USATH chairman departs for Copenhagen in support of Chicago 2016

MEDIA ADVISORY
USA TEAM HANDBALL CHAIRMAN DEPARTS FOR COPENHAGEN
Handball reaction available Friday

USA Team Handball, which has not qualified for the Summer Olympics since 1996, has as much to gain as any U.S. Olympic National Governing Body from a Chicago victory this Friday in the high-stakes competition to determine the host of the 2016 Olympic Games.

To demonstrate support for the bid, and to lobby the global handball community on Chicago’s behalf, USA Team Handball chairman Dieter Esch departed Salt Lake City today bound for Copenhagen. In the coming days, Esch will meet with high-ranking officials from many countries, including Germany, Poland, France, Croatia and Denmark. In addition, Esch is expected to meet representatives from the Pan American Team Handball Federation and the International Handball Federation as well.

Esch founded USA Team Handball in April 2008, after a public bid process to serve as the National Governing Body and caretaker for the sport in the United States. Handball’s popularity crested with the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, suffering from lack of funding, public awareness, grassroots programs and a unified sense of mission. In less than 18 months, USA Team Handball has conducted tryouts, kick-started youth programs in 20 states, fielded national teams at the youth and senior levels and reorganized domestic competition. USATH has worked closely with Chicago 2016 and its legacy sports organization, World Sport Chicago, to bolster the sport’s development in the Windy City.

However, just one country currently automatically qualifies for the Olympics from the Americas (ranging from Greenland to Argentina) - and Brazil has earned every men’s and women’s bid since 1996. As host country, USA would receive automatic berths for its men’s and women’s teams.

“It’s the shot in the arm that handball in America needs,” said general manager Steve Pastorino. “We’ll be watching with bated breath on Friday morning."

For immediate reaction from Copenhagen and the USA Team Handball headquarters in Salt Lake City, Utah on Friday, all media outlets are invited to contact Lauren Harrington at (801) 463-2000 or www.usateamhandball.org.