US Team Handball Women's National Team

CORTLAND, N.Y. - For over 20 years, Cortland Sport Management professor Dr. Ted Fay built many solid relationships as an Olympic coach and administrator. This year, he brought one of the relationships home with him. Thanks in great part to Fay's connections and tireless efforts, U.S. and international team handball officials visited the State University of New York at Cortland campus on Tuesday May 11 to announce their intentions to locate a USA Women’s Team Handball National Training Center at the Central New York campus.

"This is an extremely significant announcement, not just for the college, but for the entire Cortland community," Fay said. "A lot of hard work went into this, and there will be a lot more in the future to grow the sport to where it needs to be on an international level."

Dr. Hassan Moustafa of Egypt, the president of International Handball Federation (IHF) Federation, and Michael Cavanaugh, executive director of USA Team Handball, the national governing body for the Olympic sport of team handball, spoke at a press conference coordinated by SUNY Cortland President Erik J. Bitterbaum at the SUNY Cortland Stadium Complex. SUNY Chancellor Robert King and Cortland Regional Sports Council Chair Joseph Reagan, a local businessman, also addressed the media.

“It is my pleasure to announce that SUNY Cortland, as supported by the Cortland Regional Sports Council and the greater Cortland community, shall be designated as an Official USATH National Training Center and the new home of the Women’s National Team,” said Cavanaugh, speaking on behalf of the USA Team Handball (USATH) Board of Directors, President Bob Djokovich, Women’s Vice President Dawn Lewis and members of the Women’s National Team.

“Internationally, handball is one of the most popular sports on the Olympic program and has over 20 million participants in over 150 countries,” explained Moustafa, who traveled to Cortland to demonstrate the IHF’s commitment to growing the sport in the United States.

“Attempts to give the promotion of team handball a push–start in the U.S. were already made at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles and at 1996 Games in Atlanta,” said Moustafa. “Unfortunately, success was only partial, even though I personally am convinced that team handball is a sport that the Americans love. Team handball is tough, has body contact, requires concentration, and endurance – attributes that actually really suit Americans natural inclinations. This fact is borne out by the spectator attendance at the most recent Olympic Games, where matches were always sold out.”

Moustafa views the college as the ideal spot to cultivate team handball in the U.S. Cavanaugh said that SUNY Cortland was chosen over several other cities and regions as the U.S. Women’s National Team’s home for a number of reasons. He listed SUNY Cortland’s renowned academic programs in athletic training, sport management and exercise science, as well as the sport management programs's state-of-the-art Sport Technology Learning Center with its Pinnacle Systems software for use by team handball coaches and players. He cited the opportunity for more than 900 SUNY Cortland physical education majors to learn how to teach, coach and officiate team handball in public and private schools. He also pointed to the college’s 30-year relationship with the German Sport University of Cologne in one of the top handball-playing nations in Europe.

“I am extremely proud SUNY Cortland has been chosen to be the new home of the Women’s National Handball Team and the Women’s National Handball Training Center,” said State University of New York Chancellor Robert L. King. “Cortland’s rich and proud tradition in physical education makes this campus an idea choice for the national team. With nearly 410,000 students on 64 campuses, SUNY is poised to help grow team handball in New York, the Northeast and beyond. I would also like to thank Executive Director Cavanaugh and Dr. Moustafa for placing their trust in SUNY Cortland. I have great confidence that President Bitterbaum, the Cortland faculty, students and staff will make this a tremendous success and a model for the rest of the system.”

Team handball is a fast-paced sport pitting seven players against seven players on a surface area slightly larger than a basketball court. The object of the game is to throw a cantaloupe-sized ball into the opponent’s goal, which resembles a soccer goal, while also defending one’s own goal from attack. Passing is the primary way to move the ball. Players are not allowed within six meters of an opponent’s goal, may take no more than three steps in advancing the ball and when stationary, may not hold the ball longer than three seconds. Goals scored per game typically range from the upper teens to mid-20s.

Meanwhile, Reagan said the newly formed Cortland Regional Sports Council (CRSC) would offer its full sport to team handball locally. “Relying on its broad-based community partnerships, the Cortland Regional Sports Council will assist the players and coaches with such things as housing, employment, and practice facilities,” said Reagan, who manages Royal Motors in Cortland and who was a co-chair of the Cortland Empire State Games Organizing Committee in 2002.

“Most of all, the CRSC will ensure that the Cortland community opens its arms and commits itself to the growth of women’s team handball here and across the nation. Whether it’s helping to introduce the sport to our schools, assisting with clinics or making a bid to host the 2005 Pan American Team Handball Games, the CRSC will be there to help.”

Cortland’s proximity to the Quebec League, one of the top team handball conferences in North America, was another reason for its selection, said Cavanaugh, who announced the creation of the Northeast Team Handball Conference which is projected to start play in 2004-05. “We are eager to get to work in developing a more competitive national team with a goal of qualifying for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing,” he added.

“It is exciting to think four, eight, and 12 years into the future about what this National Training Center will mean to your campus, the State University system, the State of New York with its Olympic legacy and your country,” said Moustafa. “We very much hope that together we will succeed in bringing team handball into mainstream sport in the United States, where it will be common to be played in schools through physical education classes and at a varsity level in high schools and universities everywhere across this beautiful region, state and country.

“We also hope Cortland will accept the invitation to host national and international events annually over the next four to eight years. The International Handball Federation and I are ready and willing to make our contribution to this great challenge ahead of you."

USA Women's Team Handball will waste no time taking advantage of its partnership with Cortland as it will host a national team tryout from June 13-23 on campus. For more information, contact team head coach Christian Latulippe at 607-753-2348.