Meri Kirihimete, Aotearoa Handball Whānau
Well here we are at the end of another year, with a host of great handball memories to tuck away. There’s lots to celebrate and much to look forward to next year, as well as some admin developments to help it all hang together.
2023 in the rear-view mirror
I thought I’d start off this final update of the year by reflecting on some highlights from 2023. Apologies if I miss out anyone’s favourite New Zealand Handball memory from the year – to avoid writing a novel, this is just a selection of what has gone on.
Beach – ome uncharacteristic inclement weather for Christchurch put a bit of a dampener on the summer’s beach programme to start the year, but we still managed to put on a great beach series and camps in the Garden City, with a new league successfully established in Wellington as well. The programme culminated in the Oceania Champs in Coolangatta in April. Both the New Zealand Men’s and Women’s teams finished runners up at that event, with the Men’s team coming agonisingly close in an extended penalty shoot out for the decider. New Zealand Beach Handball continues to go from strength to strength, with plenty to build on for the future.
Youth high performance – two great campaigns during 2023 saw our youth men take on the world in Croatia, and our junior and youth women take on the best Oceania had to offer in New Caledonia. While we didn’t come away with the results we had hoped for, the depth of teenage talent on display is super encouraging for the future. Plenty has been learned from those campaigns, and we will build on that experience in the years ahead.
Youth development – some great work has been done in all the main centres to grow the youth base, with various school leagues in play and multiple exposures across a wide range of Schools. Special thanks to our good friends from our key strategic partner the Goethe Institut for supplying starter handball kits that have been deployed across the country, which makes a huge difference in ensuring our great sport gets the exposure it deserves.
New partnership – Earlier this year we were delighted to ink a deal with Select NZ/Freedom2Play to supply clothing and other kit for our representative teams. Not only is the Select gear top quality, we have a supplier that is super responsive and committed to supporting New Zealand Handball look as good as it possibly can on the international stage. It’s a highly valued partnership for us, and we encourage you all to check out their great range and kit yourself out in some NZHF-branded Select merch.
Tournaments – Fantastic to have all four of the regular national tournaments on the New Zealand Handball calendar (Queenstown Open, Auckland Open, Club Champs in Wellington, and Regional Champs in Christchurch) take place with solid numbers attending. Particularly pleasing was having over 200 players take part in Club Champs, and a team come over from Sydney to take part. Exciting times. Big thanks to the WCC Sports Event Partnership Fund for once again coming to the party with funding to support our Club Champs to help keep the attendance fees down
Strategic review – Yes, we can’t ignore the admin achievements! Throughout the year the NZHF has been working through a review of its strategic priorities, ensuring the organisation is focused on what matters to move New Zealand Handball forward in the right direction. There are lots of challenges to overcome, but if we can get everyone pulling together to support the plan I am confident we can get there.
Congratulations to all those who had a hand in the above, and those who contributed to all the other great handball work that hasn’t been mentioned
Looking ahead to 2024
Another action-packed handball year lies ahead. We are currently pulling together a calendar of known events that will be published on the website shortly, as we try to give everyone as much time as possible to plan their lives around what is in store. Here’s a snapshot of what’s coming up:
21st Asian Men’s Handball Champs – first up we have our Men’s Team head off to Bahrain for the Asian Champs (11-25 January) for our first taste of senior international handball outside Beach Handball in 4 years. Keep an eye out for posts and links to livestreams as the action unfolds.
Beach – another great summer of Beach Handball is lined up, this time culminating in the Aussie Beach Club Champs in April – with the tantalising prospect of more international opportunities later in the year.
National League - we are currently putting the finishing touches on plans for a new national league, to increase the opportunities for regional teams to play each other, as signalled at our regional forum in October. This is a major initiative that we hope the New Zealand Handball community will get behind, coming to a climax at the Regional Champs to be held in the new Christchurch Stadium in mid-October.
Tournaments – wrapped around the National League we are still aiming to support the traditional tournaments, with the hope remaining that a national representative teams Trans-Tasman clash will be able to be pulled off in early May
Olympics – July/August 2024 is our 4-yearly opportunity to see our great sport on mainstream TV, with the Olympics in Paris. Planning is already underway for how to maximise the potential exposure from that.
IHF Trophy – details to be confirmed, but it’s the boys’ turn again this year for the Oceania Men’s Junior and Youth IHF Trophy qualifiers, to give our aspiring stars of the future something to aim for.
Organisational restructure
As part of the strategic review and with a change in the composition of the NZHF Exec, we have re-shaped our portfolio responsibilities. We believe the new structure will provide us with a more coherent framework to help grow New Zealand Handball to become the best that it can be, as well as create a structure that opens the door for greater involvement and helps spread the load.
The new structure involves a number of broad areas of responsibility overseen by a member of the Executive Committee, with clearly defined roles and responsibilities for the various areas sitting within each portfolio. It is all part of the evolving professionalism with which a sports body needs to be organised, and we hope that it will help provide greater transparency and accountability for what we are trying to achieve. The broad portfolios of responsibility are as follows:
Beach – covering all aspects of Beach Handball (Exec responsibility - Willy Silcock)
Communications and Outreach – covering media, marketing, membership and overseas liaison (Exec responsibility – Rowan Moloughney)
Competitions and Events – covers what the label suggests (Exec responsibility – Karl Fitzpatrick and Rowan Moloughney)
Development and Programmes – covering high performance, youth development, women’s handball, coaching and refereeing (this is a big one! Exec responsibility will be split between Frank Stoltenberg, Julien Pringot, and Karl Fitzpatrick)
Financial – covers the treasurer role as well as sponsorship and funding (Exec responsibility – Willy Silcock)
Governance and Ethics – covers policies, stakeholder liaison, Diversity & Inclusion, Complaints & Integrity (Exec responsibility – David Ireland)
Role descriptions are still being fleshed out to underpin all that, but this should give you a taste of how we are looking to operate. When he gets a chance, our Media Officer star Jun will weave his pictorial magic wand over things to make it more accessible for all.
Xmas wrap
That’s more than enough for now – hopefully there is something in the above for everyone to feel good about what has been achieved over the year past, and excited about what the year ahead has in store for New Zealand Handball.
Thanks to all our wonderful Handball Whānau for all you have contributed to New Zealand Handball this year - and for all you are going to contribute in 2024!
Safe travels and best wishes for the festive season