Captains' Interviews: Handball

Ladies and Gentlemen, I hope you’re having a good Friday afternoon (I won’t, I have lectures till 6). Sport editor gripes aside, I am pleased to present this week’s interviewees: the lovely Annabelle Mayers, handball women’s captain, and the dashing Stefan Bauer – goalkeeper extraordinaire and a founding member of the club. As we sit down in 568 over a pint I get cracking staright away: if he is a founding member, how is he still here?

“The handball club was founded in 2007-08, in my first year. Having been into handball since I was 10, I got involved, and was on the committee that year! I have been heavily involved in the club ever since.” I turn to Annabelle, asking how she got into handball, and expecting an answer similar to Stefan’s. I’m in for a surprise: “it was actually an article written in Felix by Stefan in my first year that made me want to sign up for it!” She explains further: “Stefan had done an article just before Christmas, and I thought that handball sounded like a cool thing to try out... a year later, and here I am.” I can’t help but smile at this: as Sport editor, this is the kind of story that makes it all worthwhile.

I ask Stefan how he has seen the club evolve since its inception. He knows its history on his fingertips. “In the first couple of years, we played mainly friendlies with a mixed team, and had a men’s team compete in the universities tournament organised by England Handball (EH). The following year we joined up with a First Division team, Ruislip. We have an arrangement with them to share facilities, training sessions and coaches. At the moment, three of our members play with them in the top flight of english handball. The women’s team was set up last year, and this year they play in the EH development league, as do the men.” But this means that Annabelle is the first ever women’s captain? “That’s right!” she rbeams. “First captain ever.” There it is, people, a piece of history in the making: the first ever interview with the first ever women’s handball captain. How has their season been so far? “ We’ve actually won two matches so far, which is pretty decent for a nascent team... We notably beat Oxford by 5 goals this year, having lost to them quite heavily last year, so that’s a notable improvement”.

What about the men’s teams? Stefan takes the question. “There is always a core of strong European and Scandinavian students, many doing one-year masters, who make up most of our first team, and who train and play with Ruislip. The Eagles are currently top of the EH first division, and the Imperial team is third in the development league.” Having people play for the top team in the league is pretty impressive, I think. How often do they train?

“There is one session at Ethos every week”, continues Stefan, and we can always train at Ruislip another three times a week. Four times is a bit much, though! I usually train about two to three times a week.” Annabelle concurs, and says a bit more about the Imperial sessions: “ The guys and the girls train together, we always end up with a match and a drink afterwards at the union, so there’s a very social side to the club.

While we’re on the subject, I ask if (despite the small size of the club) they go on any tours or trips together. As a matter of fact, there is a handball tradition: a tournament every year organised by the french school Centrale Lyon. “It involves most of the French unis, and it’s held for a lot of different sports, not just handball, every year” says Stefan.

“We got into it the club’s first year because a guy here had studied there previously, and had an amazing time. It’s become a handball ritual, where every march we will go down to Lyon by any means possible to eat, drink and play handball!”

What about results? Or is it just for fun?

“We’ve acually done better every year... Last year, the girls made the knocout stages in our first year there – but the guys didn’t” says Annabelle. “It was pretty satisfying.

“It’s a big competition, amd the level is prettty high, given that it’s in France” Stefan counters. “This year, we’re sending a full girl’s team and two men’s teams, and hopefully the guys can make the semis”. With the Olympics just around the corner a major event in the handballing world, what do they think of the state of handball in England at the moment?

Stefan smiles at the mention of the Olympics: “ I’m actually volunteering for the handball event, I should be helping out with some of the teams this summer. I was supposed to assist the German team, but in the end they didn’t qualify! Handball is growing here, though, and England Handball is really pushing for the development of the sport.” Annabelle agrees: “You see it more and more in schools now, whereas when I was in school the only sport I remember doing seriously was netball. The Olympics will help it too, with a number of handball venues being left as part of the legac.y”

Stefan concludes by hoping that more home-grown players will mean more university participation. “As the club grows, we can hopefully improve and get the Imperial teams up into the first division”. Good luck, guys!