Antigua Handball Association proud to get the sport off the ground; national teams compete in IHF Beach Handball Tournament
Antigua and Barbuda Handball Association is proud to announce that the sport is once again off the ground in our country.
After nearly a decade of limited activity as a member association of the NOC, our focus on Beach Handball has reignited interest and participation.
The sport was first introduced to the island through the vision of our esteemed ABNOC President, Hon. E. P. Chet Greene, and has been carried forward through the efforts of Cliff Williams and others committed to its development.
This renewed push concentrated on Beach Handball as our neighbours in St. Kitts and Nevis hosted the IHF Beach Handball Tournament and World Cup qualifier.
With support from the IHF Developing Nations grant, we were able to assemble both male and female national teams and fund our participation in the tournament in St. Kitts.
The IHF also assisted by providing coaching support on the island, including Mr. Olando Garcia from Puerto Rico, who helped prepare and coach our athletes for competition, and assisted us in developing a development plan for competition to continue in Antigua and Barbuda.
Our delegation consists of 20 athletes — ten men and ten women — accompanied by five officials.
The teams were formed about two months ago through an aggressive drafting and training programme, with intensive sessions both on the beach and the hardcourt. Players were recruited from a variety of sports and communities: our female athletes were drawn largely from Netball and Volleyball, while our male athletes include players from Cricket, Baseball, Volleyball and other local sporting backgrounds.
Throughout training, the athletes have demonstrated strong interest, dedication and enjoyment of the game, and we believe we have prepared them to compete at a competitive standard.
We extend our gratitude to those who helped make this revival possible.
Special thanks to NOC Vice President and President of Netball, Karen Joseph, for her instrumental support in launching this initiative, and to Keston Daley for his dedication and service in training our athletes. We also thank the IHF for their financial and technical support.
The Antigua and Barbuda Handball teams are participating in their first regional/international competition at the IHF Beach Handball Tournament in St. Kitts, 23–26 April 2026.
The men open their campaign against St. Kitts at 9:00 a.m., and the women face the USA at 12:20 p.m. Live streaming will be available once we receive and share the link.
Please join us in cheering on and supporting the athletes and the Association as we embark on this important step for Handball in Antigua and Barbuda.