Referees and delegates get ready for Women's EHF EURO 2016

A common but nevertheless vitally important part in the lead-up to any EHF EURO is the preparation seminar for the referees and delegates.

The one for the Women's EHF EURO 2016 in Sweden took place on Friday and Saturday (2/3 September) with 14 pairs of referees and 12 delegates in attendance.

Of the 14 referee pairs 12 will eventually be nominated for the EHF EURO which takes place from 4 to 18 December this year.

Remarkable is the increase of female referees compared to the Women's EHF EURO 2014 in Hungary and Croatia. Back then there were three female pairs among the 12 at the final tournament; this time there are already nine female pairs among the 14 pre-nominated ones.

"We are really looking forward to the EHF EURO in Sweden," said Norwegian referee Kjersti Arntsen. Together with her refereeing partner Guro Roen she was already part of the EHF EURO 2014. Most recently the pair officiated at the final of the Women's EHF Champions League 2015/16 and the final at the 2016 Olympic Games.

"Taking part in the world's top handball event is really motivating for us. We are always hungry and looking for new achievements. Even though we have experienced a lot. there's so much more that keeps us going and motivated," says Arntsen.

For the referees the course stresses the importance of mental preparation, coherence in behaviour and actions and pro-active discussions regarding primary points of cooperation with the delegates.

Video examples will be presented in order to elaborate on on-court officiating (with particular reference to the new IHF Rules of the Game) and a fitness test will conclude the programme.

The task training for delegates focussed on elements of game administration and event management. They were also given behaviour and performance training tools and received an introduction to the observer system and online platforms they have to use.

Presenters at the three-day seminar included EHF Competitions Commission (CC) chairman Leopold Kalin, Technical Refereeing Committee chairman Dragan Nachevski, Carmen Manchado, the CC delegate responsible for women's events, EHF lecturer Monique Tijsterman, Hans Holdhaus from the EHF's Anti-Doping Unit, mental and high-performance coach Jürgen Boss from Germany as well as EHF Video Analyst Robert Kleiner.