USA Team Handball’s Championship Season Continues with 2009 Men’s Collegiate Nationals in Colorado Springs

USA Team Handball's Championship Season continues this weekend with the 2009 Men's Collegiate National Championship in Colorado Springs, CO; April 3, North Carolina won the 2009 Women's Collegiate National Championship at the University of Richmond in Virginia.

Teams will battle in the 2009 Men's Collegiate National Championship April 10-12 at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, CO. Last year's champion Army Black will defend its title against University of North Carolina, Air Force Blue, Air Force White, Army Gold and USA College Select. Competition begins at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, April 10.

One of the weekend's highlights will be the inter-academy clash between Air Force and Army, two of the oldest collegiate handball clubs in the United States. The game will be streamed live on TeamUSA.org. Air Force will look to avenge its October loss against Army during Army vs. Air Force Week at West Point. The broadcast, 3:30 p.m. MST on April 11, will feature play-by-play commentary from veteran broadcaster Kenn Tomasch and color commentary from Laura Ryan, three-time USA Team Handball Olympian. The video will stream through Windows Media Player, which is optimally viewed in Internet Explorer.

USATH's 2009 Open Club National Championships, the pinnacle of the season's end, will take place May 8-10 in Chicago and see 20 men's teams and six women's teams competing for the titles of national champion. Team registration for that event is now closed.

Men's College National Championships Format

All games at USAFA Cadet Gym Center Court

The six teams have been seeded based upon performance at the 2009 West Point Invitational and/or historical performance.

• Army Black
• Air Force White
• University of North Carolina
• Army Gold
• Air Force Blue
• USA College Select

First Round
Friday, April 10 - Each half is 25 minutes

Second Round
Round-robin play within each pool
Saturday, April 11 - Each half is 25 minutes

                        
Placement Round
Sunday, April 12
Each half is 30 minutes

About Team Handball
Handball, widely known as Team Handball in the United States, is played in 159 nations by 39 million people. Called "ripe for an American invasion" by TIME magazine, many people link elements of basketball, soccer and lacrosse to the sport. It is fast, physical and exciting.

Two teams, composed of six players and one goalie each, face off on a 20 meter by 40 meter court. Players manually dribble, pass and shoot a ball into what looks like a Futsal goal. Men's and women's handballs are 56-58 centimeters and 54-56 centimeters in circumference, respectively; easily gripped in one hand, it is built comparably to a soccer ball. Although about 40 feet longer than a basketball court, a handball court is similar in appearance: half circles on both ends of the court mark the "goal area," a zone that extends six meters in front of the 6'7" tall and 10' wide goal. The 12 court players are not allowed to literally step foot in this area, which results in NBA-style leaps over the line to shoot while in the air. Successful scoring attempts result in a single point. Defensive play is fierce, however, and allows aggressive person-to-person full body contact to prevent the offense from shooting.

Final scores in this action-packed game are often in the 30s. A regulation game is played in two 30-minute halves with one team timeout per half. The clock stops only for team timeouts, injuries and at the referee's discretion.

About USA Team Handball (USATH)
USA Team Handball, a 501-c-3 corporation headquartered in Salt Lake City, was certified by the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) on April 30, 2008. The federation's board of directors is chaired by President Dieter Esch. Its jurisdiction includes development of grassroots programs, preparation of national teams and day-to-day oversight of the sport of Team Handball throughout the United States. Visit the federation at http://www.usateamhandball.org/.