Greenlandic youth national team on its way to international tournament

Greenland’s U-19 national handball team is among nine teams that will compete for qualification for the IHF Trophy in July.

Greenlandic handball is now back on international assignments after a financial crisis in the handball association TAAK.

Now there is again the financial means to send national teams on international assignments. And the U-19 national women’s handball team will now benefit from this.

They will participate in a qualifying tournament for the IHF Trophy. It is a tournament where different continents compete for participation in the final round of the IHF Trophy.

Nine teams from North America and the Caribbean have registered for the tournament, which Greenland has registered for, and the matches will kick off on July 16 in the Canadian city of Drummondville.

– It’s not a period when we’re used to having to play matches. But now most of the girls have tried it before, when we were at the World Cup last year during the summer holidays, says the national coach of the U-19 national team, Victoria Budek Svendsen, to KNR.

And they work hard in training to get ready for the tournament.

– We know that Cuba and the USA have signed up. These are teams we have not met before, and these are teams that traditionally field strong teams, says Victoria Budek Svendsen.

Coming to learn

The national coach and TAAK are cautious about setting expectations for the tournament.

– The expectations for our youth national team from TAAK are that they come to learn. They go to gain even more experience and to play even more matches that they can use in their journey as handball players, says Victoria Budek Svendsen.

In addition to holding tournaments outside the handball season, which Greenlandic players are used to, North American and Caribbean teams also differ in terms of gameplay.

Greenlandic players lean heavily towards the European style of play, while players on the other side of the Atlantic may practice an unorthodox style of play.

– We have prepared for someone who plays in a different way. There may be someone who covers offensively. They play a different type of handball. So that is something we have to include in our training. So that it may not just be a flat defense that we have to play against, says Victoria Budek Svendsen.

– Some of these countries may have one player who has to carry the entire load. And that’s something we also have to get used to, says the national coach.

The U-19 national team will travel to Canada a week before the tournament to acclimatize before the first whistle blows. The trip will take place via the new connection from Nuuk to New York. From there, the journey will continue to Drummondville, which is located outside the metropolis of Montreal.

Greenland U-19 national handball team

Ajla Bibi Knudsen Jørgensen – K-33Amáunalik Møller – SAKArnannguaq Berthelsen – Nagdlúnguaq Bea Jensen – GSS Hannah Nielsen Kleist – SAKIvaana Lennert Petersen – GSS Jaliina Jakobsen – GSSMadeline Bjørnestad – TMS Ringdia Na Rossenjadja – Nandjadja Rossen Petersen – GSS Najaaraq Heilmann – GSS Niviaq Skifte Knudsen – GSS Paarma Kreutzmann – GSS Tukummeq Berthelsen – NÛK

Leaders: Victoria Budek Svendsen – National Coach Kathrine Fuglsang Mikkelsen – Assistant Coach Jakob Studsgaard Jensen – Physiotherapist Kurt Lauritsen – Delegation Leader