Training for Gallipoli

Handball may not be a well-known sport in New Zealand, but it is growing, and a young Marlborough player is an integral part of that growth.

Karl Fitzpatrick has just been selected in the New Zealand handball team to compete in a tri-series at Gallipoli against Australia and Turkey.

This is New Zealand's first major tournament and is scheduled to coincide with Anzac Day, bringing the three main countries involved in that World War 1 conflict together to strengthen the already powerful bonds between them.

Fitzpatrick said handball was thriving in Wellington, where he plays for a team, coincidentally called Blenheim, while attending Victoria University.

Fellow Marlborough men Ryan Roselli, Ben Wallace and Jono Leach are also in the club team and Wallace has been picked alongside Fitzpatrick in the New Zealand team.

The New Zealand squad comprises 14 players. The game itself is seven-a-side with rolling subs. Like football, there are designated goalies. The ball is a small version of a football which, Fitzpatrick notes, "hurts if it hits you in the head".

The courts are 40 metres by 20m and there is a 6m circle at each end. The goals are 3m wide and 2m high. Players cannot step inside the circle, but can jump into it, as long as they throw the ball before landing.

Defenders can use body contact, and running with the ball is part of the game, but the ball must be bounced like a basketball.

Fitzpatrick said handball was fast, furious and physical, a combination of football, netball, basketball and rugby.

Before the Gallipoli tournament, the New Zealand team will head to Germany for three weeks of matches. Handball is one of Germany's biggest sports and Fitzpatrick said his team was being paid to play there against local club teams.

The Gallipoli handball tournament runs from April 21 to 24 and the three teams will attend the dawn service together at Anzac Cove on April 25.

The 23-year-old is also New Zealand's third-ranked javelin thrower and hopes to rekindle that career later in the year.

After the handball tournament he will head to Finland, the ideal place to hone his throwing skills.

The Scandinavian country, where his girlfriend lives, has a particularly strong heritage of javelin throwing, and Fitzpatrick is keen to get involved and compete there.

- The Marlborough Express

Newest First

Oldest First