On Wednesday, August 17th, President of the Russian Handball Federation Sergey Shishkarev announced the creation of a new women’s professional club. HBC Chernomorochka from Novorossiysk joined other clubs in the Premier League in the 2022/23 season.
Already today, the team will gather and have its first training session, in Krasnodar for now. The players will also undergo a medical examination there, after which they will go to the training camp in Abrau-Durso. Located near the famous lake, Delo Sports Complex will become a home for the team. Chernomorochka will train and hold home matches there. Delo Group is considering whether to renovate Chernomorsky Sports Complex, which can fit a modern hall for 1,770 seats, or to build a new indoor arena in the city.
“It probably had to happen sooner or later,” said Sergey Shishkarev, a native and honorary resident of Novorossiysk, who initiated the creation of Chernomorochka. “I see that my hometown is deprived of a high-quality sports performance. The new team’s goal for the very first season is to qualify for the OLIMPBET Super League. The team consists mainly of young handball players, most of them from the Krasnodar Territory. I believe that this is the beginning of a great story.”
Sergey Matyazh, who was in charge of HBC Kuban’s reserves for many years, has been appointed head coach of HBC Chernomorochka.
Chernomorochka currently has 17 handball players. Among them are players with experience of playing in the Super League: Elena Streltsova played for Stavropol and ASU-Adyif and became the national champion in beach handball, Elena Smirnova played for Kuban and Lada, Elizaveta Dyachenko defended the gates of Kuban and Ufa-Alisa, Ksenia Kachaeva, Anna Pulenko, Polina Trukhina and Veronika Strakhova came from Luch, Sofia Panasovskaya was in the main lineup of Kuban, Veronika Makeeva played for Rostov-Don.
Chernomorochka
Goalkeepers: Elizaveta Dyachenko, Ksenia Kachaeva, Anastasia Khlebalova.
Left wingers: Anna Kapitonova, Sofia Panasovskaya.
Right wingers: Yulia Kosenko, Elena Streltsova.
Line players: Violetta Afanasyeva, Veronika Makeeva, Anna Pulenko, Polina Trukhina.
Right backcourts: Arina Sergienko, Anastasia Stosha.
Left backcourt: Alina Sergienko.
Playmakers: Valeria Kalachnaya, Elena Smirnova, Veronika Strakhova.
Coaching staff: Sergey Matyazh (head coach), Andrey Gromadsky, Yuri Sadovsky.
The official presentation of HBC Chernomorochka will take place in mid-September in Novorossiysk. It will be combined with the celebration of the city day and the celebration of the 115th anniversary of the city’s football club.
Dmitry Khristich
Source: Russian Handball Federation