EHF Commissions meet ahead of season start

Members of the EHF’s technical commissions were in Vienna on 1/2 September 2016 for their final scheduled meetings ahead of the EHF Congress, which takes place 17/18 November 2016 in St. Wolfgang, Austria, and where elections for the next four-year period (2016-2017) will take place.

Technical Delegation

Opening proceedings was the meeting of the Technical Delegation, made up of the chairs of each commission.

The meeting reviewed the summer Younger Age Category events and there was common agreement that the implementation of the new playing system had been a success.

Also on the agenda was the implementation of the new rules of the game from 1 July 2016 as well the use of technology to assist referees.

It was agreed that the technology project that was implemented at the VELUX EHF FINAL4 in Cologne in 2016 would be extended to the Women’s EHF EURO 2016 in Sweden, where goal-line camera technology and instant replay would be used.

The meeting also looked at the future of the federation’s lecturer system and particularly at how the system should be adapted to meet future requirements.

Methods Commission

The meeting reviewed the Commission’s progress over the 2012-2016 period and discussed on-going projects including its development programmes and teaching materials.

An update was given on the plans of the Wheelchair Handball Working Group. The next edition of the European Wheelchair Handball Tournament will take place on 7/8 December 2016 in Sölvesborg, Sweden. A call for participation and further information is to follow in the coming weeks.
 

Members of the EHF Methods Commission together with EHF Office members
(l-r: Helmut Höritsch, Pedro Sequeira, Peter Kovacs, Nicole Rabenseifner, Beata Kozlowska, Sjors Röttger, Nina Britt Husebö, Juan Lorenzo Anton Garcia and Jerzy Eliasz)

Competitions Commission

In addition to a review of summer events from an organisational and competition perspective, the Competitions Commission discussed the preparations for the Women’s EHF EURO 2016, which include the organisation of the delegates and referees seminar taking place in Vienna on weekend of 3/4 September.

Beach Handball Commission

Subject to approval from the EHF Executive Committee, the Beach Commission confirmed that a request to relocate and reschedule the 2017 European Beach Handball Championship in Croatia had been received. It is proposed to move the event from Umag to Zagreb, with the men’s 17 event to take place 16-18 June 2017 and the men’s and women’s championships 20-25 June 2017.

The production of a second education video on the subject of Beach Handball in the younger age category was confirmed and will be available in October.

The Commission also reviewed the successful Men’s and Women’s 16 European Championship, which took place in Nazaré, Portugal in July 2016 and noted that the increased coverage on official social and online channels resulted in a total reach of 900,000.

It was agreed that the media concept would be extended to future events with the aim of increasing both the amount of coverage and reach of the sport.

Looking ahead to the 2016 Champions Cup, scheduled for 3-6 November 2016 in Gran Canaria, it was confirmed that the men’s competition is now full, with a limited number of places still available in the women’s event.

The next education course for referees and delegates was also confirmed and will take place parallel to the Champions Cup event.

Members of the EHF Beach Handball Commission
(l-r: Sinisa Ostoic, Marco Trespidi, George Bebetsos, Ole R. Jorstad and Gabriella Horvath)