There are two events on the Olympic program:

Men's Tournament                 Women's Tournament

The 12 teams in each of the men's and women's tournaments will be divided into two pools of six teams.  The tournament begins with a round robin within each pool.  The top four teams advance to the quarter-finals with the winners advancing to the semi-finals and the winners from there to the gold medal game.

Two venues will be used for the Olympic handball competition.  The preliminary rounds and women's quarter-finals will be held at the Handball Arena while the larger Basketball Arena will host the men's quarter-finals as well as all semi-finals and finals.

London 2012 Storylines:
The sport of handball will celebrate its 40th anniversary in London 2012 since making a permanent return to the Olympic program in Munich 1972 where only a men's tournament was contested (field handball did appear on the Olympic program at the Berlin 1936 Games and was also a demonstration sport at the 1952 Games in Helsinki).  A women's tournament would debut in Montreal 1976.

In the men's side, European countries have dominated at both the Olympic Games and world championships, but no single country has overwhelmed the competition at either major event.  At the last three Olympic Games (Beijing 2008, Athens 2004, Sydney 2000) there have been three different gold medallists and seven different medallists. France will enter London 2012 as the reigning Olympic Champion on the men's side.

The leading medal winner in women's Olympic competition has been South Korea with six medals, however Russia has enjoyed a great deal of success recently at the World Championship level. Norway is the reigning Olympic champion on the women's side.

Canada's Outlook:
Canada has competed in the Olympic handball tournaments just once, at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal when as host nation Canada was guaranteed entry.

The Canadian men's team has only competed at the world championships three times, most recently in 2005, finishing 23rd out of 24 teams.  Canada is again absent from the 2011 World Championships, but did beat the United States in a mini-tournament to earn a place at the 2011 Pan American Games, where they finished fifth overall.

The Canadian women's team last competed at the world championships in 1997, finishing 20th out of 24 teams.  Canada did not compete at the 2011 World Championships nor the Pan Am Games.

International Teams – At a Glance:

MEN

France has dominated the competition since its Olympic gold and are the 2011 World Champions.  In 2009 they beat the Croatians on home soil in Zagreb to win gold at the world championships.  In 2010 France and Croatia met in the final at the European Championships with France again coming out victorious.  The French roster includes two former World Handball Players of the Year, Nikola Karabatic and Thierry Omeyer.

Croatia has been fairly consistent in international competition, winning silver at the 2005 World Championships in addition to the silver in 2009.  Even when the team isn't on the podium it is close, finishing fifth at the 2011 and 2007 World Championships and fourth at the 2008 Olympic Games.  Croatia has had Olympic success in its short history, winning gold in Athens 2004 and Atlanta 1996.  The roster includes two-time World Handball Player of the Year Ivano Balic.

WOMEN

Russia has dominated the world championships in recent years, winning three straight gold medals in 2009, 2007 and 2005.  The country also won silver in Beijing 2008, Russia's first medal as an independent nation in women's Olympic handball competition.

The reigning Olympic Champions come from Norway.  It was the country's fourth Olympic medal in women's handball, after a bronze in Sydney 2000 and silvers in Seoul 1988 and Barcelona 1992.  Norway has been a consistent podium performer, placing third at the 2009 World Championships and second at the 2007 Worlds.