Fusion of the handball players: HG Jura starts the district league strongly!

Fusion of the handball players: HG Jura starts the district league strongly!

A spectacular merger in handball! The handball players of HG Hemau/Beratzhausen and ATSV Kelheim have united in the district league under the new name HG Jura. This decision came out of necessity, because both teams fought with a mini squad for a long time and were looking for a solution. The coaches of the men's teams had to make do with only a few players, which dramatically tightened the Situation.

The responsible persons of both clubs have been in contact since the beginning of 2023 when the idea of a partnership came up. A happy coincidence was the starting signal for the renovation of the triple gymnasium in Kelheim, which made it even difficult to search for suitable training locations. The two departments agreed to bring the district league teams together in a joint training group-a trial run that turned out to be a real stroke of luck. "We were often only five people in training," says Dominik Ferstl, department head and trainer at HG Jura men, the difficult conditions. Christoph Hahn, head of department in Kelheim, also remembers the emergency in which even players of the old men had to step in.

fusion for the future

The merger is initially planned for two seasons and was registered in March at the Bavarian Handball Association for the 2024/25 season. "We had asked both teams if they could imagine that," explains Hahn. The merger was necessary to stay competitive after Hemau narrowly escaped the relegation. "We would no longer have been competitive in the district league," said Ferstl. Now the HG Jura can go out with 20 players, even if only 14 can be nominated for a game. The start of the season was very promising with 4: 2 points, a real upswing compared to last season when both teams were bobbing at the end of the table.

The training and the games take place alternately in Hemau and Kelheim, but due to the delays in the renovation of the triple sports hall, training is initially in Hemau. However, the Kelheim city council has announced that from December 2, school sports and training operation will be possible for various clubs. The future of the HG Jura looks promising!