RINCK Convention members gather in Vienna

The EHF Office in Vienna has become the focal point for discussions on European handball coaching standards for the next two days with the 2015 EHF RINCK Convention Seminar taking place on Friday and Saturday (13/14 February).

30 course participants from the 37 RINCK Convention signatory nations are attending the meeting.

They were all welcomed by Jerzy Eliasz, chairman of the EHF Methods Commission. Eliasz reminded everyone of the anniversary the RINCK Convention is celebrating as it was 15 years ago, in 2000, that the first members signed the convention.

"I'm very satisfied that the number of signatory nations keeps increasing and I'm positive that within the next two years we will reach 40 or more members," he said.

The course is part of the 2015 EHF Methods Commission activity plan and is organised in cooperation with the EHF Competence Academy Network (EHF CAN).

The objectives of the 2015 EHF RINCK Convention Seminar are

• to acquaint the signatories with the standards and curriculum of new educational targets, in particular:
  • EHF Open Master Coach and Licensing Courses
  • National Master Coach and Licensing Courses
  • EHF PRO Licence and EHF Coaching Licence
  • Expansion of EHF RINCK Convention

• to discuss the contribution of the participants, especially national targets, ways to implement, regional solutions, further perspectives

The next edition of the EHF Open Master Coach and Licensing Course shall take place in 2016 under the same structure as previously - three modules and individual theses to be produced and defended by the participants.

Currently the RINCK Convention consists of 37 EHF member federations with Finland, Greece, Malta, FYR Macedonia, Israel and Lithuania being the latest entries - the official agreement with Lithuania was signed on Friday at the seminar.

The objective of the RINCK Convention is the mutual recognition of standards and certificates in the field of coaches' education in handball in Europe by preserving and safeguarding the regional and national characteristics of coaches' education.

The aim of this is to facilitate the direct admission to work as a handball coach in each signatory member federation.

Signing the RINCK convention: Antanas Skarbalius from the Lithuanian Handball Federation (left) and EHF Methods Commission Jerzy Eliasz