Noticed there was no handball thread on here which is a shame as it is the third GAA sport.
Does anyone play it or know where to play it in England wouldn't mind giving it a bashment.
For anyone that is interested The U.S. Nationals are taking place in Los Cabaleros in Los Angeles this week.
The organising body - The USHA is streaming the top matches live via a small down load on their website www.ushandball.org the webcasting is usally top notch with commentary too.
Cavans Paul Brady is top seed this year and aiming to win an amazing 5th sucessive title. I think he's a great chance to win. Tony Healy hasn't travelled and there are some notable yanks absent - Naty Alvarado, Tati Silveyra.
I know Luis Moreno had a shock win over him in last years US open but i don't think he will be able to repeat that. He'll meet Sean Lenning or Chapman in the final (hopefully) but i think brady should have enough to win it.
In some of the other grades i think both Tipp's Ger Coonan and Cavan's Pat Clerkin have legitimate shouts in the mens A and another breffni man James Brady could do it in the mens B.
Anyone else with any thoughts?
See a few young lads playing the alley in The Neale today. It was good to see.
Quote from: Hoopeddefender on April 20, 2009, 03:03:42 PM
Noticed there was no handball thread on here which is a shame as it is the third GAA sport.
Does anyone play it or know where to play it in England wouldn't mind giving it a bashment.
There used to be a handball thread:
http://gaaboard.com/board/index.php?topic=1180.0
After last nights matches Paul Brady is through to the semi finals of the mens open where he'll play Arizona's Luis Moreno. Moreno beat him last year but i think gunner should have enough to beat him this time round.
In the Mens A 3 irishmen are through to the semi finals - Ger Coonan (Tipp) Pat Clerkin (Cavan) and Fergal Collins (Clare). It's a hard one to call but i think Coonan might do it.
The Mens B final is on this evening and Cavan's James Brady has a great chance.
Theres also Irish interest in some of the masters grades. In the 35+ Egin Jenson from Dublin has made the final and in the 40+ the evergreen Ducksy has only dropped 8 points in 2 matches to make the final too.
The way its shaping up there could be several winners plates coming home.
Collins over his club in the tiebreaker after coming from match point down in the 2nd. That was the best game of the week so far.
Well it's time again for a handball thread to get a few hits then fall away into the void of the board.
The World Championships are starting in Portland, Oregon next week. Over 280 Irish competitors are flying out over the next few days to compete. Good luck to them all.
Cavan's Paul Brady is hoping to win his third world title in a row having won it in 2003 and 2006. His main opposition will come from Corks Tony Healy or Dublins Eoin Kennedy. Should be a great tournament.
Results and videos will be on www.extremehandball.org and www.ushandball.org
The Irish site is www.gaahandball.ie
The One wall tournament kicked off yesterday, there's a few Irish playing but most will be in the 40 x 20 section of the tournament.
Armaghs James Doyle is in the semi final of the Mens B event.
Results and Fixtures are here: http://www.r2sports.com/tourney/home.asp?TID=5406
I see that Michael Finnegan and the Gunner may meet in the next round if they both win their second round matches.Interesting surely. Does Michael have to pull out of the Doubles also when Gunner pulled out or can he use a different partner?
No, they re-jigged the doubles teams, Michael is now playing with Dublin's Eoin Kennedy.
From tomorrow on the big matches are going to be shown live on the internet with commentary. Just dowload the web player here: http://www.niftytv.com/handballworlds/
It's some job, they've shown loads of tournaments like this.
Gunner is just a class above Michael, i'd expect him to win well.
Michael and Eoin will be a very strong team, it will take a serious team to beat them.
The Finnegan of a couple of years ago would have troubled any of the big boys but he consistently got rode in the draw, always ran into Healy or his own doubles partner.
I expect he will be happy to focus on doubles and won't kill himself v Paul in the singles. It'll be a handy game for both of them hopefully.
Gunner's injury is a nasty one but if anyone can, he can. Mentally, it won't bother him at all - he won a world title literally on one leg in 2003 against the player who would go down as the greatest ever if there was no Brady - Tony Healy.
The webcast should be good.
Check the Celt website too for updates Boojangles.
Rollout, you have gone crazy on the interweb lately. Did you hear the new One Wall court at Breffni is finito? Some job.
How did Brady fare out last evening in the final?
Cavan's Paul Brady is safely through to the next round of the Men's Open at the World Handball Championships in Portland, Oregon following his 21-3, 21-4 victory over Missouri's Eric Hilgren yesterday evening. Number two seed, Cork's Tony Healy defeated Mexican, Luis Cordova while Dublin's Eoin Kennedy dispatched of Kerry's Dominick Lynch. Round of 16 action gets underway at 10am local US time, with Brady taking on fellow Cavan man, Michael Finnegan in the opening game of the day's play.
To keep track of the event, click on: http://www.r2sports.com/tourney/divisions/listAllDivs.asp?TID=5406&sortBy=defaultOrder
For direct link to Men's Open Singles, click on:
http://www.r2sports.com/tourney/drawsOut/drawOut.asp?divID=890&combinedID=0&TID=5406&chatRoomUserID=&link=../drawsOut/drawOut.asp
Hold your horses lar naparka, he's not in the final yet. 9 irish players are through to the round of 16, some interesting match ups.
I'm taking Brady, Shanks mcCarthy, Peixoto, Chapman,Kennedy, Moreno and Healy all to go through. Although Collins seems to be a ggod player too.
6 irish players in the quarters of the Mens A. Buggy and Jenson on course to meet in the Mens 35+ and Ducksey pissing his way to the 40's.
What are the chances of another clean sweep?
Webcast starts today. check it out.
Quote from: Rollout on October 07, 2009, 03:58:31 PM
Hold your horses lar naparka, he's not in the final yet. 9 irish players are through to the round of 16, some interesting match ups.
I'm taking Brady, Shanks mcCarthy, Peixoto, Chapman,Kennedy, Moreno and Healy all to go through. Although Collins seems to be a ggod player too.
6 irish players in the quarters of the Mens A. Buggy and Jenson on course to meet in the Mens 35+ and Ducksey pissing his way to the 40's.
What are the chances of another clean sweep?
Webcast starts today. check it out.
[/quote/]
You only missed one so far, Garner beat Kennedy.
I was close, in all fairness kennedy has probably only started playing smnall alley for the last 2 weeks after 6 months in the big alley. Keegan got some beating from Moreno. 2 and 6!!
I'll take Brady, Peixoto, Chapman and Healy, with Healy being run close enough. Moreno is a good player, if he can recapture the form that beat Brady this time last year he'll win, if not its the Ballydesmond man.
Quote from: Rollout on October 08, 2009, 09:15:19 AM
I was close, in all fairness kennedy has probably only started playing smnall alley for the last 2 weeks after 6 months in the big alley. Keegan got some beating from Moreno. 2 and 6!!
I'll take Brady, Peixoto, Chapman and Healy, with Healy being run close enough. Moreno is a good player, if he can recapture the form that beat Brady this time last year he'll win, if not its the Ballydesmond man.
I'll go for the other 2 in the bottom half of the bracket. Bear in mind I know nothing about handball, but I've been enjoying watching this tournament.
When does Brady play Charlie Shanks ? and if they have already played...who won?
Paul Brady won 21-9 and 21-5.
Brady vs Garner in the final. Brady had no bother with Peixoto in the semi today, injured leg doesn't seem to be troubling him. Garner v Moreno was tight enough.
Cavan's Paul Brady pulled out a dramatic tiebreaker victory against Texan, Allan Garner in the Men's Open Final at the World Handball Championships in Portland, Oregon.
In doing so, he becomes the first player in handball history to win three consecutive titles. Brady and Garner exchanged points early in the opening game, but Brady pulled away to take a 21-16 victory.
In the second game, Garner hit top form and with awesome killshots, won 21-14 to force a decider. In the tiebreaker, Brady was forced to take an injury time out at 3-0 up, after he collided with the sidewall.
Following the 15 minute break, Garner pulled back into the game and levelled at 4-4, but Brady, playing on sheer adreniline and through a huge pain barrier, pushed on.
Despite Brady serving for game at 10-4, Garner pulled back three points before the Irish man hit 11 to retain his world crown.
An emotional Brady said: 'I just can't express what I'm feeling - there are a lot of emotions, but I'm hugely relieved to have come through that and it will take a while for it to sink in.'
Antrim ladies Fiona Shannon and Aisling Reilly are presently in action in the Ladies Open Singles semi-final. Reigning champion, Shannon, faces Canadian, Samantha England, while Reilly takes on American Anna Engele.
A man Cavan can be proud of. Some achievement.
This is from earlier in the year - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5flyZdASAA
Quote from: ONeill on October 11, 2009, 11:47:34 PM
A man Cavan can be proud of. Some achievement.
This is from earlier in the year - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5flyZdASAA
Unreal acheivement.Considering the injury and all.Delighted for Paul.Very sound fella. Keeping the Gunner name famous.
Quote from: boojangles on October 12, 2009, 12:02:32 AM
Quote from: ONeill on October 11, 2009, 11:47:34 PM
A man Cavan can be proud of. Some achievement.
This is from earlier in the year - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5flyZdASAA
Unreal acheivement.Considering the injury and all.Delighted for Paul.Very sound fella. Keeping the Gunner name famous.
That's great to hear. Fair play to Paul, it was a superb achievement.
What a final, what a player. If Paul Brady never existed you could not make him up. Correct me if i'm wrong anyone but at the moment he has won the past 3 world singles titles, the last 5 US nationals and the past 5 All Ireland singles. Unreal. The worlds will be in Ireland in 2012 and i wouldn't bet against Gunner being in the running for a finals spot.
As far as the other grades in the World champs went, it was a virtual clean sweep for the irish.
Mens Open - Paul Brady - Cavan
Mens A - Ruahri Kelly - Tyrone
Mens B - Shane O'Neill - Tyrone
Mens C - Shane Hedigan - Cork
Mens Open Doubles - Eoin Kennedy - Dublin & Michael Finnegan - Cavan
Mens B Doubles - CJ Fitzpatrick and Seamus o'carroll - Limerick
Mens C Duobles - Ciaran Neary and Michael O'Brien
Mens 35+ - Gavin Buggy - Wexford
Mens 40+ - Ducksy Walsh = Kilkenny
Some achievement for all who went over. The webcasting was top notch too.
Those are great results, well done to all, especially Paul Brady (what a record).
Ducksy Walsh still going strong i see!
Quote from: Hoopeddefender on April 20, 2009, 03:03:42 PM
Noticed there was no handball thread on here which is a shame as it is the third GAA sport.
In what order?
Ducksey is still playing unreal ball, only dropped 29 points in the 3 matches he played over there. He has also been in 2 senior big alley finals in the past 3 years. Considering he won his first senior big alley in 1985 thats some going. that 1985 win was the first of a 13 in a row!!!
http://gaa.ie/page/senior_softball_singles.html
http://www.tribune.ie/sport/other-sport/article/2009/oct/18/three-hand-reel/
Good article about Paul Brady in the Tribune yesterday. Quite the feat
He seemed to have suffered a very bad injury. He's very driven.
AMbitions to be future cavan manager too.
Quote from: Rollout on October 20, 2009, 11:40:26 PM
He seemed to have suffered a very bad injury. He's very driven.
AMbitions to be future cavan manager too.
I like the sound of that.
Why is Brady not getting the recognition he deserves? We have eejits like Galvin getting player of the year yet Brady is best in the world 3 times over in a game many simply cannot play.
Quote from: hardstation on October 21, 2009, 12:39:40 AM
Great game to play but a chore to watch most of the time.
Also, Brady is creaming off a ween o' coin. More recognition than a wee trophy and a Seat.
Correct, not sure what the World's was worth this year but US nationals is about 20-30k right? He also won that 50k tournament about 5years ago. Fair play to him though, he deserves it.
There was no prize money for the worlds this year. It was purely for the title.
The winner of the US nationals probably got $5-6000, not that much considering the exchange rate and the price of flights and accommodation for a week.
The US open held at the end of the year has had a first prize of $25k for the past two years, Brady won it in 2007 but Cork's Tony Healy won it in 2008.
I would guess that since brady won the 25k in 2007 he has earned less from handball than most intercounty players got in expenses. Also, as far as i'm aware any prizemoney handball players do get is paid to them through the GAA as expenses, drip by drip. I may be wrong though.
Mickey Harte in today's Irish News:
Stars show Ireland has the world in its hands
Mickey Harte
SOME months ago, after having attended the annual GAA handball awards at a function in Monaghan, I was afforded a fantastic insight with regard to the enthusiasm and pride which those directly involved bring to their preferred discipline.
A host of awards were given out on the night, and many of the individual achievements would equal, if not surpass, any other sporting accomplishments worldwide.For too long the handball sector of our games had been given scant recognition for the significant strides they were making, not only in pursuit of their own excellence but additionally for the fact that they were creating, for the wider GAA family, a strong brand in the international arena. More recently, the GAA are to be commended for recognising the great work traditionally associated with this forgotten minority and have, through the appointment of a full-time National Handball manager, instigated a revitalisation of this skilful and taxing sport.
Despite the impressive array of national titles recognised at that particular function, all eyes were firmly fixed on the World Championships in Portland, Oregon in the USA. Because of this significant backing from Croke Park, and the integrated branding of handball, the touring party went off to the USA full of confidence.
In any sporting discipline, the ultimate ambition is to become a world champion. Indeed, some sports have a number of different governing bodies, all of whom boast 'world champions,' despite the fact that the exact accuracy of such a claim might be somewhat dubious. Nevertheless, these titles are much heralded by their relevant sporting branches and the various holders of said world champion status.
Handball affords our athletes this status in an increasingly significant fashion. The numerous world champions who returned from Portland last week can wear that badge of honour with more pride than many acclaimed world champions, as there were athletes from 12 countries competing in these particular championships.
As I intimated in my previous article around handball, the achievements of the handballers over many years, with limited resources and support, could act as a template for the development of our major GAA sports on the world stage. No compromises necessary – just the desire shown by our world handball trailblazers.
The fact that the next World Handball Championships are due to take place in Ireland in 2012, where a record 23 countries are expected to compete, might well be the catalyst to initiate some form of world series in GAA football and hurling.
Back to the achievements of the squad who competed in Portland, Oregon. Irish players dominated this world series with a haul of 35 world titles – yes, we now have 35 world handball champions. Pride of place for the Irish team must go to Cavan's Paul Brady and Antrim's Fiona Shannon, who achieved an unprecedented three World open singles titles in-a-row, confirming themselves as arguably the all-time greats of the 40 x 20 game.
Brady, who played through the pain barrier with a serious muscle injury, added to his already significant haul of five US national triumphs in-a-row and his sixth All-Ireland singles title earlier this year. Fiona Shannon was in equally imperious form as she romped to her Ladies open singles title and, reflective of the status of her club St Paul's, her opponent in the final was club colleague, Aisling Reilly.
The fact that no fewer than 19 countries won world championship medals indicates that the GAA handball initiative is reaping rewards, and that the sport is experiencing a positive revival. No fewer than 36 Irish players won gold medals at the Portland games.
WHILE many handballers actually play other GAA sports, there are others who concentrate exclusively on their chosen discipline and achieve a healthy lifestyle and level of self-esteem not previously available to them.
As well as the record-breaking achievements of Paul and Fiona, there was a significant breakthrough for two young players from Monaghan when they became the first players from that county to win world championship titles. Padraig McKenna and Darren Doherty completed a double of titles at U13 and U15, and the experience gained in the company of the aforementioned Irish world stars must ensure a big future for these young athletes.
Indeed, the world success achieved by no fewer than six Ulster counties (Cavan, two), Paul Brady and Michael Finnegan; Antrim (three), Fiona Shannon (two) and Sibeal Gallagher; Tyrone (three), Ruairi Kelly, Shane O'Neill and Darragh Daly; Monaghan (three), Padraig McKenna, Darren Doherty (two); Down's Lorraine Havern, and Armagh's James Doyle will act as a catalyst for significant growth of participation in handball as the organisation looks forward to the 2012 world games.
Michael Finnegan, along with Eoin Kennedy (Dublin) and Sibeal Gallagher, together with Fiona Shannon, deserve special mention having won the World open mens' and womens' doubles respectively.
As the end of year award ceremonies loom, Paul Brady must rank highly when the enormity of his personal achievements is considered. In addition to the previously noted accomplishments, the fact that he has now won five US nationals in-a-row, allied to becoming the first male player in history to win three consecutive World senior singles titles, is unrivalled in Irish sport this year.
With the Quinn Ulster GAA Writers' awards being held in the Slieve Russell Hotel this year, it would be appropriate that the Personality of the Year should go to one of Cavan's own sons.
Also, work is currently under way to have handball included as an exhibition sport at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio De Janeiro, with the possibility of inclusion in the 2020 Olympics – football and hurling take note.
Harte has always been a good supporter of handball in his writing, i'm not sure about the olympics part though. Handball wouldn't have near the numbers of players needed and as far as i'm aware a sport has to be played competitivly in a lot of countries to be elligible for inclusion.
During the World champs there was players from Japan, ecuador etc and i would say there is only a handful of people playing there. In the latin countries its probably just a few converts from Pelota who might work with an irish person.
Looking for a bit of info and help...
What size is the ball used in Handball?? And where could I buy a few in around Dublin??
Quote from: Celt_Man on May 26, 2010, 04:14:23 PM
Looking for a bit of info and help...
What size is the ball used in Handball?? And where could I buy a few in around Dublin??
Probably the best place to go is the Irish Handball Centre on Jones's Road. It used to be located in the office complex at HQ but I'm told it has moved across the road and is down the laneway beside the old JMOB bakery site.
You'll get both half solids and 40X20 balls there.
John Malloy, the curator of the alleys on St. Joseph's Avenue, the far side of Croke Park, has them also but this centre only opens late in the evening. (Incidentally, this is the site earmarked for the new GAA Museum.)