No team have featured more times at the IHF Men's Super Globe than Sydney-Uni, the reigning champions of the Oceania Men's Handball Champions Cup. Despite the challenges posed by the distance and by COVID-19 in the past years, Sydney-Uni have always been there, staying strong and trying to improve yearly.

The 2022 IHF Men's Super Globe, which takes place this week in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, is the 10th consecutive edition Sydney-Uni have taken part in, with no other side even coming close to their record. 

Barça sit in second place, with the Spanish powerhouse having appeared at eight IHF Men's Super Globe editions. They are also the most successful team in the competition, with five trophies won.

Despite their numerous participations, Sydney-Uni's results have been mixed at best, with the Australian team winning only one of the 37 matches they played, losing 35 and drawing another one last year against Saudi side Al-Wehda.

Their best result in the competition is the fourth place sealed in 2015, when they won a game against Qatari side Al-Sadd, 21:20, while last year's draw helped them avoid the last place, finishing eighth out of 10 teams.

However, the players still enjoy participating in the competition and measuring forces with the best teams in the world. And now they have a new big target, the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games, the first time the competition returns to Australia after Sydney 2000.

Of course, Sydney-Uni are part of that plan to develop Australian handball in the next 10 years up to the point where they will be taking part once again in the Olympic Games, being the jewel of the crown at the club level.

Christoph Friedrich Scholl, who was the assistant coach in 2021 and now serves as the team's head coach, plays an important role in that 10-year plan.

Scholl knows a thing or two about Australian handball, as he also participated as a player for Sydney-Uni in 2012 when the side featured for the first time in the IHF Men's Super Globe.

A former player in Germany featured in the lower divisions, Scholl has fallen in love with Australia and never looked back when presented with the opportunity to help develop the sport in the country, despite being over 10,000 kilometres away from home.

"I first went to Australia with a work and travel programme, and I have never looked back ever since. What is there not to love? The weather is warm, the people are nice, everybody is happy. I am not missing home so much, I settled well, and everything is very, very good," says Scholl.

Of course, the level is definitely lower than in Germany. Still, Scholl brings his expertise of featuring in a handball-mad country to enhance Australia's chances for the future.

He has been part of a commission that overlooks the development of the sport in Australia. He helps set up the proper materials for coaches on the base of the pyramid to set up and maintain a system where players attracted to the sport can take up handball.

"It is not an easy job, but I think everything works out well, and we have the objective of Brisbane 2032 to have a competitive team there. Of course, we are not thinking to hugely improve and become a powerhouse but winning a game or two might go a long way," adds Scholl.

But until that point, which looks far away right now, the task at hand is to create a better environment for Sydney-Uni, who are, by far, the best team in Australia right now.

Yet the lack of competitive matches at the highest level is surely hampering their development, as shown by the two losses in the preliminary round of the 2022 IHF Men's Super Globe, 23:41 against SC Magdeburg and 21:35 against Khaleej.

At times, Sydney-Uni have looked sharp and really applied some pressure, but the lack of depth was their undoing, with both opponents bringing more experienced players to the table at this level.

It means that the Australian side will enter the Placement Round 9/12, where they need a single win to avoid finishing last for the eighth time at the IHF Men's Super Globe.

"It is an amazing feeling to be here and test ourselves against these great sides. Therefore, it will always be an honour to take the court in these conditions. Whether we lose or not, it does not matter a lot because we definitely can improve against these opponents," adds Scholl.

Whether that will be enough in the future is still an open question. But Sydney-Uni are definitely a part of the Super Globe's history and will always be a team to look up to, despite their results, just for overcoming any challenge thrown their way.