USA Team Handball hosting 'last chance' Olympic qualifying event March 7 at Auburn University

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USA Team Handball is hosting an international, "last chance" Olympic qualifying event on Saturday, March 7, at the Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum at Auburn University. The matches against Uruguay will take place at 5:30 p.m. for the women's team, followed by the men's team at 8 p.m. Admission is free and sponsored by the Auburn-Opelika Tourism Bureau.

U.S. Olympic athletes of various sports that competed or trained at Auburn University will be recognized prior to both games. The Auburn University Army ROTC and the Fort Benning U.S. Army will also be honored at the event.

USA Team Handball will travel to Montevideo, Uruguay, to play away matches on March 14. The winning team of the tournament will play in the Pan American Games in Toronto, Canada, in July where they will compete to earn a spot in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

This weekend, the USA teams will also host the Alberta Men's National Team and the Puerto Rico Women's National Team in a friendly series from Feb. 27 to March 1 before the Uruguay matches. On Feb. 27, USA will play Puerto Rico at 5:30 p.m. and Alberta at 7:30 p.m. On Feb. 28, Alberta plays at 5:30 p.m. and Puerto Rico at 7:30 p.m. March 1 they will play Alberta at 10 a.m. and Puerto Rico at 5:30 p.m.

Local businesses are hosting events leading up to the March 7 matches to help support USA Team Handball by donating a portion of their proceeds to the teams when you visit on these dates:

March 2 – Gigi's Cupcakes 3 to 7 p.m.

March 3 – Cheeburger Cheeburger 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.

If attending the final Auburn men's basketball game against Georgia, attendees can present their ticket at the door of the USA match for a chance to win prizes.

The mission of USA Team Handball is to develop, promote, educate and grow the sport of Team Handball at all levels in the United States, and to enable United States athletes to achieve sustained competitive excellence to win medals in international and Olympic competition.

To learn more about USA Team Handball and how to get involved, go to www.usateamhandball.org. For media inquiries or more information about sponsorship and donation packages, contact Beth Witten at blueturtlebeth@gmail.com.

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