1997 to 2000 where his role included managing and organising all facets of the Handball competition for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.  It was as a result of this role that Alex established a sound working relationship with many key members of the International Handball Federation and other international and national sporting organisations. 

The AHF also wishes Alex all the best as he takes up the position of Competition Manager for the London 2012 Olympic Games handball competition.  Alex’s contribution to this competition will no double reflect well on Australian handball.  His appointment was highlighted by Australian Olympic Committee President, John Coates, OAM at the recent AOC Annual General Meeting held in Sydney.

The new AHF Board not only aims at continuing the good work of the previous Board but also putting in place new initiatives and programs designed to escalate the development of the sport at all age levels.

Australian Beach Handball Championships 2009

Scarborough Beach, Western Australia, February 6-8, 2009

What an exciting weekend of beach handball - the first ever national championships in beach handball in Australia . 

The games started off on a cool Friday evening. Saturday and Sunday, however, was marked by sweltering heat, but this did not discourage players who went to the sea for a swim in between games or simply relaxed watching the games in the shade of the amphitheatre.

And what great games to watch! The junior men’s competition was physical, tight and competitive with most games determined by shoot out. It was fantastic to see so many players new to the sport adapt to handball so quickly. The final saw Victoria beat Western Australia in a narrow shoot out. Congratulations to the Victorian team!

The senior men’s competition was at least as physical and competitive as the junior’s and spectators could witness some spectacular ‘360’ and in-flight (‘kempa’) goals. Again the outcome of many games was down to shoot outs. Victoria and Western Australia’s A team had to face narrow defeat in the semi-finals to, respectively, Western Australia’s B team and ‘United States of Australia’ (Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia). The final play-off between ‘United States of Australia’ and Western Australia’s B team resulted in gold for Western Australia’s B team. Congratulations!

This was not only the first national championships in beach handball, it was also the first year that a Western Australian women’s team competed in any national handball competition. And what a performance, in the final, the team defeated the strong Victorian team which fielded players that had received silver in the 2008 indoor nationals. Well fought!

Congratulations also to the players who was awarded the best and fairest player. In the junior category, goal keeper Jack Hall from Victoria took the title after demonstrating many spectacular saves. Matthias Radbuch from ‘United States of Australia’ was awarded the best and fairest player in the senior men’s category for his great handball skills both in attack and defence. In the women’s category, Nanna Hedberg from Victoria was awarded the prize for her great sportsman-like conduct and excellent shots.

Handball West wishes to thank their sponsors, the Western Australian Department of Sport and Recreation and Lottery West for making this event possible. They also thank the Australian Handball Federation and the City of Stirling for their assistance.

A big thank you goes to everyone who assisted Handball West with the planning and organisation of the event, including those who provided assistance on the event days.

Finally, Handball West wishes to thank players from all the competing states for attending.  Without you, there would have been no competition! Special thanks go to those who additionally assisted with refereeing or time/score keeping or who provided materials for the event.

Looking forward to see you all in Melbourne in 2010!

To view photos of the event
 Click Here
 

Hanna Isabella makes three in Schofield Handball family

Over the last few years, the members of the Australian Handball family have shared the joy of its valued and loved handball couple -  Lee Schofield, who has been performing the role of AHF Secretary-General and stalwart part of the Men’s Team in the 2000 Olympics and various World Championships, and Katia Boyd who has been in the Women’s Team in various World Championships and up to late last year has played in the Elite Division in Sweden.

Katia and Lee and Hanna makes three

In 2007, they toasted the engagement of Lee Schofield and Katia Boyd in the idyllic setting in Railay Beach,Thailand. This was followed by the couple’s memorable wedding held in the beautiful setting in Sirromet Winery in Queensland on 14^th June 2008. 

The Australian handball family now joins family and friends in congratulating Lee and Katia in the arrival of their beautiful daughter, Hanna Isabella on 26th March 2009 in Sweden.  Hanna who has perfect “handball genes” tipped the scales at 2925 grams and measured 49 centrimetres in length, at birth.

Live Web Streaming of IHF Men's World Championships

If you would like to watch the Australians, or any other team, play during the World Championships, then click the link below.

www.handballworldcup.tv

Please note: The link takes you to a third party organisation and the Australian Handball Federation does not derive any income from the website nor is it responsible for any information or technical difficulties resulting from the linking website.

Minister For Sport and Youth Sends Message

The Federal Minister For Sport and Youth, The Hon. Kate Ellis, has sent a message to the National Men's Team competing in the 2009 Men's World Championships Tournament, to be held in Croatia, from January 16 to February 1, 2009.

The Australian Handball Federation is appreciative of the support from the Federal Minister. To view the Minister's Message of Support click the link below;

Federal Minister's Message To The National Women's Team [ pdf ]

Our Partners