It has been a very active last week for the International Handball Federation in the field of beach handball. The draw for the VII Beach Handball World Championships took place on Thursday, 12 May in Budapest, and in the same time on two different sides of the globe, the IHF organised beach handball courses as part of the IHF Beach Handball Trophy project.

Cabo Verde organised a course of Phase I in the capital Praia and the Sal Island. Around 40 participants attended the courses which contained both theoretical and practical sessions. The courses were held by Mr Antonio Guerra Peixe (BRA), IHF Beach Handball Lecturer, and multiple World Champion as coach of the Brazilian men’s beach handball team. During his lectures, Mr Guerra Peixe presented the beach handball philosophy and had a chance to discuss the basic preparation for a beach handball competition, different tactical aspects of attack and defence as well as substitution strategies.

At the same time, on the other side of the planet, Haiti staged the course of Phase II of the same project. Mr Fernando Posada (ESP), IHF Beach Handball Lecturer and member of the IHF Beach Handball Working Group held a 5-days training camp with the Haitian men’s and women’s national teams. Besides the practical sessions in which Mr Posada demonstrated the latest practices in the world of beach handball, he also had theoretical sessions in order to improve the tactical knowledge of the players.

The IHF Beach Handball Trophy is a 3-phase project which will culminate in beach handball competitions at the end of 2016 and the beginning of 2017. The IHF has targeted three regions in the beginning (the Pacific Islands, the Caribbean and Africa), but the project has further potential to expand. Besides staging the courses, the IHF donated materials to the handball federation of Cabo Verde and the Haiti for the future development of beach handball.