Since 2009 the Caribbean islands of St. Kitts and Nevis have been an official member federation of the IHF. Around 48,000 people live on the islands – and especially among the young population handball becomes more and more popular, thanks to a new school project of the St. Kitts and Nevis Handball Association. Supported by the St. Kitts and Nevis National Olympic Committee (SKNOC), which aims to develop handball in St. Kitts and Nevis, 91 students aged ten to eleven started practising handball at the Beach Allen Primary School. The 52 boys and 39 girls have been taught the basics of handball such as techniques, tactics and rules knowledge. They have been coached by Jeffery Hazel and Kenneth Douglas, who were both trained in Barbados in 2010.

As published in the local newspaper of the island’s capital Basseterre, the boys and girls liked the sessions very much, same as head teacher Emelita Warner-Paul. “This game is just like football, but you play it with your hands instead of feet,” one child remarked.
Warner-Paul expressed that she had been eagerly anticipating the start of this new programme, and is excited that it has finally started. “The children looked very happy and this gives me a great deal of satisfaction,” Warner-Paul said.