USA Team Handball today announced the appointment of Sandra De La Riva Repede to its Board of Directors.
De La Riva Repede is a two-time Olympic athlete in team handball, who competed in the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles and the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul. She played in two World Championships in Hungary in 1982 and in the Netherlands in 1986. As a national team player from 1979 to 1988, she competed in over 120 matches for Team USA.
“I am very excited to have Sandra join USA Team Handball’s Board of Directors and am looking forward to the impact she will have as we continue to grow this sport,” said USA Team Handball CEO Barry Siff. “Sandra brings a tremendous amount of experience and passion to our sport as a two-time Olympic athlete and longtime athlete, coach, athlete representative, volunteer and sport administrator. We are very lucky to have her actively contributing to our organization.”
"I am incredibly thrilled to join USA Team Handball to help grow the amazing sport of handball in America," De La Riva Repede said. "Being an Olympian in handball was a tremendous honor. I hope to give back to the handball community by serving on the board and being a positive influence for the next generation of athletes."
After retiring from the national team, De La Riva Repede coached handball teams in the Los Angeles and Ventura areas, overseeing the management of club teams, hosting tournaments and developing training programs for new coaches and officials. The two-time Olympian has also served as a board member of USA Team Handball, first as an athlete representative and then as Women’s Vice President from 1994 to 1997. She was selected as Team Leader for the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta and the 1995 World Championships in Austria and Hungary.
De La Riva Repede has also been instrumental in rallying support for beach handball, serving on the U.S. Advisory Board for the sport and serving as an organizing volunteer for the 2018 Pan American Championships in Oceanside, California.
She is now retired after working for 28 years in government at the County of Los Angeles and City of Ventura.She has a wealth of work experience in financial strategies, organizational administration, budget development and financial analysis. De La Riva Repede earned a Master of Science degree in Public Policy at University of Southern California and a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science at Rutgers University.
About USA Team Handball: USA Team Handball (USATH) is the U.S. National Governing Body for the Olympic discipline of Team Handball, and is responsible for the development of grassroots programs, preparation of national teams for international competition - including the Pan American and Olympic Games - as well as the day-to-day oversight of the sport of team handball in the United States. The mission of USATH is to develop, promote, educate and grow the sport of team handball at all levels domestically, and to enable U.S. athletes to achieve sustained competitive excellence to win medals in international and Olympic competition. USATH is a member of the International Handball Federation, the North American and Caribbean Handball Confederation, and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee, and is headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Media Contact: Melissa Zhang | (508) 768-5649 | Melissa.Zhang@usateamhandball.org