With less than one month until the
2018 Youth Olympic Games begin in Buenos Aires, the teams participating in the
first ever Olympic beach handball competition are in the final stages of
preparation. For American Samoa, the preparation phase has included fundraising
efforts including the ‘March to the Youth Olympics’ in February 2018 and the
construction of their first beach handball court – a task completed by the
coaching staff, officials and players themselves.
At the end of February 2018, the
Under 18 team from American Samoa competed at the Oceania Beach Handball
Championship in Adelaide, ranking second behind Australia. Coach Carl J.
Sagapolutele Floor Sr outlined how the continental event was crucial for his
players to gain experience ahead of the tough competition at the YOG:
“Adelaide, Australia was phase one
of what we call ‘the road to the gold’. We needed competition and that was our
purpose. A successful silver placement in the women’s division of the Oceania Beach
Handball Championships validated the teams’ progress since building the
official court,” said Floor Sr.
The next phase of competition in
preparation for Buenos Aires was the SoCal Beach Handball Tournament in LA,
which American Samoa attended with the help of organisation from LA Team
Handball coach Juliano de Oliviera. De Oliviera and Floor Sr. have collaborated
for several months to organise joint training opportunities for their teams.
“The games in LA were very
competitive and our team grew because of that. We sustained a few injuries
which effected our standing, but not our purpose. Our purpose is
experience. That’s what we lack,” says Floor Sr.
The American Samoa team also
travelled to the east coast of the United States as part of their preparation,
playing several matches in Boston and undertaking indoor training sessions with
Boston Team Handball. Many members of Boston Team Handball are of European
background, and Floor Sr. believes the experience playing alongside these
athletes helped his team to gain further crucial experience.
The beach handball competition at
the Youth Olympic Games begins on October 8 and runs through to October 13.
More information can be found on the official website of the Youth
Olympic Games.
Photo: American Samoa Handball Association