This weekend marks the official beginning of the 2022/23 handball season in the United States.
Our men’s team will be kicking-off their (busy) schedule at the first USA Team Handball qualifying tournament in Bloomington, MN – The Minnesota Fall Classic. The second edition of the tournament hosted by Minnesota Team Handball will gather a total of 8 teams. Among the participants, the 2022 US Nationals Runner-Up and multiple national championship winner, New York Athletic Club, and several teams from the Midwest, most notably Chicago Inter Handball.
This will be the opportunity to lay the foundations for the months to come and give our players a good feel before embarking on what seems to be like a competitive season. In the absence of Eloy Rubio, captain Maximilian Paulus eagerly awaits this opening event “This is our second time attending the MN Fall Classic. Last year, most of our players couldn’t attend it as we were in Switzerland preparing for the IHF Super Globe, but we got some pretty positive feedback from other members of the team. This tournament is an opportunity to get a smooth start and practice both on the individual and collective levels. It will serve as a perfect preparation for the Michael Lipov Memorial Cup (Chicago, IL on Oct 28-30)“.
This year, the MN Fall Classic expanded (from six) to eight teams, giving this event significantly more weight in a record time. Drew Bradley, left-wing on the team and a transfer from Boston Team Handball Club, enjoys his time in California. He sees in this tournament an occasion to match up against the best early in the season. “Last year, we only played 2-3 tournaments and barely had the chance to face off against some of our greatest rivals. The MN Fall Classic offers us a chance to play some of the most competitive teams in ELITE, like NYAC, Chicago and West Point. That’s really exciting!”.
This year’s MN Fall Classic will host a total of eight teams, split across two groups of four teams each. SF Calheat has been seeded in group A together with Army West Point Black, Milwaukee and the Wolves (Denver). In the other group, last year’s tournament winner, Chicago Inter Handball, will be facing New York Athletic Club, and the two teams of Minnesota (Green & Black). Beyond the competitiveness itself, the MN Fall Classic will serve to showcase handball in the Midwest. In the last few years, a number of clubs from Detroit, Columbus, Milwaukee, Denver, etc. started emerging, giving the region more exposure nationally and potentially setting up the stage for a new league next to the Northeast. “The Midwest has all the ingredients to become a regional powerhouse!”.
We will provide live results throughout the weekend on our Facebook and Instagram pages. The tournament will be streamed on the Minnesota Team Handball YouTube page. Good luck to our delegation traveling to Minnesota and… #GoCalheat!
Saturday October 8 at 11:15 AM (CT) SF Calheat v. Wolves
Saturday October 8 at 3:00 PM (CT) SF Calheat v. Milwaukee
Sunday October 9 at 10:00 AM (CT) SF Calheat v. Army West Point Black
Sunday October 9 as of 11:15 AM and until 3:00 PM (CT) placement games