Handball is a very fun, fast-paced game involving a mixture of skills ranging from passing, catching, dribbling and shooting a ball into a football net.

There are both competitive and social grades of handball on offer, depending on whether you are a competitive player or just want to have some fun with your friends.

This year, at Columba, we had three teams entered; one Junior Team and two Senior Teams. The Junior Team (year 9 and10) accomplished an impressive 4th place in the Mixed Social Grade. They showed persistence and grit when coming up against some very experienced male and female competitors. The social Senior Team (year 11) achieved an equally impressive 4th place in the Girl's A Grade, losing a close semi-final to the Columba Senior A competitive team. This was the first season of handball for many of the girls, and they all showed great tenacity throughout the season.

The Senior A team played exceptionally well and went on to become the Otago Secondary School Girls Champions. In the final, they came up against Kavanagh College, the reigning champions who had held the title for the past four years. Columba played some impressive defence to stop the opposition from scoring, as well as creating great opportunities on attack, to take out the win 11-5. An impressive effort!

Well done to all of our players this term. We hope to see you back again in Term 4, along with any interested new players. Handball is a great game to get involved in!

Madi Loudon

Handball on the Rise!!

In Term 1, Columba had three teams playing across two grades: a more experienced Senior White A Team made up of Year 10-13 players, a Senior Social Team made up of Year 11 boarders, and a Junior Team made up of Year 9-10 players.

The Senior White A Team played exceptionally well all season. In the Girls A final, they came away with a convincing 11-5 win over Kavanagh College, who had been dominant in the sport over the previous seasons. All players were exceptional on defence, closing off options and shots from the opposition. The team’s attacking plays improved throughout the season, creating more opportunities to score.

The Senior Social Team managed to place 4th in the Girls A grade, losing 11-4 to Logan Park. For all Year 11 players, this was their first season playing handball. The game was very close, with Columba actually having more attempts at goal than the opposition.

It was also the first season for the Junior Social Team, who also placed 4th, but in the Mixed Social Grade. They are to be commended for their persistence against some experienced female and male opposition.

Term 4 has seen the return of almost every existing player, as well as the addition of quite a few new players. The Senior White A Team face an extra challenge this term with the addition of Otago Boys A, Kings B, and Logan Park B boys teams to the grade. So far, though, they have matched up well with the opposition. The Junior Team will continue to be in the same grade as Term 1, where they will be playing against a variety of girls and mixed teams.

With the graduation of Year 13s, the Senior White A Team will, unfortunately, lose some excellent players next year. We will miss Alannah’s tactical knowledge and game sense, Ruby’s jump shots and intercepts, Siena’s fearless goal keeping skills and Madi’s leadership and knowledge of the game. We thank all of you for your dedication to handball over the past few years, and wish you all the best for next year, and hope that you find a handball league to join.

Well done to all of our handball players this year, I hope to see you back next year, along with some new players!

Miss Wilson – TIC Handball