On Thursday 24th November 2011 Andy Bull wrote “Handball starts Olympic march out of sporting shadows." The article was written in a blog for the Guardian newspaper after the Great Britain women's team had beaten Angola, the African champions, 22-20; arguably the best result achieved by a British Handball team to date. The programmes to support Handball's march began earlier: In 2008 Handball was demonstrated by 3 teams at the London Youth Games Finals. In 2010 Handball was awarded demonstration sport status and 6 teams from 4 boroughs competed in girls and boys competitions. In the year of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games 17 teams from 9 boroughs competed for honours at the youth games. In 2015 with competition moved to the Copper Box in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park 40 teams from 26 boroughs played at the iconic venue. One month after the London 2012 test event Angola finished 8th in the International Handball Federation’s (IHF) World Championships.  Great Britain women's success against a team ranked in the top ten suggests with the right preparation future GB Handball teams can be successful on the world stage. The growing number of teams and boroughs supporting the London Youth Games Handball competition, rising number of schools competing in England Handball competitions and increasing number of new Handball clubs in London are evidence young people and adults are enjoying the sporting programmes and opportunities building a successful future for Handball. The 2016 Handball youth march from the sporting shadows continues on 19th June, 10.00am at the Copper Box in the Queen Elizabeth Park. Read Andy Bull's blog here: https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2011/nov/24/handball-olympics-2012-britain) Find out more about the London Youth Games Handball competitions here: http://www.londonyouthgames.org/sport.asp?section=308&sectionTitle=Handball