Main fundraiser photo

Support Illini Handball

We are an entirely student-run organization promoting the growth of handball at the University of Illinois and the surrounding Champaign-Urbana community. We have lofty goals of becoming a championship caliber team at the USHA National Collegiate Handball Championships in the coming years but we need your help.

About the Club:
The Illini Handball Club was founded by the Anderson brothers (Matt is in white in the picture below) 10 years ago with a dream of introducing handball to as many people on campus as possible while starting a competitive program at a large Big 10 university. Through a lot of work and perseverance, they were able to recruit over 20 players and have a successful first few years. Fast forward 10 years and the club has entirely new members but still remains strong and continues the dream started by the Andersons.

Currently, over 90% of our members have never heard of handball before college. Despite this limited experience, we just had our best finish at the Collegiate Nationals in 4 years.  Our secret is our love for the game and willingness to share it with anyone who is willing to strap on a pair of gloves and enter a court.

We participate in nine tournaments a year as a team travelling to places like Minneapolis, MN, Cincinnati, OH, and Springfield, MO. Members also participate in three-wall tournaments over the summer and will play in the world championships this August. We love travelling to different places and allowing new players to experience the fun and excitement of a tournament.

Our Recent Accomplishments: 
·         We hosted our first ever tournament with great success in October 2017. We had over 40 players attend including these great alumni.
·         Finished 2nd as a team in the Men’s A division at the Collegiate Nationals in 2018.

·         Sophomore Emma MacMillan won the Women’s A2 division at the Collegiate Nationals in 2018.
Our goals for 2018-2019:
·         Host a much larger tournament with at least 80 participants this October.

·         Bring a complete team of at least 6 guys and 6 girls to the 2019 Collegiate Nationals.

·         Improve our team ranking at the Collegiate Nationals and become a top 5 collegiate program.

·         Start a handball class

How these donations will help:
There are many expenses involved in achieving these goals. As a student organization, we rely heavily on donations to keep our club afloat. All of these past achievements would not have been possible if it wasn't for the generous donations from our many supporters.

However, as our ambitions grow, more money is needed. In order to take our game to the next level, we will need to attend more tournaments, recruit more players, and buy more equipment.   Since we are a bunch of poor college kids, money often determines whether a player is participating in a tournament.  Unfortunately the cost to travel equates to a hefty bill. Therefore, the money raised will go directly towards helping minimizing lodging, registration, and gas costs for members who need financial aid. Any additional money raised will help fund the purchase of equipment and allow us to incorporate better recruiting strategies to introduce more players to the game.

Other ways to help:
·         Share this page to as many people as you can

·         Share and checkout our website and facebook   

·         Support local handball clubs particularly any youth programs

·         Keep the game alive by introducing the game to others

·         Attend our tournament in mid-October

We really appreciate every donation no matter how small to allow us to continue the growth of collegiate handball and create the next generation of players for this perfect game.

Organizer

Ben Van Arsdale
Organizer
Urbana, IL

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