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Sydney wins Oceania Club’s Championship

Dec 27, 2009

2009 Oceania Club Champions - Sydney

Sydney Handball players have not stopped celebrating since winning this year’s Oceania Club Championships, in Papeete on 17 December. Following their popular win, the team travelled to the tropical island of Moorea where they spent three days in the sun, celebrating their title.

Sydney opened the tournament with a 26:20 win, in a friendly match, over a Tahiti A selection that comprised of young national team hopefuls. The team then continued their winning form, with convincing victories in all of their Group A preliminary matches, including a 24:16 win over former Champions, New Caledonian club Mont Dore. 

After topping Group A, Sydney advanced into the final in impressive style, defeating New Caledonian Champions AS Dumbea 33:28 (half-time 17:8) in the semi-final.

Oliver Junker Shoots

The local media poured praise over the team from Sydney in their daily coverage, impressed with Oliver Junker’s long range shooting and Fabian Synneby’s creativity in attack but mostly attributing Sydney’s wins to their “defence of steel”.

A presidential audience

A full house, which included Tahiti’s President Mt Gaston Tong Sang turned-out to see local team Faa’a take on Sydney. Despite the vocal support from the crowd, the Tahitian Champions found it difficult to break the Sydney defence, falling behind 5:1 in the first 15 minutes of the game.   Sydney’s defence was bolstered by an inspirational performance by the experienced keeper Pascal Winkler, who was unanimously voted the best keeper of the tournament.

Faa’a fought back in the latter moments of the first half to narrow the margin but fell back quickly at the start of the first half as Sydney hit back immediately with four consecutive goals.  Sydney maintained a good lead for the remainder of the game despite a spirited fight by the local team, which included player of the tournament Terimahaurani Faheau who’s impressive leap and shooting ability has captured the eye of several French clubs.

Sydney Players celebrate after winning the tournament

With seconds left on the clock, Sydney players erupted with joy before turning to thank Faa’a’s supporters and players for the match. Faa’a’s captain then addressed the Sydney players, thanking them for their competitive spirit, before leading his entire squad in a kneeled bow to show their respect for the Sydney team.

Melbourne unlucky to miss on finals, Kodric impressive

The team from Melbourne were unlucky to miss out in a semi-final spot, after Faa’a and Caledonian club Dumbea drew their last round encounter in Group B. A win, by any side, would have sent Melbourne through as the second placed team.

Melbourne's Nick Kodric in action

Melbourne defeated Wellington’s Falcons 20:17 to secure the fifth spot in the tournament.  Along the way, Melbourne’s raising star Nick Kodric placed fourth in the top-scorers  list with 36 goals in 6 games. The talented 19 year old pivot was recently included in the Australian train-on squad and his recent performances have added more credibility to his selection.

Group A:

Sydney def Tahiti A 26:20 (15:12)

Sydney def Auckland Rockz (New Zealand) 28:10 (15:6)

Sydney def Taravao HBC (Tahiti) 25:13 (14:6)

Sydney def J.S. Mont Dore (New Caledonia) 24:16 (13:7)

Sydney def Lulu Handball (Wallis and Futuna) 28:23 (16:7)

Finals:

Semi-final:  Sydney def AS Dumbea 33:28 (17:8)

Final: Sydney def AS Faa’a 28:19 (14:10)

Group B:

Melbourne def Tahiti B 17:15 (12:8)

Melbourne def Falcons (New Zealand) 19:15 (12:8)

AS Faa’a def Melbourne 21:20 (12:12)

Melbourne drew AS Dumbea 20:20 (9:9)

Placement matches:

Melbourne def Lulu Handball 32:13 (21:9)

5th place play-off: Melbourne def Falcons 20:17 (12:5)

All the results: http://www.fthandball.pf/


Australian Handball mourns for Toni Moynihan

Dec 04, 2009

Toni Moynihan

It is with great sadness to inform everyone in the Australian Handball Community, that Ms Toni Moynihan, lost her battle with cancer, that she has been so bravely fighting for the past three years, on Wednesday morning, December 02, 2009, surrounded by loved ones.

Toni has been an invaluable member of the Women's handball team over a number of years in the 90's as well as in the 2000 Sydney Olympics, ending with her amazing effort in the 2003 World Championship.

Her devotion to the team, positive attitude, friendship and expert treatment will never be forgotten by many of the women that have played for the Australian team. Her impact transcended the boundaries of sport and she made an enormous and positive life-long impact on many of the players and officials and others who came in contact with the team.

Toni will be sorely missed but her contribution to Australian Handball will never be forgotten.

A Service to celebrate Toni's beautiful life will be held in the Cordell Chapel of the Fawkner Crematorium, 1187 Sydney Rd, Fawkner on TUESDAY (December 8, 2009) commencing at 2.30 pm.

In lieu of flowers please give donations to Ovarian Cancer Australia and Medecins Sans Frontieres via envelopes available at the Service.

The Service will be followed by a Wake at Toni's house.


U17 Boys Australian Team to tour Tahiti

Oct 28, 2009

The Australian Handball Federation [AHF] is pleased to announce that the selection of the u17 Boys Australian Team had been finalised.  The u17 Boys Team will be participating in a tournament in Tahiti during 12 – 17 December 2009.  

The AHF congratulates the following players for being part of the u17 Boys Team:

Name State / Territory  

Luke Behrendorff  

Australian Capital Territory  

Matthew Borland  

Queensland  

Joshua Conole  

New South Wales  

Sam Henman      

New South Wales  

Philip Leung         

New South Wales  

Jonathan Muncey

New South Wales  

Brody O'Brien      

Australian Capital Territory  

Kerry Olesen     

Australian Capital Territory  

Christopher Petrie

New South Wales  

James Ridley

New South Wales Captain

Harjodh Singh      

Australian Capital Territory  

Lachlan Skulander

New South Wales  

Blair Smith    

Queensland Vice Captain

Daniel Townsend  

New South Wales  

Dominic Tsang      

New South Wales  

Harry Watson  

Queensland  
Reserves    
Alex Brimfield New South Wales  
David Loveridge New South Wales  
Coach    
Nathaniel Smith Queensland  

The AHF is also pleased to advise that the Australian Olympic Committee has placed Boys Handball as the alternate sport for Australian representation at the Youth Olympic Games to be held in Singapore in 2010.  This is a tremendous opportunity for boys born in 1992 or later, and the AHF is committed to ensuring that we have a skilled team ready to participate in the Youth Olympics should the opportunity arise.
The team to tour
Tahiti is an integral part of that development. 

The Selectors for the u17 Boys Team are Katsu Kinoshita [Queensland], Scott Fearnside [New South Wales] and Taip Ramadani [Australian Capital Territory], input from Nathaniel Smith, Coach. 

AHF wishes the u17 Boys Team a successful and enjoyable tournament.


AHF Board Held Planning Meeting in Perth

Oct 17, 2009

The Australian Handball Federation [AHF] Board, for the first time in its history, held a planning meeting in the City of Perth on 15 October 2009.  AHF President Paul Smith thanked and congratulated AHF Board members who were able to participate in the planning meeting and noted that holding the meeting in Perth signified that handball is a national sport.

The planning meeting preceded a Board Meeting held later in the evening.  The Board’s discussions covered a number of areas which are aimed at strengthening and furthering the development of the sport.  The main items agreed upon to progress to implementation phase included: 

  • Equalisation Policy
  • finalisation and announcement of the Women’s Team participating in the XIX World Championship
  • adaption of AOC Model Code of Conduct
  • strengthening of the selection process for national teams
  • formalisation of the process of soliciting sponsorships.

The National Women’s Team to represent Australia and Oceania Region at the upcoming World Championship in China will be announced at the conclusion of the ‘Rethink Drink’ Senior National Championships, together with the National Men’s Squad with the view towards the World Championship in 2011. 

Members of the AHF Board during the Planning Meeting


Aleksandar ‘Sasha’ Dimitric Receives IHF Award

Sep 12, 2009

The Australian Handball Federation [AHF] is pleased to announce that Sasha Dimitric, the father of Australian handball, has now recovered from a bout of illness which took him out of action for a few months.  Sasha is now back on his feet and has been attending the New South Wales handball clubs competition. He extends his thanks to all who sent their get-well wishes and kind thoughts.

The AHF is now able to proudly present Sasha with the Badge of Merit in Gold awarded to him at the XXXII International Handball Federation [IHF] Congress held recently in Cairo, Egypt. This award was in recognition of Sasha’s contribution to international handball, in particular the Oceania Region. 

Sasha with the Gold Merit Award

Sasha’s passion for handball dates back to when he played in Yugoslavia’s national team in the 1950’s.  He played national championships and Yugoslavia Cup with the famous Red Star Team in Belgrade.  Sasha eventually moved to Sydney with his family in 1964.  It was not until 1982 that Sasha’s initial work to establish handball in Australia commenced.  Through Sasha’s continued hard work, successful handball tournaments and lobbying, Australia became the 100th International Handball Federation member at the IHF Congress held during the Seoul Olympic Games in 1988.  This was the first time ever handball from the Olympic Games were broadcasted live in Australia due to Sasha’s contribution.

Following hard lobbying by Sasha at the IHF Congress in Portugal (1990), Australia was given rights to play the World Championship Qualifications in the Asian zone.  With the IHF blessing, the Australian Olympic Committee financed our National Team for the qualifications (played in Hiroshima, 1991.  However, after Australia qualified for the play off, Australia was denied to continue and was sent home.

With successes also came some setbacks with not being able to progress to world championship participation. This was solved with the establishment of the Oceania Handball Federation, which comprised of Australia, New Zealand and Vanuatu.  OHF first convened on 7th July 1993 at which time Sasha was elected as President.  Sasha served in this role for a number of years. His contribution to Oceania handball was recognised when he was bestowed Lifetime Member in May 2003 (in Wellington, New Zealand).  

Sasha with the Oceania Award

At the IHF Congress at the Ivory Coast in 1998,  Sasha’s contribution to handball in Oceania and international handball was recognised by IHF with a Silver Merit award.  Sasha continued to work tirelessly over the years towards further strengthening the sport he so loves.  Australia’s participation in handball during the 2000 Sydney Olympics was another testimony of how Sasha built the sport from scratch to a very high competition level. 

President Lanc awarding Sasha with the Silver Merit Award at Ivory Coast

The Badge of Merit in Gold is certainly a well-deserved award.  AHF congratulates Sasha and thanks him for his ongoing involvement and input into Australian handball.


AHF President at the IHF Congress

Sep 12,2009

The Australian Handball Federation [AHF] congratulates Paul Smith, AHF President on his successful participation at the XXXII Ordinary Congress of the International Handball Federation [IHF] held in Cairo, Egypt.

The Congress which was attended by 147 national federations, saw the re-election of Dr Hassan Moustafa as IHF President and the election of other officials.  One of the outcomes of the congress that directly affects Australia was the structural change in the Oceania Handball Federation.  Further work and discussion on this matter will be held in an ExtraOrdinary Congress to be held in the next twelve months.

Paul Smith, at the IHF Congress.

Dr Hassan Moustafa (right) presents Sasha Dimitric's award to Paul Smith (left).

At this Congress, Paul Smith also received the Gold Merit Award for Sasha Dimitric for ‘remarkable service to international handball’.


Expressions of Interest U17 Boys and Girls Team

27 Jul, 2009

The Australian Handball Federation is pleased to announce that it is sending National Boys and Girls U17 teams  to
compete in international matches in New Caledonia (girls early November 2009) and Tahiti  (boys mid December
2009).

For girls who toured New Caledonia last year, matches this year will be played in a picturesque area in the
northern part of the country.

For boys, the AHF is pleased to announce that the Australian Olympic Committee has placed Boys
Handball as the alternate sport for Australian representation at the Youth Olympic Games to be held in
Singapore in 2010.  This is a tremendous opportunity for boys born in 1992 or later, and the AHF is committed
to ensuring that we have a skilled team ready to participate in the Youth Olympics should the opportunity arise.
The team to tour Tahiti is an integral part of that development.
 

All players participating at the National U16 Championships are encouraged to submit expressions of interest
to participate in the tours.

If you are interested in participating
please view pdf file,
fill out form and
return to the AHF
Click Here To View Pdf File


U16 National Championships

Jul 13, 2009

The Australian Handball Federation [AHF] is pleased to announce that arrangements for the 2009 u16 National Championships are now being finalised.  The Championships will be held at Coffs Harbour on 25th and 26th July 2009.   The events will be held in Sportz Central, near Park Beach Plaza, which was the same venue of last year’s events.

This year, boys and girls teams from the Australian Capital Territory [ACT], New South Wales and Queensland will be contesting the u16 titles.   The AHF welcomes in particular the ACT as this will be the first time for its teams to participate in the championships.

Unfortunately, this year the u14 Championships will not be held as member associations do not have teams in that age group to participate in the tournament. 

Apart from determining the u16 boys and girls champion teams, the tournament is an important vehicle for players to showcase their handball skills as a basis for possible selection for positions in u17 boys and girls national teams to tour overseas later in the year.  The u17 girls team will participate in a tournament in New Caledonia in November, whilst the boys team will compete in a tournament in Tahiti in December.

The AHF is hopeful that in future, there will be more teams in the younger age group to participate in national events in line with its focus on youth development and the school programs being conducted by various states.

The AHF wishes to thank Paul Smith, Competition Manager and everyone participating and assisting to ensure the success of the championships. 


Sasha Dimitric Enjoys Comfort of Home

May 26, 2009

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.

Sasha Dimitric would like to thank everyone that has sent him well wishes via this website. If you would like to write directly to Sasha his email address is;

dimitric@ozemail.com.au

Message To Sasha

 Your Name  

Message

 


2009 Pacific Cup and Junior Championships

May 26, 2009

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

May 17, 2009

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:

  President Paul Smith
  Secretary-General Lee Schofield
  Director Stephen Harbort
  Director Rikke Petersen
  Director Bronwyn Thompson
State Directors Australian Capital Territory Anke Winning
  New South Wales Scott Fearnside
  Queensland Mark Dawson
  South Australia Martin De Graaf
  Western Australia Tone Lampe
Associate Member Victoria James Mc Donald

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

May 17, 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

May 13, 2009

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 14th 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

Jan 10, 2009

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

Jan 10, 2009

The Hon. Kate Ellis

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 ]


 
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