Olympic Solidarity Project

News

2010-07-05

We are gearing up for Partille Cup!

After a very intense and rewarding week together at the school of Ugglum the participating teams are charging for the upcoming tournament Partille Cup. Many teams are eager to get started with the games and challenged to use the new knowledge in ”real games”.

The final day was yesterday and there was full training in Partille Bo and Ugglum. It feels amazing to see how these young people really struggling to learn more and even though the blisters and sores make themselves felt as they really are in full swing.
The coaches of the participating have been eager and very interested to ask the inspiring instructors, there have been many development debates and all kind of handball topics have been highlighted to give them as much as possible.

The instructors who have been tireless set and practiced the different teams during these days have really gone into the task in a wholehearted way. There are not enough words to describe what they have delivered during those days.
They have taken the time for players and managers but also been quite active in establishing contacts for the continued support of participating nations.

After the project’s final two practice sessions on Monday so there was a closing of the first Olympic Solidarity for the nations, leaders and players and trainers. It was divided so that each language represented in the project was a self-closing so that all really got a chance to share the impressions and feelings that they have received during the week.

There was also a chance for a hugging and kissing and a lot och positive feelings. It´s was visibly appreciated how this project has been. Players and managers really wanted to thank and hug to show the appreciation they feel for the operation of their instructors and what they have done for them. It showed clearly that many were touched by this moment and there were many who left Ugglumskolans training hall with one and another wet eye. Now, the first Olympic Solidaity Project are completed after a lot of training, but fortunately so, all involved will get many chances during Partille Cup to meet and continue the development and exchange their thoughts about this great sport of Handball.

The first Olympic Solidarity Project is started and ended and the power to make the sport grow with the Olympic Solidarity ”seed” as a contributing factor. We all peopleworking in the organization behind this project wants to wish you all Good luck in the upcoming Partille Cup and we look forward to accompany you during the games coming!

2010-07-04

Olympic Solidarity at its best!

All the other days during this week there have been really great with a lot of positive atmosphere all around every team at Ugglum School. But today dear handball friends there was even better then best. Every participating team showed pure solidarity and positive spirits.

The evening started with good food typical for the Swedish summer and followed with different dancing and singing from all of the teams. First there was a contribution from the staff with instructors, team guides and school hosts that did a typical summer song and dance act followed by China girls. All teams did really good performances encouraged by all the other teams. The evening ended with a big final of clapping hands with all 250 peoples in a big circle walking towards the center of the outside court at Ugglum School. It was a great feeling to see and be a part of. The teams also showed their gratitude towards their instructors by dancing and singing in circles around them.

The team’s excitement for entering Partille Cup is so strong but before that they will practice for two more times during Monday. We who have the oppertunity  in the organization want to thank you for your songs and dancing, and also for your spontaneous acts of gratitude towards us. Let´s bring this project home and give you a good start for the tournament.

2010-07-03

Olympic Solidarity participants hunger for more!

The players and leaders really have big lust for learning more and they take every opportunity for that. It is daily served breakfast, lunch and dinner for over 200 participants and the organization consisting of about 30 people, fuel, helping them all to be able to implement all the training that they have the chance to participate in.

There are positive feelings among this amazing group of people and many who is fighting for each second of new knowledge and establish new partnerships between nations that will be important in the future handball development.

It can be seen and indeed is evident also in this project that when young people get such a chance, they are not slow to take it. Those young people who are here really take the chance. Great fun to see how they struggle with all the exercises the instructors is challenging them to do. This means big development for future youth in the real way.

2010-07-02

Goalkeeper and physical training

Yesterday the teams had a free day and today the training started again. In the morning all the teams had goalkeeper training with one of the best goalkeeper in Sweden. He plays for IK Sävehof and his name is Thomas ”foppa” Forsberg. The goalkeepers found it very inspiring and fun. In the afternoon one half of the teams had physical training in Partillebohallen with the physical trainer Mauricio. The other half had handball training in Ugglum. Tomorrow the other half will have physical training while the other half who had it today will train handball.

This is a link from the Swedish television about Olympic Solidarity

http://www.tv4play.se/nyheter/lokala_nyheter/goteborg?videoId=1.1701474

2010-07-01

Free day!

Today all the teams had a free day from handball. In the morning all of the players were very excited to see more of Gothenburg. USA and England were at the lake called Kåsjön. Gabon, Benin and India went to the centre of Gothenburg. China visited the shopping centre Allum.

Later this day England played against the staff and their own coaches in a friendly game. Players and coaches developed every day and you can see how much they want to learn from the instructors.

The atmosphere here at the school is fantastic and you can hear many diffrent language in the corridors and we all enjoy to have the teams from all over the world here.

2010-06-30

Friendly games!

Today the teams started the day with training and after lunch they all played friendly games against local teams. All teams did a really good job and all of us who watched enjoyed it. The matches were played in Ugglum, where the teams are staying and in Partille Bo.  Today Ugglum school was visited by the media who interviewed some of the players. Until now it has been very nice weather, but today it unfortunately was raining. Tomorrow, Wednesday the teams have a free day from handball and many of the players are going to swim and to see Gothenburg, Göteborg as we say in Sweden!

2010-06-29

Full speed ahead with Olympic Solidarity!

This year Partille Cup starts earlier than ever, actually already ten days before the official tournament.
Together with the International Olympic Committee and the International Handball Federation, Partille Cup organizes a handball camp for 13-16 year olds, called Olympic Solidarity. These specially selected countries are spending one entire week practicing handball. In total Olympic Solidarity has more than 200 participants.
The aim is to give young and less experienced handball nations practice and theory, mixed by hard training. There are also clinics and education for the coaches, delegates and referees.
The camp consists of eleven teams from eight countries:
Two teams each from China, Nigeria and England. One team each from Benin, Gabon, Kenya, India and USA.

Olympic Solidarity gives participants an opportunity to get lots of training, knowledge and also to be trained by Swedish skill trainers.

The trainers try to give as much as they can during the trainings and clinics to create greatest possible progress and development. This also gives the players and coaches new experiences back home to help their nation develop in handball. It would be wonderful to see more teams, clubs and tournaments played in the participating countries in the future. That would make handball grow and maybe even create a completely different game in the future.
At Ugglum School there is everything you can imagine in terms of professional staff; school hosts and team guides but also trainers who really give everything for the teams.
Olympic Solidarity is a great start and kick off for the teams that gives them more experience from handball and good preparation to participate in Partille Cup.

Olympic Solidarity Project – Handball for future youth

Partille Cup has, together with the International Handball Federation (IHF), started a project called “Handball for future youth”. This project is supported by the Olympic Committee.

Purpose

The purpose of this project is to give undeveloped, but serious trying handball nations a real chance to get a platform for handball. We want to create a lifelong interest for sport and handball in particular. We also want to give leaders and players a basic education of handball in both theory and practice. The players shall also be inspired, not only in their role as players, but also to be a future leader inspiring schools and teachers/adults/leaders to set up clubs, starting competitions and clinics.

IHF has chosen 25 countries that Partille Cup will invite for a longer stay in Gothenburg. The goal for 2010 is to have 12 teams, 6 boys and 6 girls teams, with their leaders for a 14 days stay to be educated in handball. Partille Cup will arrange accommodation, clinics, training and matches for these teams.

IHF believes that this is a chance to move some countries to higher levels of sport and it will also be a chance for them, short after a week of hard training, to practise and to play in the world’s biggest and most famous handball tournament – Partille Cup. Here leaders and players get the best of opportunities to get connections and friends with the same interest.

Main objective

To get 20 enthusiasts of each country to return home, to teach and recruit new players, leaders and referees, to set up clubs, to start tournaments in the schools. In many countries football and basket are natural sports and everybody knows the playing rules. It can be difficult to be a pioneer of handball when there are no traditions. Therefore it’s needed for a group of enthusiasts to come and live with handball, to feel the rhythm, to know the rules better and to see the sport of a higher level.

Underlying objectives

- To be developed as players and to lead selections, regional and national teams
- To get new handball friends who can inspire and who can be lifelong friends
- To see how a tournament can be arranged and bring home parts of it when organizing similar with clubs or in schools