Youth Handball Development Shines Bright In New Zealand

• New Zealand will participate in the youth (U18) & junior (U20) competitions of the IHF Trophy Oceania 2022 in Cook Islands taking place from 5 to 9 December 2022
• The NZ teams have good chances to win the tournament and qualify for the intercontinental phase
• The U18 national team came through undefeated and won the IHF Trophy in 2018 in New Caledonia
• Long term goal is to grow the sport and send a New Zealand team to the 2032 Olympics in Brisbane

Auckland, New Zealand - The IHF Trophy which is organized by the International Handball Federation is played annually in the youth and junior categories, alternating each year between men’s and women’s competitions.

Rarotonga will host the Men's IHF Trophy Oceania, taking place from 5 to 9 December 2022, which also serves as a qualification event for the Intercontinental Phase of the IHF Trophy. The winner of the Youth and Junior Intercontinental Phase are automatically qualified for the World Championship (Youth and Junior).

The following six nations from Oceania will be fighting for the title at the youth (U18) & junior (U20) competitions: Australia, Cook Islands, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Tahiti, Tonga. The participants will play on a round robin basis in order to maximise the number of matches the teams will be playing.

"This is an amazing opportunity to help showcase the talent of some of the best handball youth players in the country, while raising awareness for the sport,” said Thomas Schmider, Head of Delegation. “Having talent alone is not enough to succeed though, we want to help the players to build a stronger personality with more self-confidence by improving their off-court skills. International tournaments like this give them the opportunity to show the world the qualities that NZ can provide on & off the court. With a clear vision backed up by strong branding we want to make the game more accessible and enjoyable for the youth and inspire new talents to join the sport that we care about and love so much.”

Handbal with it’s a fast-paced, high intensity level has become more popular in New Zealand over the recent years but there is still a lot of work to do. With this year’s campaign the team and management is on the right path to set a foundation for the youth development in New Zealand.

U18 National Players

Damon Tsiaprazis - Canterbury

Eddie Clarke - Auckland

Hector Pringot - Canterbury

John Barham - Otago

John Whittaker - Auckland

Josh Bruce-Campbell - Canterbury

Keir Robertson - Auckland

Kyran Edmonds - Otago

Paul Pringot - Canterbury

Samuel McCready - Auckland

Stanley Schirnack - Auckland

Zen Kuwasaki - Canterbury

Nicholas Choi - Auckland

Riley Jarvis - Wellington

U20 National Players

Alexanda Brown - Canterbury

Angus Hamilton - Otago, Canterbury

Archie Campbell - Otago

Ethan Dalwood - Otago

Graysen Thomson - Otago

Jack Harris - Otago

Lachlan Colquhoun - Otago

Max Brookes - Wellington

Michael Zandbergen - Canterbury

Patrick Leaupepe - Wellington

Peter Woodfield - Otago

Riley Flanagan - Canterbury, Otago

Stefanos Hills - Wellington, Otago

Wayo Whyte - Canterbury

Delegation

Thomas Schmider - Auckland

Olly Donaldson - Otago

Jack Gallagher - Wellington

Hayden Juranovich - Canterbury

Paul Ireland - Wellington

Tim Rayner - Wellington

For more information & live stream links visit: www.nzyouthhandball.com.

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