The New Zealand Handball Federation (NZHF) is excited to officially launch the inaugural Handball League Aotearoa (HLA) for the upcoming 2024 season. The HLA will be the premier showcase of handball in New Zealand for regional teams and provides more opportunities for players, coaches, and referees to be involved in high-level handball. With limited access to international games against more experienced opposition, it is crucial that New Zealand develops a strong local league.
The HLA forms a key part of the NZHF’s strategy to address this challenge and aims to improve the quality of handball at the high-performance level across the country. It will be the primary league for aspirational players, referees, and coaches to showcase their talents and stake a claim to represent New Zealand in future international events.
The first edition of the HLA will feature regional teams representing Auckland, Wellington, Canterbury, and Otago, competing across eight rounds throughout the regular season and culminating in a regional finals weekend to be held in Christchurch on October 12th and 13th .
Each team will play the other team from their Island four times, twice home and twice away, in addition to playing each of the two teams from the other Island twice (with double points). Points will accumulate throughout the season and the winning teams will be crowned at the conclusion of the regionals finals weekend in October. HLA will have both Women’s and Men’s divisions.
Crossover matches will take place at ‘Handball Super Weekends’ hosted by Canterbury Handball, with the first weekend on May 4th and 5th, and the finals on October 12th and 13th. The inner Island matches (Auckland vs Wellington and Canterbury vs Otago) will be arranged to take place in July and August, with each team hosting the other, or meeting in between.
For more details of the league, go to Handball League Aotearoa page and the event page of games.