ONSIDE project approaches final phase towards sports officials training and development

The EHF continued its support of the European Union-funded project ONSIDE by joining a number of other sporting federations and associations at the initiative’s most recent meeting in Malta last week.

EHF Beach Handball Manager Ivana Jelić joined delegates from across Europe, including the European Table Tennis Union, the Dutch Olympic Committee and European Athletics, to hear the latest developments.

The delegates discussed the production of a Functional Map and Occupational Standards where Geoff Carroll, EOSE Skills Development Manager, led the group through a series of activities to refine the map and develop content for the standards. These included development, health and safety, working relationships, rules/laws and regulations and administration.

Educational output of the project, including the Training Module Handbook and E-Learning Courses, were also debated. The attendees brainstormed ideas on how to proceed with these outputs that will result in the development of new e-learning modules.

The group also heard an update on the new International Federation for Sport Officials (IFSO) and how the two organisations will work together with the vision that the IFSO will be a key route to ensuring sustainability of the ONSIDE project.

On her return from the event, Ivana Jelić told eurohandball.com: “The EHF can give valuable input to the ONSIDE project given our experience and expertise within the field of officials’ education.

“ONSIDE is also important for the EHF, as it helps to structure new projects like the EHF beach handball officials education.

“The status of the project is extremely promising and the cooperation with all partners is incredibly positive.”

About the ONSIDE project

The ONSIDE project aims to research and define the concept of sport officiating in Europe, develop occupational standards to outline generic skills and performance requirements, and finally, create innovative education products for both face-to-face and online.

The ONSIDE project is co-funded by the European Commission under the Erasmus+ Collaborative Partnerships in Sport programme.

All project partners: European Observatoire of Sport and Employment (EOSE), Sports Officials UK (SOUK), Association Française du Corps Arbitral Multisports (AFCAM), European Handball Federation (EHF), European Table Tennis Union (ETTU), European Athletics, SportMalta, Dutch Olympic Committee*, Dutch Sports Federation (NOC*NSF), Romanian Football Federation (FRF), British Wheelchair Basketball, National Sports Academy “Vassil Levski”.