WHEN in Widnes, a German sports team did what the Widnesians do.
Handball team HC Dortmund Sud, in Halton for a four-day visit, tackled rugby league at Halton Stadium with the help of Widnes Vikings' performance manager John Foran.
Rugby league is as little known in Germany as handball is over here.
The team of 12 fifteen-year-olds, accompanied by six adults, stayed at the Mersey Hotel in West Bank.
On Saturday, they took part in a handball tournament at Greenbank Sport Academy in Liverpool, before flying home the following day.
The overseas guests also had five-a-side and swimming sessions at Kingsway Leisure Centre and visited some of Liverpool's main tourist attractions - including the Albert Dock, Beatles Museum, Mersey Ferries and Spaceport.
To continue the sporting theme, they enjoyed a tour of Liverpool FC.
The trip was co-ordinated by Patricia McInally, Halton Borough Council's tourism dispersal manager who is also from Germany but has dual nationality because of an English parent.
She said: 'Originally, I was planning for them to stay in Liverpool but I started a job in the meantime in Halton and persuaded them to stay here.'
Although very popular on mainland Europe, handball is rarely seen in this country.
But as hosts for the 2012 Olympics in London, Great Britain will have a rare chance to play and enjoy it.
