Handball is a seven-player team sport in which two teams compete to throw the ball into the opposing team's goal. Played on a court roughly twice the size of a basketball court, the game combines the physicality of hockey, the tactical positioning of soccer, and the throwing skill of baseball — played at a pace that rarely slows. Players pass, cut, and shoot in a continuous flow of action that makes it one of the most dynamic and exciting team sports in the world.

Handball has been an Olympic sport since 1972 and is one of the most-watched events at every Summer Games. It is the number one indoor team sport in Europe, with professional leagues in Germany, France, Spain, Denmark, and beyond drawing tens of millions of viewers. In Canada, however, the sport is almost entirely unknown — which means the competitive pathway for a talented young athlete who starts today is wide open in a way that no other Olympic sport can offer.

Handball Canada is actively developing the sport at the grassroots level, and the infrastructure for provincial and national competition is in place. An athlete who begins handball at age 9 or 10 — with proper coaching and a genuine development pathway — has a realistic opportunity to represent their province and potentially their country in a sport where the national teams are early in their own development arc. That window does not exist in hockey, basketball, or soccer.