First stage of EHF beach handball Candidate Referee Programme completed

At one of Europe’s biggest beach handball tournaments, a new initiative was launched to support the next generation of referees in the sport. While the tough battles were being fought on the sandy courts of Lake Jarun, the eight young referees were facing their own challenges, improving their skills through training and mentoring from EHF Beach Handball Lecturer Georgiana Doana.

“We have had some presentations, some video analysis and they had some homework, too. We also have had some rule tests. We just put on the court what we have seen in the lessons and lectures. I just prepared them,” says EHF Beach Delegate Doana.

“For me, it's really, really important to take care of the referees. I like to work with referees, and that's why I really love this job, especially with the young referees, because I was a referee once. They need to practise, they need tournaments and they need mentors to guide them.”

An intensive four-day course included workshops, learning sessions, physical and theoretical testing and on-site officiating.

“It’s a new experience, but it's quite worth it,” says Polish referee Michal Jakubek, who shared the four-day challenge with his colleagues.

“The other referees are very, very good, very prepared, and we are on the same page with them. Everyone wants to improve and develop themselves. We are very, very focused on self-development — this is not the last word from us,” says Jakubek of his experience and that of his refereeing partner Mikolaj Marcinkowski.

The duo have been whistling together for the past seven years and are now ready to take the next step in their refereeing careers. In addition, successful candidates in this programme could also earn the prestigious EHF Beach Handball Candidate badge after the assessments.

Each of the four pairs, nominated by their national federations to the EHF, has high ambitions and hopes that the journey will not end with here. The dream? “To become an EHF referee,” says 23-year-old Marija Radoicic from Serbia without a moment’s hesitation. She and her partner Jovana Mrksic were only paired in 2023, but they call it “the best decision ever” and do not hide how proud they are to be part of the course.

“We didn't expect that. We were having fun, it's all fun and now we are on this candidate programme.”

So, while they were in Zagreb, they used every single second to learn from Georgiana Doana, and to soak up all the advice they could.

“It's been really good, because she was once a beach handball referee, and she really knows what to say to us because she was in that position. She knows what things to concentrate on and for what to look for. It's been really, really good,“ says Mrksic.

“It's an honour to be here to learn from her. She's a great teacher, and what we've got in the last few days is a very good education,” said 22-year-old Croatian Marin Malinic who whistles with Andro Vucetic.

Both Malinic and Vucetic both find the tournament a special place: it was on the shores of Lake Jarun a year ago that they whistled their first ever match of beach handball. It was a younger age category match, but this year, as part of their practical experience, they officiated both YAC and senior matches with some differences between the two.

“When they're young, you have to talk to them all the time and listen. Help them with the rules, certain things; fix your leg work, don't do that much contact, please don't do that. It's a part of the job. As well as with seniors and children, you have to have that communication with them. You have to talk to them and sometimes you have to throw a joke around to make them feel more at home, more easy. They play better in that system, and we referee better as well,” says Malinic.

Doana says it is important for candidate referees to whistle YAC games.

“It's about stress because they are stressed when they are going on the court, and I just try to teach them just to leave that stress. They grow with the kids, because they whistle and they need to practice, and when they whistle the kids, they are like a teacher for them,” she explains.

This year, a total of 10 pairs of referees will gain training through the EHF Beach Handball Candidate Referee Programme which will take place at two more top ebt tournaments. Three new referee pairs will be guided at the Diego Carrasco International Cup (19-23 June) for the second part of the initiative, while the programme will conclude at the Thessaloniki ebt (17–21 July).

Photos © Pawel ‘pawi’ Jakubowski; Jozo Cabraja/kolektiff