The official beach handball Rules of the Game are set to change in March 2010 following a unanimous vote at the last IHF Congress in Cairo in June 2009.

 

Rule changes mean a new rule book and a chance to update its content. This also goes for photographs of referee hand signals.

 

Since the rule book was last produced back in August 2005, beach referees have had a make-over.

 

The old striped long-sleeved official referee shirts have been replaced by the new sleeveless vests in summer colours on display at the World Games.

 

A day of great weather and a ready supply of beach referees at the World Games was too good an opportunity for the IHF’s official World Games photographer, Axel Heimken, to miss.

 

He grabbed his chance and organised a photo shoot for the new rule book with Spanish referee, Vanessa Perez, in the Sizihwan Bay beach handball arena.

 

Rule changes to be introduced by the IHF include new regulations on kit worn by beach teams, an end to the use of transparent shirts for specialist players and no more restrictions on the number of specialists allowed in teams.

 

Beach fans will have to wait to see the final results, the new rule book will appear in December, ahead of the introduction of the new rules in 2010.