HANTH ( Greek: ΧΑΝΘ), or HAN Thessaloniki (ΧΑΝ Θεσσαλονίκης), is a Christian youth development organisation that is based in Thessaloniki, Greece, and which comprises the homonymous Greek multi-sport club. The multi-sports club was founded in 1921, and has teams in basketball (founded 1919), volleyball,

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball or Olympic handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the g ...

, water polo, and others sports. HAN Thessaloniki is a part of the YMCA in Thessaloniki, which is a Christian universal welfare movement. The full name of the club is Christianiki Adelfotita Neon Thessalonikis (CHANTH) – which is commonly abbreviated as either HANTH or HANTh (Χριστιανική Αδελφότητα Νέων Θεσσαλονίκης (ΧΑΝΘ)). Historically, the most successful sports department of HANTH has been the men's basketball team. In recent years, the club's most successful teams are the volleyball and handball teams, which have played in the higher level Greek national championships in their respective sports.

History

HAN Thessaloniki was the first team which imported the sport of basketball into Greece. HANTH organised the first unofficial regional basketball championship of Thessaloniki in 1924, with the participation of HANTH, Aris Thessaloniki, Iraklis Thessaloniki, Armenian Union, VAO, Maccabi Thessaloniki, and Akoah. They also organised the first unofficial Panhellenic Basketball Championship in 1926, with the presence of HANTH, Aris, PAOK,

Iraklis Gymnasticos Syllogos Iraklis ( el, Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Ηρακλής, en, Gymnastics Club Heracles), commonly referred to as Iraklis, is a Greek multi-sports club based in Thessaloniki. The club was founded in 1908 as "Mace ...

, and AEK Athens. Since the beginning of the official

Panhellenic Basketball Championship The Greek Basket League (GBL), often also referred to as the Greek A1 Basketball League, or Greek Basketball Championship (originally called Panhellenic Basketball Championship), and also known as the Stoiximan Basket League for sponsorship reaso ...

, HANTH has managed be the championship's finalist one time, in 1930. HANTH was also active in the sport of volleyball from its first years. It organised the first regional volleyball championship of Thessaloniki in 1923, and a new championship in 1924, with the presence of HANTH, Iraklis, Aris, Sportive Etoile, Byron, American School, and Nouka School. HAN Thessaloniki was also one of the first sports clubs to create a handball team in Greece. The handball team of HAN Thessaloniki was founded in 1979, almost simultaneously with the beginning of the first Greek Handball Championship, which the team has also competed in. Over the years, the HANTH sports club has featured Greek athletes such as

Georgia Abatzidou Georgia Abatzidou (born 19 April 1969) is a Greek long-distance runner. She competed in the women's marathon at the 2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially t ...

, who competed in marathon running, and

Nikos Iliadis Nikos Iliadis (born 27 February 1951) is a Greek weightlifter. He competed at the 1972, 1976, 1980 and the 1984 Summer Olympics. He was named the 1976 and 1977 Greek Male Athlete of the Year The PSAT Sports Awards (Greek: Αθλητικά Βρ ...

and

Giannis Sidiropoulos Ioannis Sidiropoulos (born 1 September 1956) is a Greek weightlifter. He competed at the 1980 Summer Olympics and the 1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly kno ...

, who competed in Olympic weightlifting.

Departments

* Men's Basketball Club * Men's Volleyball Club *Women's Volleyball Club * Men's Handball Club * Men's Water Polo Club * Athletics (Men's) * Athletics (Women's): **5× Panhellenic Women's Marathon Champion: (2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005) * Swimming * Wrestling: **11× Panhellenic Men's Freestyle Wrestling Champion: (1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971) **2× Greek Freestyle Wrestling Cup Winner: (1996, 1997) * Judo: **4× Panhellenic Men's Judo Champion: (1977, 1978, 1979, 1980) * Tae Kwon Do * Weightlifting: **12× Panhellenic Men's Weightlifting Champion (1970, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1983) * Sailing * Table tennis (Men's) * Table tennis (Women's) * Chess

Sports facilities

The sport facilities of HAN Thessaloniki are located in the centre of Thessaloniki, near the White Tower. In 1923, the first basketball court of HANTH was built. It was an open air court, that hosted important sporting events in Thessaloniki. In 1934, the classic indoor sports building of HANTH was completed, and the sports activities of the club moved there. In the early 2000s, the open basketball court was demolished, and a new indoor basketball hall, the Y.M.C.A. New Sports Center, was built, with a capacity of 1,500 spectators. In 2013, HANTH founded the first basketball museum in Greece.

References

External links

Official page
{{A2 Ethniki Volleyball HANTH Organizations based in Thessaloniki Multi-sport clubs in Thessaloniki YMCA