Handball Cook Islands has witnessed an incredible surge in participation in the 2024 Cook Islands Games, reflecting a growing enthusiasm for the sports across the islands.

Since the initial Games in 2020, the number of athletes has skyrocketed.

In 2020 there were 120 handball athletes, in 2022, 180 participants and this year the number has more than doubled to 444 athletes.

Makiroa Mitchell-John, president of Handball Cook Islands, said with such a massive number of participants they have reached to the International Handball Federation (IHF) for assistance in referees.

Australian handball referees Claire Dennerley and Sally Potocki (Australian Handball representative), and Daniela Andreea Enache and Corina Floriana Constantin from Romania arrived this week.

As well as officiating at the Games, the four female referees are using this opportunity to conduct workshops with local referees and coaches.

Mitchell-John is “ecstatic” the referees are here.

She said this also provides a pathway for local referees to upskill and for those who aspire to become IHF referees to take on opportunities in the Oceania region.

She was happy to announce that the Cook Islands has been invited to the men’s youth and junior tournaments of the IHF Trophy Oceania that will be staged in Tahiti from December 16 to 20, 2024.

“We will be scouting at these Games to see who is good enough to represent the country in this indoor handball competition,” she said.

There will also be an U18 boy’s team going to the World Championships in Tennessee, USA, next July.

“It’s amazing for us. We are very proud we’ve finally did it after eight years… we’ve made it to the top.”

Mitchell-John would like to thank and acknowledge the Handball Cook Islands executive committee: John Snowball, Maureen Kato, Flora Pupuke Robati and Paul Van Eijk.

“Handball provides a quality of life for our people,” she said.

“We are guardians and safeguarding everyone in our handball family in the region. We thank God for everything He’s done for guiding us this far,” Mitchell-John said.

The Cook Islands Games handball games start this morning at the beach courts in Nikao.