NationStates Jolt Archive


Sarzonia set to establish team handball league

Sarzonia
20-08-2004, 17:29
WOODSTOCK (ASP) -- Vice President for Health and Athletics Jimmy Marshall announced the formation of a new league for professional team handball in Sarzonia.

The Incorporated Handball League will feature eight teams playing a schedule of 28 games each, four against each other team. The regular season will be followed by a best of three playoff round with the winners meeting in a championship game.

"We think the time is right to found a league for professional handball players," Marshall said. "The success of the Sarzonian Football Confederation and the national team gives us momentum toward building a new league and giving Sarzonia a sporting personality of its own.

The eight teams will be based in Portland, Somerset; Wilmington, Newcastle; Nicksia, Benatar; Woodstock; Carthage, Endymion; Tacoma, Truxtun; Ravenna, Chesapeake; and Portsmouth, Syosset. Team nicknames will be announced shortly.

The league's teams have already formed front offices and they are putting coaching staffs together. A player draft will take place for veterans in one month, and a college draft will be two weeks after that. The season will get underway in four months, with training camp opening three weeks before the season begins.

"Everything will be rushed at first since it's a brand new league, but once we get the growing pains out of the way, we should be fine," league commissioner Nancy Toth said. "We are optimistic about the future of team handball in Sarzonia."
NEWI Cefn Druids
20-08-2004, 17:55
Handball... the memories of the HBWC come flooding back. Perhaps we could start that again sometime. In the meantime, the DHA (Druid Handball Association) applauds Sarzonia for getting a league off the ground in their country.
Sarzonia
20-08-2004, 19:27
Handball... the memories of the HBWC come flooding back. Perhaps we could start that again sometime. In the meantime, the DHA (Druid Handball Association) applauds Sarzonia for getting a league off the ground in their country.

[OOC: Thanks. Every time the Olympics come around, I get frustrated when I see next to no coverage of team handball when it looks like the kind of exciting sport Americans should crave. Since there's no national league here in the states, I'm going to have to do some Googling on team handball for more accurate RP.]
Cockbill Street
20-08-2004, 20:42
It's a beautiful game. Go Benatar!

Cockbill Street would like to extend their invitation to a couple of friendly matches against the Sarzonian national team in the Vimesbairn Arena. Our league has been around for a fair while, but the Streetians have (not for lack of trying) not managed to win a team handball trophy yet, and it's been over ten years since the last international. We wish the IHL the best of luck in getting the sport kicked off!
Sarzonia
21-08-2004, 03:32
It's a beautiful game. Go Benatar!

[OOC: Yeah. It looks like the kind of game that could do well in the U.S. with the right kind of support if it only got a chance. BTW, Benatar is the state that Nicksia (Sarzonia's largest city) is in.]
Sarzonia
23-08-2004, 04:27
The eight teams in the Incorporated Handball League in Sarzonia announced their nicknames and showed off their team logos today.

The Portland team announced it would be called the Portland Pirates and would play their home games in the Portland Arena, capacity 14,130.

Wilmington announced that its nickname would be the Wilmington Wings. They will play in the Charles Hay Centre, which seats 15,934.

The Nicksia Nobles will play their home games at the Pavilion, seating 19,472.

Woodstock's team nickname will be the Waves, and they will play their home games at the Wes Unseld Dome, seating 22,000.

The Carthage Cannons announced their home games would be at the Carthage Civic Centre, which seats 17,255.

Tacoma announced its team name is the Titans, and they will play at the Tacoma Events Centrer, which holds 21,110.

The Ravenna Rock will play its home games at the Palestra, which seats 14,000.

Portsmouth will be known as the Portsmouth Power, and they will play their home games at the Portsmouth Arena, also known as the "Pea Trap." The area seats 11,425.

The teams are in the final stages of their player allocation draft scouting and drawing up professional contracts.