Row over venue name
British Handball have reacted angrily to the news the Olympic Handball Arena will be renamed for the Games.
By Paul Higham Twitter: @SkySportsPaulH
Last Updated: 10/01/12 7:08pm
British Handball have reacted angrily to the news the Olympic Handball Arena will be renamed for the London Olympics, with them launching a campaign to keep the sport's name in the venue's title.
The Handball Arena in the Olympic Park will be renamed the Copper Box by LOCOG, but this news has angered British Handball officials.
The 7,000-seater arena is a permanent fixture and will be a multi-use facility after the Games, but the sport's authorities are keen to keep the name Handball in its title.
Legacy is a big buzz word around the Olympics, and British Handball chief executive Paul Goodwin says retaining Handball in the title is key to the legacy of his sport.
Handball is getting increasingly popular in Britain, and Goodwin thinks that removing the name from the venue is a step backward in that rise and a threat to the post-Games legacy.
Legacy
"Retaining the name of the sport in the title of the venue is important to us," said Goodwin. "The Olympics has given handball a great opportunity to grow in popularity, and all the indications are that we are achieving that.
"Handball has seen a six-fold increase in participation across England alone, with almost 60,000 children and young people being introduced to the sport last year.
"I think we deserve to have all our good work in developing the sport recognised by the authorities by not giving the venue a generic title which does nothing to reflect its usage.
"Why have they not renamed other facilities in a similar vein?
"Perhaps the Olympic Velodrome will be called 'the big round wooden building' or the basketball arena renamed as 'the marshmallow'?"
Popularity
Handball is hugely popular across continental Europe, being the most popular team sport for women and second-best for men.
That popularity is catching on in the UK, with recent England Handball figures showing 9,000 youngsters regularly playing the sport - with their Sport England target being 3,000 by 2013.
British Universities Handball Championship saw unprecedented numbers of participants this year, while the English National League and Development League continue to go from strength to strength with new teams joining each year.
A big increase in participation has come in schools, thanks largely to England Handball's programme which has seen dramatic expansion across the country.
It was also one of seven sports which are being offered to schools as part of the Government's Change 4 Life programme which provides equipment and training in one sport to every school - and 420 schools chose handball.
