This summer all handball fans could find what they were looking for – some new faces were discovered at the Women’s Youth and Junior World Championships, the men’s and women’s beach handball teams showed their skills at the Beach Handball World Championships and the highlight of all sports events, the Olympic Games, were staged in Brazil with lots of exciting and thrilling matches.

 

Of course, the focus of the handball world was on these events but that did not mean that everything else came to a stop – several courses of projects, such as the Global Referee Training Programme (GRTP), Handball@School or Olympic Solidarity, were held within the past few months.

 

The summer courses started with a GRTP course in Argentina. From 10-20 June 2016, the PRC members Ramon Gallego and Salvio Sedrez as well as the PRC travelled to Buenos Aires to educate and test prospective IHF referees. The course was attended by 9 referee couples (2x ARG, BRA (men), BRA (women), CHI, COL, CUB, DEN (women), URU). The PATHF nominated further 3 IHF couples to whistle matches of the Men’s Pan American Championship and the IHF added an IHF European couple as a neutral couple. Besides practical lessons, theoretical lessons were held with special attention to the new rules. After theoretical, practical and video tests, the following three couples received the IHF badge:

 

Ruben Burgos/Gonzalo Delgado (ARG)

Raymen Reyes/Allexis Zuniga (CUB)

Mathias Sosa/Cristian Lemes (URU)

 

Furthermore, Line Hessedal from Denmark received the IHF badge (Karina Christiansen’s new referee partner) and the women’s couple from Brazil, Sandra Quadras and Juliana Lima, received the PATHF badge.

 

Next on the summer programme was a referee course held by PRC lecturer Andorka Sandor in Kenya in the framework of the 4-Year-Plan from 22 to 28 June 2016. 14 delegates and 41 referees attended the course in Nairobi which contained practical as well as theoretical elements. Special focus was put on the new rules as well, but also, amongst others, the cooperation and communication among officials and acting on the court (‘Hollywood actions’).

 

These courses were followed by Handball@School courses in Samoa and Mauritius. The first course was held by IHF expert Juhasz Istvan in Samoa from 8-19 July 2016. In the morning theoretical sessions were organised, whereas practical lessons were held in the afternoon. Overall 18 teachers took part in the course, mostly with a very basic level of knowledge of the sport. Istvan, however, was very grateful for the chance to teach handball in Samoa: “I feel confident, I could help them.”

 

From 16 to 26 July 2016, IHF expert Ilona Hapkova travelled to Mauritius and Rodrigues Island to hold another Handball@School course. The course was supported by MHA President Daniel Gerard; at the opening a press conference was held, which was launched by Hapkova, the MHA President and representatives of the Ministry of Education, interviews were done with Hapkova, the president and the participants, spots were broadcast on TV and on the radio and in the newspaper numerous articles were published. Overall 52 teachers (Mauritius 42, Rodrigues 10) took part in theoretical and practical lessons, which included handball history, the basic Mini Handball rules version as well as the new rules, instructional methods, an overview on how to teach handball and small games and tactical games adapted to handball.

 

Of course, Olympic Solidarity was on the agenda this summer as well. IHF expert Yvon Laurans travelled to Lima, Peru from 25 to 30 July 2016 to hold an Olympic Solidarity course organised in cooperation with the National Olympic Committee of Peru. Here as well, the nine coaches and teachers took part in theoretical and practical lessons amongst others on the various stages of training related to the age of the players, defensive systems and corresponding possible attacks and goalkeeper training.