Episode 48: Sarah Gascon on Why We Should Play Handball

You asked, we're delivering! In today's Listener Request episode, we scratch the surface on the world of handball. Jill and Alison talk with USA Team Handball captain Sarah Gascon about the sport and what is wrong with America because it doesn't have much visibility in our country (no, seriously--have you seen how exciting this sport is??). Once you've listened to Sarah, you can watch the basics explained by USA Team Handball. You can also watch Team USA compete this coming week at a Pan Am Qualifier against Canada. Both the US Men's and Women's teams will take on the Canadian National Teams this Sunday, September 2. The women's game is at 3pm, followed by the men's game at 5pm (all times US Central). USA Team Handball will be showing a livestream of the event on its Facebook page -- but if you live around Auburn University, you can watch the intensity in person at the Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum on Auburn University's campus. Find out more about the event here. The series continues Wednesday, September 5, when the teams travel to Montreal for a rematch -- The winner gets to represent North America at the 2019 Pan American Games. This is a big deal because the Pan Am Games winner goes straight to the Tokyo Olympics, and 2nd-4th places play for another chance to get into the 2020 Games. Follow Sarah on Insta and Twitter -- you can also find her on our Team Olympic Fever Twitter list! If you're interested in learning how to play handball yourself, check out USA Team Handball's map of member clubs -- there might be one near you! In the second half of the show, Jill tells Alison what went down during the Sr. Women's Day 2 competition at the U.S. Gymnastics National Championships....or more of how disappointing the in-person experience was (save a fantastic seat neighbor). Still, there were some fantastic performances, and Jill dishes on her favorites. Photo courtesy of USA Team Handball. DISCLAIMER: OLYMPIC® is a trademark of the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee ("USOPC"). Any use of OLYMPIC® in the Olympic Fever podcast is strictly for informational and commentary purposes. The Olympic Fever podcast is not an official podcast of the USOPC. The Olympic Fever podcast is not a sponsor of the USOPC, nor is Olympic Fever associated with or endorsed by USOPC in any way. The content of Olympic Fever podcast does not reflect the opinions, standards, views, or policies of the USOPC, and the USOPC in no way warrants that content featured in Olympic Fever is accurate.