Handball stars are easy to talk, says Bøjgaard

Ahead of the release of ‘The Days Hands Reached the Sky’, the new documentary offering fans a glimpse behind the scenes at the 2013 VELUX EHF FINAL4, ehfCL.com catches up with the man behind the microphone, Danish TV presenter, Jimmy Bøjgaard, and asked him exactly what he thought of Europe’s top club handball event.

ehfCL.com: What were your own personal impressions of the event in Cologne?

Jimmy Bøjgaard: “The Final4 was a tremendous event to be part of. Apart from watching a lot of great handball, seeing 20,000 spectators gathered in Cologne, supporting their respective teams, is fantastic, and I know that it is also big in the respective countries.

“I remember how big it was in Denmark last year when AG København was part of it, and I know that was the same with Poland this year, when Kielce was there – it was a bit like if Poland had their national team there.”

ehfCl.com: You had privileged access to some of the top player in the game, what are these guys really like?

Jimmy Bøjgaard: "No matter how big the stars were and no matter if they had just lost their match, they were all forthcoming and easy to interview in a way you do not meet from top athletes in many other sports.

"I think that this is part of the explanation to handball´s increasing popularity – that the players are willing to give a lot back to their fans.
ehfCl.com: And the coaches?

"Obviously, it also gave a close impression of the players and coaches to follow them during that Final4 weekend, and I am sure that the documentary will show that too. The documentary offers a very close and personal impressions not just of the players but also the coaches.

"We got a quite new impression of Bogdan Wenta (Kielce coach) and we also got a thorough impression of Martin Schalb (HSV Hamburg coach) – quite naturally, as his team won the tournament."

ehfCL.com: What can we expect in the documentary?

Jimmy Bøjgaard: “We followed eight people from the four participating teams over the weekend, and that became a fascinating odyssey over 48 hours, where we got really close to the players and coaches, and it was difficult not to get your own feelings involved.

"For instance, it was hard not to feel sorry for Victor Tomas from Barcelona, after his team had lost the final narrowly to Hamburg.

"In spite of this disappointment, he was still ready for an interview shortly afterwards. It was the same with Daniel Narcisse, even though his team at the time, Kiel, had a bad weekend.

"Having access to the dressing rooms of the winners as well as the losers, was also an experience you do not get in all sports.

"It was a cool experience to pass on the atmosphere and enthusiasm of the event, and I am sure that the people who were not there, will feel the atmosphere, when they watch the documentary."

Profile: Jimmy Bøjgaard – 39 years, Danish TV presenter, running his own media agency, covering ice hockey, NFL, tennis, motor sport and handball for the Danish TV station TV3Sport.

He also still plays tennis at top level and is member of the same club – Kjøbenhavns Boldklub – as  US Open finalist Caroline Wozniacki.

Reach the Sky – the VELUX EHF FINAL4 Documentary

Television stations from 19 countries will be showing the documentary over the coming season. The premiere of the film will be on Sunday, 22 September at 13:55 in Denmark on DR1.

A date for the general release of the ‘The Days the Hands Reached the Sky’ DVD, an extended version with additional behind the scenes footage, as well as a date for the first showing on ehfTV.com are yet to be announced.