Henri Pabst and Filip Wawrzyniak come out on top in the star Excellence Week and will battle for the title at THW-YOUNGstar, a funding concept for young handball talents.
Kiel, 28 February 2017. For them it was the most exciting day of their young handball careers so far: Seven up-and-coming handball players trained in the final round of the THW-YOUNGstar young talent funding concept, the star Excellence Week, with their idols Andreas Wolff and Patrick Wiencek from THW Kiel. An exclusive jury made up of the national players from Kiel, Wolff and Wiencek, as well as Bundesliga trainer Alfred Gislason and up-and-coming talent coordinator Klaus-Dieter Petersen, selected two participants for an online public vote for the title of THW-YOUNGstar and a one-off handball scholarship.
THW Kiel and national goalkeeper Andreas Wolff was quite amazed at a group training session. “I am really impressed by the motivation and talent of all seven participants. I am already looking forward to giving the THW-YOUNGstar tips during his handball scholarship.”
Henri Pabst and Filip Wawrzyniak are now within touching distance of this goal. They particularly impressed the star jury – made up of Andreas Wolff, Patrick Wiencek, THW head coach Alfred Gislason and THW up-and-coming talent coordinator Klaus-Dieter Petersen – with their skills in the course of the THW-YOUNGstar young talent funding concept, which was initiated by the star petrol stations. They can now hope to win the six-month handball scholarship with the handball championship record holders, as next week one of them will become Germany’s first THW-YOUNGstar.
The five days of the star Excellence Week (stage 4 of the up-and-coming talent competition) were jam-packed with exclusive highlights: meeting THW professionals, going to the Champions League game between THW Kiel and BSV Bjerringbro-Silkeborg and a tour of the Sparkassen-Arena. After five days of intensive training sessions and an exclusive look behind the scenes at THW Kiel, the jury chose the two young talents Henri Pabst and Filip Wawrzyniak. On 1 March a week-long online public vote will start at young.star.de, at the end of which the first THW-YOUNGstar will be decided.
The children who qualified for the grand final (stage 4) had outperformed several hundred competitors since the programme started. They qualified for the final week in Kiel by taking part in one of the previous day-camps in the metropolitan areas of North Rhine-Westphalia, Berlin and Hamburg (stage 2), as well as the weekend camp in Kiel (stage 3).
Despite his young age of 13 years old, Henri Pabst from Ellerbek near Hamburg already has all the attributes to be a successful handball player. The “rough diamond” also impressed the jury with his modest manner and eagerness to learn. “I am absolutely delighted about the decision and would now like to ask all my fans, friends and acquaintances to vote for me,” says the left-handed player.
Filip Wawrzyniak, who travelled to the star Excellence Week from Wroclaw in Poland, was also thrilled. “It was an awesome experience for me to train in Kiel and be so close to the professionals from THW. Now I want to become the first THW-YOUNGstar too,” says the 14-year-old pole, who has a lot of power and a huge repertoire of technical skills, which he must now refine.
In the jury, up-and-coming talent coordinator at THW Kiel and German record national player with 340 caps Klaus-Dieter Petersen was responsible for scouting out the talent. “Our team of trainers was impressed by the high quality of the participants during the weekend camp. This continued during the star Excellence Week, which made the final decision particularly difficult for us. But I believe the two most promising talents have been selected for the online vote. I’m wishing the great success for the kids and hope they have taken something with them for their own personal development.”
Wieslaw Milkiewicz, Managing Director and press officer of the petrol station brand star, sponsors of the THW-YOUNGstar competition, shares this belief. “Irrespective of the result, everyone who took part in the star Excellence Week should feel like a winner. In five days they proved that they deserved to be invited to Kiel for the grand final. I hope we have an exciting online vote and I am looking forward to finding out who will be the first THW-YOUNGstar.”
Find out about Henri Pabst and Filip Wawrzyniak and vote at young.star.de from 1 to 7 March.
If you would like more information or have any questions about THW-YOUNGstar, the young talent funding concept, please contact:
Sebastian Zuther
Managing Director
CommEvent Management GmbH
Dorothea-Erxleben-Straße 4
24145 Kiel
Tel: +49 (0)431 - 69670 - 25
Fax: +49 (0)431 - 69670 - 50
star – a Strong Brand from ORLEN Deutschland GmbH
star is the petrol station brand of ORLEN Deutschland GmbH, which has been operating more than 570 petrol stations in the northern half of Germany since 2003. The company, based in Elmshorn near Hamburg, is part of the Polish mineral oil and petrochemical group PKN ORLEN SA, which is the largest Central Eastern European group, with an annual turnover of 21 billion euros in 2015.
PKN ORLEN SA is listed in Warsaw and London and is represented on the petrol station market in Eastern and Central Europe with a total of 2,700 service stations in Poland, Czech Republic, Germany and Lithuania. In recent years, major investments have been made in Lithuania and the Czech Republic to bring the group a step closer to its goal of becoming the leading oil company in Central Europe.
Contact:
ORLEN Deutschland GmbH
Wieslaw Milkiewicz, Managing Director and Press Officer
Isabel Scherer / Head of Marketing & PR
THW Kiel Handball-Bundesliga GmbH & Co. KG
THW Kiel is the most successful and best-known German handball team of the past two decades. The “Zebras” have won the German championship 20 times, more than any other team. The team from Kiel has also won the DHB Cup nine times, which is also a record. And no German team has won the European “top class”, the Champions League, more often than THW Kiel. The team from Kiel has triumphed three times in this most important sport club competition in the world. “Tradition lives through sport” is the motto of THW Kiel, which promotes and encourages talents through intensive work with youngsters. For the THW, for Kiel and for handball in Germany.
Contact:
Christian Robohm / Press Officer
HANDBALL-CAMP
Handball-Camp is a brand of CommEvent Management GmbH, based in Kiel. Founded in 2003, the agency is Europe’s largest provider of handball camps, with more than 5,000 participants per year in more than 200 locations. Skilled camp trainers and almost 20 permanent employees provide the planning, organisation and implementation of the events. Founder Mannhard Bech was a player at THW Kiel and the German handball national team. The 48-year-old also trains a team associated with THW Kiel in the 3rd league, TSV Altenholz.
Contact:
CommEvent Management GmbH
Mannhard Bech / Managing Director
Sebastian Zuther / Managing Director