In an announcement by the IHF, it appears that the plans for holding an Extraordinary Congress in the near future have now been cancelled, after the plans for such an event in Rome last month had to be abandoned due to the major air traffic disruptions.

The announcement, which is rather poorly written and hard to comprehend, http://www.ihf.info/front_content.php?idcat=57&idart=2731 at least makes it clear that the Extra Congress will be held in Marrakech, Morocco, in 2011. Undoubtedly, this means that it will be held immediately prior to the Ordinary Congress that was already awarded to Morocco, so that the efforts and expenses involved with a separate event can be avoided.

The practical implications of such a long delay are unclear. It could be argued that it would provide more time for negotiations to take place, with the objective of coming up with more appropriate proposals for changes in the Statutes. Perhaps more nations will realize that the existing proposals simply are unacceptable. On the other hand, cynics would argue that it also provides more time for 'political' efforts aimed at strengthening the voting support for the IHF President's intentions to increase his power. Time will tell…