Bay handball trio head to world champs

Talk about making up for lost time ... Katerina Te Huia has certainly done that.
Five months ago the former Hawke's Bay touch representative had a baby boy. As part of her quest to get back into shape Havelock North's Te Huia, 28, took up a new sport, beach handball two months ago.
Despite being a rookie in the sport which has Olympic Games status, Te Huia is one of three Bay players selected in the New Zealand women's team for the world championships in Antayla, Turkey from June 21-28. Her younger sister Jojo, 23, and Jamie Lee Taylor, 23, who have both been playing for 13 months, are the others.
``It's been tough but beneficial,'' Te Huia said.
``Because we play on the sand we've been doing most of our training on the sand _ sprints, beep tests and drills. We've found the dunes at Waimarama to be the best place.''
Te Huia said the national side, which will be joined by a Kiwi men's team in Turkey, has been assembling in Wellington once every two or three weeks for training camps. Games are played at Oriental Bay.
``Because our players come from all over the country Wellington is regarded as the most central and cheaper location to get to,'' said Te Huia. ``Because the beach is close to the city it's also good for the sport's profile.'' Like her sister and Taylor, Te Huia, is on the hunt for sponsorship to assist with the $4000 they are each required to fundraise for the trip.
``We're also keen to find a trainer,'' she said.
``We can get a bit lazy just pushing ourselves and we're hoping there may be a foreigner with a background in handball who might be able to assist.''
The coaching and management staff involved with the New Zealand women's team have had experience in the sport internationally but the New Zealand Handball Federation has a ``Kiwi Only'' policy when it comes to selection for the New Zealand teams.
``Basically our goal is to go over to Turkey, get experience and bring the latest developments in the game home to help develop it more,'' said Te Huia.
``While it is one of the biggest European sports it is fairly new to New Zealand.
``When we go to tournaments we play for composite teams. Hopefully it won't be too long before we have leagues set up in Hawke's Bay and we can select Hawke's Bay teams for national tournaments.''
While the New Zealand teams will be making their first appearances at world championship level in Turkey, Te Huia is confident it will only be a matter of time before the Kiwis qualify for the Olympics.
Bay fans will be able to monitor the progress of the Kiwi teams via internet stream.