US Team Handball Women's National Team

Every year, handball teams from around the country gather in Flanders, New Jersey for the annual Sports Fest. This year, the Women's National Team (WNT) entered two teams in the sports festival, which included an outdoor team handball tournament for both men and women. The women's division featured beach handball, a summer version of the game that is played with slighlty different rules and fewer players. After a strong day on Saturday, both teams came into Sunday as contenders for the championships, and ended up finishing in second and fourth place. Overall it was an exciting and fun weekend that included great competition, and an excellent opportunity for players from all over the US and Canada to socialize and enjoy handball.

The WNT brought two teams- the first featuring veteran players Tabrekia Almon, Edina Batar, Sue Behme, Kathy Darling and Katie Graves. Saturday found USA Team #1 undefeated, with wins against New York City, DC Diplomats/Houston, USA Team #2, and Champlain. The first game on Sunday pitted USA#1 against the newly-formed Boston Freeze, a team they had faced in Boston just a few weeks earlier. The game ended with another win for USA and a spot in the championship match.

The WNT also entered a second team, USA #2, which was comprised of veteran players Jennifer Farrell and Erika Vetter, as well as new additions Erica Keppel, Katharina Ellemers, and Lisa Wolfe. Although the team had never played together, they had a strong day on Saturday, winning against Boston Freeze, and tying USA #1 and DC Diplomats/Houston only to lose in the post-game shootout. Sunday also started out well for USA #2, who won the first half against Champlain. Although they lost that match in a shootout, they were able to move on and beat out New York City for a win and the chance to compete for third place against DC Diplomats/Houston.

The championship match took place late on Sunday afternoon, with the USA facing Champlain for the second time of the tournament. Champlain, a challenging opponent in the Quebec League, brought several of their strongest players, many of whom compete as members of the Canadian National Team. Although the first game of the tournament went to the USA, the second battle found Champlain in top form, with USA #1 coming close, but not able to get ahead for the win

In the end, the spirit of the tournament was one of both competition and fun, and the WNT benefitted from the opportunity to face a several different teams in a version of the game they are still learning. Although they took second place this time around, the WNT will face Champlain again in two weeks during a beach handball tournament in Montreal.