USA Team Handball Applauds U.S. Olympic Network

USA Team Handball applauded the announcement of the U.S. Olympic Network, a partnership between the United States Olympic Committee and Comcast devoted to the broadcast of Olympic sports. During Wednesday’s teleconference with the media, Peter Ueberroth, former chairman of the USOC, presented team handball as a sport that could benefit from airtime on the network; USATH General Manager Steve Pastorino agreed.

"Earlier this year, the response was overwhelmingly positive to the first-ever U.S. television broadcast of the IHF World Championships,” Pastorino said. “The creation of the U.S. Olympic Network likely means much more handball programming on U.S. airwaves in the years to come. Our sport lends itself as well to television as virtually any other - so we are pleased that the USOC and Comcast have reached this partnership."

Many look forward to watching handball in the United States between the Olympic Games as well as the advancement of the sport due to increased exposure. Handball national athletes and Olympians weighed in on the U.S. Olympic Network Wednesday:

“I’ve been waiting for the day I can flip through the channels and find such an exciting sport not only that I love, but have dedicated 18 years of my life to become world class in. To be able to watch team handball on television, that would be a dream come true.”

Darrick Heath, 1996 Olympian, Team Handball

"The opportunity for USA Team Handball to receive more exposure on the U.S. Olympic Network is really exciting. My grassroots handball program in Colorado Springs was formed after kids here watched handball in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and wanted to play. Now I can tell them their hard work on the handball court might lead to a chance to showcase themselves to a national audience."

Kathy Rex
1988 Olympian, Team Handball
Founder and Coach of Landsharks Team Handball Club in Colorado Springs, CO and adviser to the USA U17 National Team

"The announcement of a new U.S. Olympic Network is one large step for the entire Olympic family and one gigantic step for sports such as team handball. Many athletes, such as myself, were introduced to our sport just months prior to competing on the international stage. One can only imagine the success U.S. Team Handball would have if our athletes can learn about the game as kids. I look forward to watching the U.S. Olympic Network. I am sure that I will be watching along with future members of U.S. Team Handball, as their dreams of Olympic glory begin. I also look forward to watching these athletes go for gold in Chicago 2016.”

Yaro Dachniwsky, 1996 Olympian, Team Handball

"Showing our sport on the U.S. Olympic Network will help upgrade the public's knowledge and perception of our sport. I hope it drives people's curiosity, makes them ask questions and want to support us more. Perhaps the sport will become so popular we can drop the 'team' from the name."

Tomuke "T" Ebuwei , USA Women's National Team captain, Team Handball

"Handball is such a fantastic sport. People who see it love it immediately, but that's been our biggest challenge. People think they know what handball is, but they don't. With the U.S. Olympic Network we'll have additional opportunities to be seen on television and that's a big win for handball. It is such an American game, and once people catch on in the U.S., it can be more popular than it is in Europe."

Dawn Allinger, 1996 Olympian, Team Handball

The U.S. Olympic Network is projected to launch sometime in 2010. Read the announcement from the USOC and Comcast here.