200 invited EHF guests celebrate start of the VELUX EHF FINAL4

200 invited guests were part of the VIP opening reception on the eve of the start of the VELUX EHF FINAL4 on Friday evening.  The VELUX VIP lounge in the LANXESS arena was the venue, where the handball world met.

Handball legends, sponsors, EHF officials and representatives, Presidents of National Handball Federations and other guests were part of this event. “We all will enjoy a brilliant weekend,” EHF President Jean Brihault said in his opening words.

The most important official part of the VIP reception was the award ceremony for the Charity Golf tournament for the German Cancer Aid, which had been played on Friday afternoon at the Golf & Country Club Velderhof and which had been supported by adidas.

Gross winner of the tournament and winner of the personal golf club fitting at the TaylorMade Center of Excellence in Herzogenaurach, Germany, including a brand new TaylorMade iron set was the flight of Scotsman Andrew Lee and former boxing world champion Sven Ottke from Germany.

Best flight in the net ranking were Finn Fülcher and Jakob Ulrich by 56 net points – they received vouchers of VELUX EHF Champions League partners VELUX and Sharp.  Second ranked by just one net point below were Helga Heitkamp-Schleypen and 2007 German handball world champion Florian Kehrmann, the best ranked “handball legend”.

Third ranked flights were Marc Rapparlie and Christian Fichter by 60 net points – the same as Fritz Krause/Gerald Böse and Gerrit Gründgens/Michael Roth (former German national team player/representing VELUX EHF Charity partner German Cancer Aid).

Former World Handball Player of the Year Daniel Stephan (with his flight partner Robert Schmidle) finished on seventh position, former world and European champion Staffan Olsson (Sweden, flight with Axel Heitkamp) were ninth with the same number of net points as his former team mate and current partner as coach of the Swedish national team, Ola Lindgren.  And Lindgren finished as thiurd ranked in the gross ranking, winning vouchers for VELUX EHF FINAL4 2014 tickets.

President Jean Brihault won the internal EHF competition on position 15 against his Secretary General Michael Wiederer (21st rank, together with Forum Club Handball Director Gerd Butzeck). The flight of former 2007 world champion Christian Schwarzer with Matthias Rudolph, President of VELUX EHF FINAL4 participant HSV Hamburg, finished on rank 25.

Former boxing world champion Sven Ottke and his flight partner Andrew Lee was the winner of the gross ranking.

The prize ceremony was conducted by EHF President Jean Brihault, Fitz Pleitgen, President of the German Cancer Aid and Gerrit Gründgens, President of the Golf & Country Club Velderhof.

“It is a great achievement to give support to the German Cancer Aid,” Brihault mentioned the significance of the golf tournament. “Every Euro donated to us is invested in help and especially in research of cancer,” Pleitgen added.

Photos of the event may be found here.