introduced to create a pool of young referees, who would be part of a
special training effort under the close supervision of the IHF and who would
be expected to move up to the level needed for refereeing at IHF events.
We must admit that,
on many occasions in the past, we have found in both ‘A’ and Junior World
Championships that some of the nominated referees have arrived without proper
preparation and have shown weak performances, partly because their training
in their own continent was inadequate, and partly because IHF did not follow
them closely enough to be aware of this. This situation must change.
The national federations have
already been informed about the nomination procedure and are expected to hand
in proposals for suitable candidates soon. The participants of the GRTP are expected to be
in the GRTP for several years, and for the majority the target might be the
Junior and Youth World Championships in 2007 or 2009. Of course,
we hope that some participants may show enough talent to make much faster
progress, and in such cases they will be given their chance more quickly.
In line with these objectives we are now looking for young referees at the
‘continental’ or national level who have been determined to have good prospects.
They should be at or below the age of 32, so that they could be ready for
the IHF level at age 35 or lower. Examinations for the IHF referee level will
be undertaken within the GRTP.
We are of course looking
for young talents who have the time available and the willingness to work
hard to learn and make progress. An international referee career requires
a major investment of time and effort. A good educational level with strong
language skills (English or French) is needed, and a background as a handball
player, at least at younger or lower levels, is an advantage.
The GRTP puts a special focus on those continents where
it has traditionally been difficult to recruit and develop referees for solid,
long-term performance at the IHF top level. Moreover, it is strongly intended
to include many women in the GRTP.
Participants in the GRTP would be expected to receive strong support from
their national and continental federations, with relevant training and match
experience. IHF/PRC will be available to train and evaluate the participants
during events in their continents. There will also be centralized ‘training
camps’ with an emphasis on education, match evaluation and testing. Psychological
and physical skills will be given strong attention. During the selection stage
the costs must be borne by the national federations. After a referee has been accepted as a GRTP participant, the costs
for participants in ‘centralized events’ will essentially be borne by the
IHF.
INTERNATIONAL
HANDBALL FEDERATION