The NorDan 2024 British Handball Super Cup took place last weekend at Oriam, Scotland’s Sports Performance Centre in Edinburgh, with the top four men’s and women’s teams from Scottish and English leagues battling it out for the title and European club competition qualification. This year's Super Cup competition also saw the single largest amount of Handball coverage from a UK-terrestrial broadcaster since London 2012 as BBC Sport Scotland provided live coverage online and on BBC iPlayer for the entire event. For our international audience, the feeds were simultaneously broadcast across the SHA YouTube and Facebook Live sites too. In a tournament described by observers as an "outstanding success", a packed Oriam saw Loughborough Students HC and London GD HC respectively crowned the women’s & men’s NorDan 2024 British Handball Super Cup Champions.
Saturday - Semi-finals
The first women's semi-final saw Edinburgh take on Olympia. In a tightly contested match, Edinburgh started brightly, but couldn't quite maintain their momentum. As the match developed, Olympia found their rhythm, eventually proving too strong for an Edinburgh side that had some regular players missing. Olympia ran out with a convincing 28-14 victory.
The second women's semi-final saw two young sides compete as Tryst '77 come up against Loughborough Students HC. After a very strong start from Loughborough, Tryst simply couldn't find a way back into the match; but put up a strong showing nonetheless, undoubtedly gaining excellent experience for this developing side. Loughborough Students HC - with many GB W20 internationals in their side - proved too strong, showing a lot of skill, a very strong defence and some great finishing, concluding the match with a comfortable 50-13 win.
The first men's semi-final saw Livingston take on NEM Hawks in a repeat of last year's Final. Seeking revenge for their loss after extra-time, Livingston delivered a controlled performance throughout. Despite building an early lead in the first half, once the match got going NEM Hawks were always chasing the game and Livingston ended up comfortable winners after a 35-26 victory.
The second men's semi-final saw EK82 line up against London GD. Winners of the title in 2022 - losing their semi-final against Livingston last year - London GD came into the event in good form and with a strengthened side. Despite a strong showing, EK82 couldn't quite match the power or depth of squad from London GD who ran out eventual winners 33-25.
Sunday - Bronze Medal matches and Finals
After a fantastic first day, the second day of the tournament started with the bronze medal matches.
In the women's bronze medal match, Edinburgh faced familiar opponents Tryst '77. Tryst '77 started very brightly, racing into an early lead. Despite Edinburgh drawing level, the Tryst team dug deep and regained the lead displaying a calm composure that many fans were surprised about. In spite of this, the experience and skills of the Edinburgh team eventually told, and they ended up proving just too strong for Tryst after an excellent match, ending up as Bronze Medal winners in the 2024 Super Cup after a score of 32-25.
The men's bronze medal match saw EK82 take on NEM Hawks. In control throughout most of the match, EK82 proved just too strong for NEM Hawks who have seen a number of changes to their line-up this season. After a competitively contested match played in good spirits by both teams, EK82 finished this year's Super Cup with the Bronze Medal winning 41-31.
The women's final saw Loughborough Students line up against Olympia. In the highly anticipated contest following their semi-final victories the day before, both teams certainly delivered what an expectatnt crowd had hoped to see. Loughborough Students players all take part in the Elite Performance Academy at Loughborough College, and this - their first ever showing at the Super Cup - showed just how much this initiative can deliver. In a match that was hard fought from the first whistle, the scorline was extremely close throughout. As the game drew to a close, and with Loughborough one goal ahead, Olympia failed to capitalise on a strong position ceding control of the ball. Loughborough went up the court and scored what proved to be the decisive goal with barely 30 seconds left. After a breathless match, it was Loughborough Students HC who managed to edge out Olympia winning by just 2 goals - 22-20 - and claiming their first ever champions title as the winners of the NorDan 2024 British Handball Super Cup.
The men's final was a hotly anticipated match; Livingston and London GD having had a number of very close matches, with both teams winning, over recent years. In the end, it proved to be one of those games for Livingston where nothing would quite go right; whereas for London GD it was one of those games where everything fell the right way. London GD showed a depth of skill, experience, depth of squad and tactical nous that Livingston simply couldn't match on the day. In spite of a hugely successful season, winning the Scottish League, League Cup and Scottish Cup - along with their win in the Celtic Cup against the Irish Champions in February - the Scottish Champions had to settle for runners up for the second season in a row.
Always in control, London GD ended up as comfortable winners winning 33-21 and reclaiming the title of NorDan 2024 British Super Cup Champions.
We hope to see you all back in Scotland’s Capital for the 2025 edition of the British Handball Super Cup!
The SHA, BHA and EHA would like to thank all our sponsors, supporters and colleagues for all their hard work, commitment and support throughout the build-up and delivery of this event. Without their support, the delivery of such a showcase event simply wouldn't be possible:
