An Update From The NTHL

On March 1st, 2020, the NTHL hosted eleven (11) matches in Charlottesville, VA and University Park, PA. These matches were comprised of club teams and college teams, men’s teams, and women’s teams, veteran teams and new teams alike. As these matchdays ended, we crowned a champion from D2 South, cleared the standings in D2 North, and established a pecking order for the Women’s Collegiate National Championships.

As we drove home from the campuses of Virginia and Penn State, many lingering thoughts were in our minds about the rest of the season.

• We wondered who would qualify for the Men’s Elite Division at Nationals alongside NYC.
• We wondered who would win the Women’s Division between NYC and Boston, and which club would have the edge going into Nationals.
• We wondered how West Virginia would finally fare against the rebuilding DC Diplomats.
• We wondered if Philly Team Handball would earn promotion to Men’s D1 by winning the D2 Championships.
• We wondered how the largest Collegiate National Championships in history would operate, and if Carolina, USAFA, PITT Panthers, or Ohio State would be the team to break the Army West Point Black winning streak.
• We wondered who would reign supreme at Nationals in Detroit, and how all of our teams would do at the event.
• We wondered if the USA Deaf National Team and HC Toronto would join the NTHL next season.

However, the world had other plans. Over the past 365 days, handball has been on the backburner, secondary to the COVID-19 pandemic and all the challenges the world had as a result. And in those past 365 days, we’ve lost family, friends, neighbors, coaches, mentors, and referees. We’ve lost acquaintances and allies alike. It’s been a very tough year for many of us.

As we sit here a year later, I cannot say when we’ll return to action again. We are however receiving reports indicating that returning to full handball activities may become a possibility relatively soon.

For all of the players, coaches, referees, and administrators reading this message: Please continue to stay safe and prepare to hit the ground running; we’ll see this through.