Some of the country’s top emerging handball talent was in action over the weekend as the regional qualifiers for a brand new U13 County Competition took place alongside a series of dedicated Talent Pathway sessions.
Venues including Gunnersbury, Oxstalls, Cannock and Oldham hosted the sessions, with plenty of goals and handball highlights along the way.
In total, there were 23 teams competing across the boys and girls’ categories, representing 14 different counties across England.
Each of the regional qualifier games were an opportunity for teams to book their spot at an U13 County Finals event, which will take place on the 20 May at The Stoke Mandeville Stadium.
The overall winners of this tournament will be crowned as England Handball Association’s ‘2022/23 County Champions’ in what promises to be an exciting final weekend.
In addition to the County Competition qualifiers, players involved in EHA’s Talent Pathway were also in action. The Talent Pathway provides a route from school competition to the senior international teams for some of the country’s most talented handball players.
Regional Academies took place at Cannock, Oldham, and Gloucester. Meanwhile players involved in the National Academy and Futures programme were also continuing their development at Gloucester and Stoke Mandeville – the National Training Centre for England Handball.
“It was a very busy weekend of handball for everyone involved in the Talent Pathway at England Handball, but we loved seeing so many young players having fun and playing the game,” said Ricardo Vasconcelos, Head of Performance at England Handball.
“Some of those involved in the U13 County Cup qualifiers have not played much handball before, so running our Regional and National Academy programmes alongside some of the games gave them a great opportunity to see more about where they could go with the sport.
“It made for a brilliant weekend and we hope to repeat it in the future.”
For more information about the Talent Pathway, visit: https://www.englandhandball.com/
English