Mark Your Calendar: the 2023 CalCup is Days Away

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This Friday, the 16th edition of our annual California Cup tournament will kick-off. This year’s event will continue to be held at the Centerville Jr. High School in Fremont, CA and bring together prestigious teams from all around the United States, as well as a few up-and-coming clubs from our side of the country.

The women’s division will offer exciting match ups between probably the current four best teams in the nation. Our women’s team, winner of the last Samala Super Cup in Denver, CO, is experiencing a fantastic first half of the season and will try their best to finally get their hands on the trophy. The last time our women’s team claimed the title was in 2015. Quite a long time ago. “Even though the US Nationals remain the highest of priorities and challenges, I believe it’s time we fight for the CalCup trophy once and for all. There’s lots of quality in this team and our players are hungry for victories” – says Tina Alavanja, the coach of the team. But they’ll need to overcome a number of obstacles, and notably one, the 2019 and 2022 winners, New York City THC. The East Coast flagship is now becoming a regular participant in our tournament and always comes with a lot of ambitions. Besides those two teams, Chicago Inter, defeated in last year’s gold medal game in overtime, and the newly established team from Southern California, the California Eagles, shall not be underestimated.

  • Friday February 3 at 8:10 PM: SF Calheat v. California Eagles
  • Saturday February 4 at 12:40 PM: SF Calheat v. Chicago Inter
  • Saturday February 4 at 7:40 PM: SF Calheat v. New York City THC
  • Sunday February 5 at 3:30 PM: Women’s Final

In the men’s division, eight teams will fight for the crown. After winning three consecutive CalCup tournaments (2019, 2020, 2022; 2021 was cancelled) and tying the event’s record, our first men’s team will battle in a very competitive round robin vs. longstanding rivals, New York City THC and Los Angeles. The California Eagles, surprising winner at the recent Los Angeles Invitational, will be the underdog. Our second men’s team will continue its mission to develop future generation of players by battling against national powerhouses like New York Athletic Club and Chicago Inter while testing their might against Denver Wolves, a new team who has impressed many this season. The men’s competition will also mark the return of Andrew Donlin, member of the USA men’s national team at the recent IHF World Championship in Poland / Sweden, to the competition. “I’m excited to be back with the squad. These last couple of weeks have been a dream, but I’m blessed to be contributing to this club’s mission” says the pretty humbled native from Plymouth, MN.

  • Friday February 3 at 5:50 PM: SF Calheat 2 v. Chicago Inter
  • Friday February 3 at 9:20 PM: SF Calheat 1 v. Los Angeles
  • Saturday February 4 at 9:10 AM: SF Calheat 2 v. New York Athletic Club
  • Saturday February 4 at 11:30 AM: SF Calheat 1 v. New York City THC
  • Saturday February 4 at 4:10 PM: SF Calheat 2 v. Denver Wolves
  • Saturday February 4 at 6:30 PM: SF Calheat 1 v. California Eagles
  • Sunday February 5 at 2:00 PM: Men’s Final

Besides notable athletes, we will also be welcoming Ryan Johnson, USA Team Handball CEO, as well as Per Morten Sødal, IHF PRC Chairman / Head of Referees.

The event will be be broadcasted LIVE through our Facebook, YouTube and Instagram channels. #GoCalheat!

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