A joint meeting was held at the
IHF Head Office on Friday 22 September with representatives of the Czech,
Slovakian, Italian, Romanian and Hungarian Handball Federations. The purpose of
the meeting was for the various National Federations to outline their current
development plans and identify possible future collaborations with the IHF, as
well as to discuss the methods for realising that cooperation.
A particular programme of interest
for all Federations was the IHF’s Handball at School (H@S), which sees IHF
experts conduct courses for teachers of young children in alignment with the
motto ‘Fun, passion and health.’ The Hungarian Federation already operate their
own form of H@S.
“These courses should contribute to make handball an integral part
of the curriculum in physical education also in early age, increase the
commitment for our sport and pave the way for involvement in handball also in
adult age,” says IHF President Dr Hassan Moustafa of the H@S programme.
Proposals made during the meeting include coaching courses for younger
age category coaches with five different youth coaches per country participating;
regular organisation of youth competitions – reinforcing the focus on
introducing handball to children; referee courses conducted by both the IHF and
European Handball Federation, with the possibility for local-run courses also;
and beach handball courses. In addition, all countries expressed interest in
the Former
Players Project.
The meeting was attended by Czech
Handball Federation President Mr Radek Bendl, Slovak Handball Federation
President Mr Jaroslav Holesa and Vice-President Ernö Kelecsenyi, Italian
Handball Federation President Mr Pasquale Loria, Romanian Handball Federation
Vice-President Ms Steluta Luca, and Hungarian Handball Federation
Vice-President Mr Laszlo Marosi and Deputy Secretary General – International
Affairs Ms Gabriella Horvath.
The IHF was represented by President
Dr Hassan Moustafa, Managing Director Mrs Amal Khalifa and Competitions
Director Mr Patric Strub.