Author Archives: Christer Ahl

Asian Games: Chinese women and Korean men win the Gold medals

Posted on by

The women’s competition had a really unexpected final outcome, as the highly favored Korean women failed to make it to the final. They lost 28-29 against a surprisingly strong Japanese team in the semi-finals. It seems the Koreans forgot to utilize their strength as a team and tried to win the game through individual plays. In the meantime, the Chinese women had a relatively easy time in defeating Kazakhstan in the other semi-final by the score of 24-18. Perhaps also this result constituted a bit of a surprise, although the Chinese team had played at a consistently strong level throughout the event.

In the final, the Chinese confirmed their impressive form, by pulling away easily in the second half to a clear 31-22 win against Japan, after a narrow lead at half-time. Korea presumably wanted some revenge in the bronze medal game, and they went on to crush Kazakhstan with 38-26, after having started at full speed right from the beginning. It will now remain to be seen if this shocking outcome for Korea, with a third place behind both China and Japan, is just a temporary setback or the beginning of a tougher battle for the top spot in Asia in coming years. At least it may suggest that both China and Japan will have to be reckoned with in the next World Championship.

The men’s final promised to be an interesting fight between Korea and Iran, but also here the Koreans ‘put the foot to the gas pedal’ from the outset. The half-time score was 16-9, and even if Iran scored the first four goals in the second half, Korea knew how to respond. Soon the margin was 30-21, and only towards the very end did the Koreans allow Iran to reduce the margin to the more respectable 32-28. Japan relied on speed and fast-breaks to stay ahead of Saudi Arabia throughout the bronze medal game, with a final result of 27-20.

Finally, for the sake of a narrowing of the gap between East Asia and the Gulf Region in the polarized handball scene in Asia, it is interesting to notice that India showed some progress with a 9th place among the men and an 8th place among the women, after some gradually more respectable results. Thailand came in 7th among the women.

Iran defeats Japan in dramatic semifinal – plays Korea in the final

Posted on by

It was perhaps anticipated that the semifinal Iran-Japan would be a very close game, but the Japanese seemed to move ahead towards an easy win when the score was 13-7 after 20 minutes. However, by the intermission the Iranians had almost caught up (15-16), and then the entire second half was a 'seesaw' battle. Iran scored the final goal for a 30-29 win during the very last minute.

In the final on Saturday, the Iranians will want to seek revenge for the 27-32 loss against Korea in the group play. Korea had absolutely no problem with Saudi Arabia in the other semi-final, winning comfortably with 41-19. Perhaps the Saudis expended all their energy on the final day of the group play, where their fate depended on other teams, or perhaps they simply were not good enough in comparison with the real top teams. But at least they will get a second chance to win against Japan in the bronze medal game.

The women's groups were finalized today, without any surprises. R.O. Korea defeated Kazakhstan with 25-17 and China had the upper hand against Japan, 25-19. This means that the semifinals on Thursday will have the matchups Korea-Japan and China-Kazakhstan. This will be followed by the medal games on Friday, just as for the men.

After the completion of the women's groups, it is now also clear that Taipei and D.P.R. Korea will square off for 5th place, while India and Thailand will play for 7th place. On the men's side, the neighbors Qatar and Bahrain will fight it out for 5th place, whereas China and Kuwait will have to be content with a battle for 7th place.

Asian Games — Japan-IR Iran and R.O.Korea-Saudi Arabia in the men’s semifinals

Posted on by

Yesterday it became clear that Iran would join Korea as the top teams from men’s group B. Today, the fight for the remaining two slots was settled through the matches. Japan won the first game against Saudi Arabia with the surprisingly clear margin of 36-28. This seemed to put the Saudis in an almost hopeless position. But the next match, Qatar-China, ended with a 25-25 tie, i.e., exactly the result that helped the Saudis into the semifinal.

Group A: JAPAN 8 pts, SAUDI ARABIA 7 pts, Qatar 7 pts, China 6 pts, India 2 pts, Mongolia 0 pts
Group B: KOREA 8 pts, IRAN 6 pts. Bahrain 4 pts, Kuwait 2 pts, Hongkong 0 pts.

On the women’s side, it is becoming obvious that R.O.Korea and Kazakhstan will qualify from one group, while China and Japan so far have lived up their favorite roles in the other group. The only remaining obstacle is for China to defeat D.P.R. Korea tomorrow.

Finally, back to the men’s competition, it should serve as encouragement for the future when India in the final group match, after four straight defeats, were able to crush fellow newcomer Mongolia with 56-22.

The situation of Kosovo suddenly highlighted

Posted on by

Kosovo currently has a special status in handball and in sports more generally. Only a handful of international sports federations have granted Kosovo status as a full member. Several other sports use the concept of ‘associate member’ or hold off while allowing their continental federation in Europe to take the lead. In Europe, Kosovo has ‘associate member’ status in the European Handball Federation and participates in cup competitions, but the IHF does not yet recognize Kosovo. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Membership_of_Kosovo_in_international_sports_federations

Most sports follow the lead of the International Olympic Committee, which in turn has the principle of waiting for the United Nations to bestow the status of independent state. Serbia has refused to recognize the independent status of Kosovo, and the United Nations Security Council has so far provided for a kind of interim, international administration. In recent months, however, there has a been a ruling from the International Court of Justice, to the effect that Kosovo did not violate any international laws when unilaterally breaking away from Serbia in 2008. This has given reason to optimism in Kosovo but has made Serbia determined to plead its case in the United Nations General Assembly. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_recognition_of_Kosovo

In the meantime, Kosovo teams have played their games in EHF competitions without incidents. But now the inevitable happened: in round 3 of the 2010-11 Women’s Cup Winners’ Cup, the Kosovo participant KHF Kastrioti was drawn against the Serbian team ZRK Knjaz Milos. Playing these games ‘home and away’ in Kosovo and Serbia was not quite a realistic option, so in collaboration with the EHF the decision has been reached to play both matches in Skopje, FYR Macedonia on November 20 and 21. http://www.eurohandball.com/article/13502

Let us hope, first, that these matches will be played in a spirit of sportsmanship and without any incidents, and then that the more important basic issue of the status of Kosovo will soon be resolved in a mutually agreeable manner!

Asian Games – Refereeing ‘issues’ reappear

Posted on by

It has been an unfortunate ‘tradition’ for many, many years that manipulation through the refereeing has been a topic in continental Asian competition. The worst example was presumably the events in the qualifying tournaments for the 2008 Olympic Games, especially the infamous men’s game Korea-Kuwait. Therefore, last February in the Asian Championships, which served as qualification for the men’s World Championship next January, it was a pleasure to note a complete absence of accusations and controversy.

But now it seems that it might be ‘back to normal’ again. In a key game yesterday, Bahrain played Iran, and after Bahrain’s earlier loss to Korea in the group play, this was the last chance for Bahrain to qualify for the semifinals. It was a close game, but reports from the Danish coach for the Bahrain team suggest that, in the second half, the strange referee decisions deprived Bahrain of any chance to win the match. There are comments from the coach both in Danish media and in the ‘Gulf Daily News’. The coach admits that, to make things worse, his players were unable to ‘keep a straight face’ and lost their concentration in their frustration over the refereeing decisions. http://www.haandbold.com/nyhed/internationalt/dansk-traener-frustreret-over-asiatiske-skandalekendelser http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/NewsDetails.aspx?storyid=291929

Of course, even against the background of the ‘traditions’, one would not want to jump to conclusions on the basis of views from the coach of the losing team. But I have now obtained opinions from neutral observers who are present in Guangzhou, and their reports suggest that the problems were in fact greater than the coach is stating. It seems there was a clear impression that the referees acted under some kind of pressure, and that their decisions sometimes seemed related to the result of the match at a given moment.

However, the real and undisputed indication the Asians are acting without scruples is the following: at the time of the legal process following the infamous Korea-Kuwait match, culminating in a Tribunal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), the IHF took a clear decision that [u][/u]the referees in the match would be permanently banned[u][/u] from refereeing at the international/continental level. Indeed, I personally confirmed this position, with the Asian leadership present, when I was the IHF witness in the Tribunal. But when now there is an Asian event, without any external supervision from the IHF as there is no qualification for IHF events involved, [u][/u]it is shocking but perhaps not entirely surprising to detect that the Asians have taken the opportunity to nominate one of these Jordanian referees for the Asian Games[u][/u]. With his partner, he refereed a key game between China and Saudi Arabia a couple of days ago!

In my mind, this demonstrates an attitude of total disregard for IHF decisions, for the worldwide opinion and image, and for any sense of decency. One can only hope that matters do not go further downhill from here on, during the Asian Games and in future events….

On a happier note, it is interesting to note the strong coverage in major media in India for the efforts of their inexperienced and so far winless men’s team. Here are some links: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/16th-asian-games-2010/india-news/India-loses-against-Saudi-Arabia-in-Handball-at-Asiad/articleshow/6937936.cms http://www.indianexpress.com/news/3-punjab-girls-in-asiad-handball-squad/708309/

Tomorrow is the start of the women’s competition. The standings in the men’s competition so far are:
Group A: all teams with 3 games: Qatar 6, Saudi Arabia 5, Japan 4, China 3, India 0 and Mongolia 0. Group B: Korea 8 points after 4 games; all other teams with 3 games: Iran 4 points, Kuwait 2, Bahrain 2 and Hong Kong 0.

The 2010 Changes in the Rules – implemented without major difficulties

Posted on by

Whenever there are some changes in the rule book, which typically happens no more often than every four years, there is always some apprehension among players, coaches and referees, and some confusion on the part of general handball public. The changes that took effect on July 1 this year were quite limited in scope, so this is likely to be one reason why there has not been a loud debate about the impact of the changes. But there have been a number of comments in the media, with views expressed by both team representatives and spectators, so I will focus on three specific areas that have received some attention. In doing so, I have not just picked up media reports, but I have also had conversations with some former colleagues on the IHF Rules & Refereeing Commission.

The major change in the rule book in terms of structure and text was in Rule 8, the very fundamental rule on fouls and misconduct. This clearly makes people wonder if the intention was to change how the game is supposed to be played, but I referred to ‘structure and text’ precisely because the intention was not to change the meaning of the rules and their interpretation more than marginally. Nevertheless, it seems that there have been some isolated instances in some countries, where the instructions have been misinterpreted or have not reached out to everyone. We do know that, unfortunately, not even all of the traditional handball countries have a strong structure in the area of referee education and rules interpretation. So for many of the ‘small’ handball countries the challenges are obviously even greater.

Anyway, it seems that some referees and instructors had misunderstood the intention to be that, from now on, fouls and ‘dirty play’ should really be clamped down on and be punished more harshly than before. But this was/is not the case. The goal of the changes in structure and wording was to provide more clarity. The structure of rule 8, with one ‘ladder’ for fouls and one for unsportsmanlike conduct now better matches the concept of ‘progressive punishment’ and also makes much more clear what are the differences between fouls that are more of a ‘routine’ nature and those that need to be singled out for tougher punishment immediately.

Moreover, instead of examples, the explanations and distinctions are now based on criteria. This should have the effect that the referees could now feel more secure in their decisions; so to the extent that this meant that previously they were in some cases less certain and therefore went for a more lenient action, then on the margin there could be some sense that in some individual cases we now see a tougher line. But any general trend towards more 2-minute punishments or ‘direct red cards’ should not really exist. So any suggestion that the IHF has generally escalated the interpretations is wrong!

One particular situation has caused some debate or dispute: the new statements in the rules regarding the situation where a goalkeeper leaves the goal area to try to intercept the ball during a counterattack for the opponents. For reasons of injury prevention, it has now been made abundantly clear that it is the goalkeeper who carries the basic responsibility for avoiding dangerous body contact. He/she can observe the evolving situation, whereas the opponent, with a typical focus on the ball that is coming from behind, is more vulnerable. It is almost impossible to try to make this rule crystal clear on paper or by describing a specific game situation verbally. One must see it live or have it on video, but at least the principle just mentioned should be clear.

The intention is not to find more reasons to disqualify goalkeepers. The objective is to greatly reduce the risk for major injuries and to make the goalkeepers think and act accordingly. They must change their instincts. This may mean that in some cases they decide to stay in their goal area and that, in other situations where they find themselves outside and confronting an opponent, they think ‘safety first’ and literally go out of their way to avoid a collision. And the good news is that goalkeepers generally seem to have gotten the message. They seem to think and act in the way we were hoping for, and there have been very few reports of situations where goalkeepers had to be disqualified for careless actions. It is understandable if a goalkeeper sometimes feels inhibited or frustrated by this ‘threat’, but surely this is much better than the option of considering a change whereby the goalkeeper is prevented from leaving his area!?

Finally, just a short comment on a third aspect of the new rules: the IHF decided to introduce the concept of a ‘coaching zone’. There is full understanding for the instincts and wishes of a coach to be physically active during the game; but it was felt that the job can be done without moving in front of the time/scorekeeping table, blocking the view of the people working there and ‘being in the face of’ the match delegates and increasing the risk for confrontations. There were some arguments that we would now hide behind bureaucratic rules, instead of trying to make the more important distinction between a correct working method and an unsportsmanlike behavior on the part of the coaches. But all the indications so far are that the concept of the ‘coaching zone’ is workable and has served its purpose.

In other words, there seem to be reasons for satisfaction both with the desired effect of the changes and with the willingness and ability of the coaches and the players to adapt! However, it may be a bit premature to jump to the conclusion that the rules have helped the referees put the game on the right track. We have not yet reached the critical stages of the Champions League, which through television reaches out and sets examples that could be both good and bad. And above all, in less than 2 months we have the men’s World Championship. Here it will really be critical for the IHF and its very best referees to show that the new rules help achieve consistency, and more specifically at the right level!

Asian Games — results on the opening day

Posted on by

The handball tournament in the Asian Games in now underway. As I anticipated earlier, there were several 'mismatches' between experienced teams and weaker opponents but also a couple of closer games.

In Group A, Qatar defeated Japan by 33-27, after 17-17 at half-time. By contrast, Saudia Arabia crushed Mongolia by 69-17and China had an easy time defeating India by 41-21.

In Group B. Bahrain showed good form in preparation for the World Championship, by beating the long-standing rival Kuwait by 27-25 after a strong second half. Rep. of Korea had little difficulty in beating Hong Kong by a clear margin, 52-13. Iran had a bye on the first day in this group.

One of our friendly readers in Korea also helped us with the information that Kazakhstan has been added as a last-minute entry in Women's Group A. Yes, it did seem a bit surprising that the Kazakh women would not participate, considering their strength in recent years.

Asian Games Official Website (Handball Schedule and Results): http://www.gz2010.cn/info/ENG_ENG/ZZ/ZZS103A_HB@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ENG.html

Handball in the Asian Games

Posted on by

As I am trying to recover from the shock after having seen John Ryan contaminate our web site a couple of days ago by talking about some kind of nonsense activity, that regrettably has not been stamped out or at least banned from its outrageous use of the label ‘handball’, I will try to get all of you, and myself, back on track with the real thing.

The 16th Asian Games had their opening ceremony in Guangzhou, China, on Friday and the handball competition will start on Saturday, at least as far as the men are concerned. The Asian Federation’s web site has offered very little information, whereas some other web sites have shown contradictory information regarding tournament format and playing schedule. It seems relatively certain, however, that the competition will start with the following preliminary groups:
Men A: Qatar, China, Japan, Saudi Arabia, India and Mongolia;
Men B: Kuwait, Iran, Rep. of Korea, Bahrain and Hong Kong;
Women A: Rep.of Korea, Taipei, Thailand and Qatar;
Women B: Japan, China, India, P.D.R. of Korea;

The first day of competition has a couple of intriguing match-ups, Kuwait-Bahrain and Japan-Qatar. While the women’s brackets seem to be leading up to rather predictable results, the men’s side should offer a really strong fight for the positions in the medal round. Korea, Japan and Bahrain are in the midst of their preparations for the World Championship in Sweden in January, but several of the other participants are likely to want to show that they are at least as strong. Title defender is Kuwait who won the final against Qatar in 2006.

The participation of Kuwait is somewhat ‘mysterious’. Early in the year, the IOC suspended the Kuwait Olympic Committee. Soon afterwards, some international sports federations, including the IHF, decided to follow this example on an entirely voluntary basis, so the Kuwait Handball Federation was suspended. There have been no indications that these bans are being lifted. And for instance, a strong Kuwaiti referee couple apparently could not be considered for participation in Sweden. However, in some rather absurd way, it appears that the Kuwaiti team was given permission to participate, but on the condition that the flag of the country could not be used!!! The IOC has sometimes given individual athletes the right to participate in Olympic events, on a ‘stateless’ basis and under a neutral flag. But it does seem quite weird that a team can represent its suspended federation under the name of its country… Perhaps we will get a plausible explanation one day!?

The Asian Games have become a major event in China, in the aftermath of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, with vast amounts of modern facilities, not just for the official 28 Olympic summer sports but for a very interesting spectrum of other sports. Americans may find it interesting that baseball is on the program, although of course baseball is these days much more a sport for Asian and Latin American start players than an ‘American pastime’; and then in all fairness, cricket is also on the program. Rugby and squash are undoubtedly intrigued about having a chance to participate. Bowling and chess have also been given an opportunity, and it may not be difficult to understand why dragon boat racing is on the program. More unknown internationally are sebaktakraw and kabbadi, but at least kabbadi seems to have some similarities with handball, especially in the sense of training movement without the ball. http://www.kabaddiikf.com/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kabaddi

As results become available from the handball tournament, we will try to provide some updates, at least for the purpose of washing that awful taste out of our mouths following John’s serious sabotage.

Weak PATHF procedures leads to waste of money

Posted on by

The basic competition structure in PanAmerica consists of PanAmerican Championships in an Elite Division with eight countries participating, below which there is a ‘Division 1’ for the remaining teams in each category, men, women, junior, youth etc. From each Elite Division event, the two lowest placed teams are demoted and next time replaced by the top two teams in the corresponding Division 1.

On paper, this seems like a sensible system, with a fair and predictable way of ensuring that the best teams at any given point in time are in the Elite Division, while at the same time all other teams get an opportunity to compete against teams of a similar level. However, for this system to function properly, there is pressure on the PanAmerican Team Handball Federation to be well organized and to enable especially the new and weaker countries in Division 1 to have their events planned and organized properly. Many of these countries have limited resources and/or limited experience in handling their involvement in international events. Moreover, especially in the junior and youth events, it is likely that only a small number of countries will be able to participate in each Division 1 event.

A couple of weeks ago, the Division 1 event for Junior Men was scheduled to take place in Venezuela. It is unclear how long before the start of the event that the place and date was actually finalized. In any case, apart from the organizers Venezuela, registrations for this event were received from Canada, the Dominican Republic and Guatemala. For the Canadians this was a major sacrifice, as the Federation budget is so limited that essentially the young players personally have to absorb the cost of travel etc.

Accordingly, it must have been a bittersweet discovery when the Canadians, having already arrived in Venezuela, found that the other two teams would not show up. It has been suggested that the Dominicans were unable to obtain visas and that the Guatemalans found themselves without the necessary financial resources. What this meant was that Venezuela and Canada were automatically qualified for the next Elite Division, BUT that the expensive trip to Venezuela (for two meaningless games against the hosts) was totally unnecessary. If PATHF had received the notifications from the other two teams in time and then had notified the Canadians, the travel could have been avoided.

There are rumors that the final determination of dates and place for the event was made at a VERY late stage, and that this played a major role in the difficulties encountered by the two federations that withdrew. This would seem to add to the frustrations, as presumably also these teams feel that were suffering an injustice. Repeated attempts to get an official reaction from the PATHF have been met with silence.

What happened should be seen against the background of an unfortunate ‘tradition’: last minute decisions regarding place and date for events have not been unusual, a lack of clear deadlines for withdrawal (or disrespect for such dates, without subsequent punishment) has been common, and permission for teams to enter also after the deadline has been given. It may seem reasonable and pragmatic to be less bureaucratic, for the sake of encouraging maximum participation, but this tends to result in a lack of discipline to the detriment of teams that handle their affairs correctly and effectively. It would really be nice to see an improvement in decision-making, communications and clear procedures, for the benefit of everyone involved.

Elite players — wake up!

Posted on by

In several articles over the past year, I have lamented that neither clubs nor federations appear willing to offer much of a forum and opportunity for the elite players to express views or to contribute with ideas. For instance, I have commented on the empty gestures of the ‘Athletes Commissions’ that exist on paper but are not being used as intended.

I have also commented on the tendency that clubs and federations discuss ‘over the heads’ of the players about matters that very directly involve the situation of the players, such as the competition calendar, the release of players from clubs to federations for their national teams, health and insurance matters etc. Of course, it is excellent that these matters are finally being discussed, but not that this happens without the participation of the players.

So I think I have established my credentials as someone who genuinely favors more of a voice for the players. But, it is not only a matter of inviting or not inviting the players, or providing a forum or not doing so, Clearly, the top players are for the most part bright, well-educated adults, who should be able to take the necessary initiatives and exert pressure. They should not be content with being treated as children or unthinking robots.

Leaving aside the potential for players to contribute with constructive ideas regarding the development and management of our sport, about the rules etc., at least one would imagine an urge to have the opportunity to speak up out of self-interest. I have never noticed that the players are so shy and inarticulate that this would be unrealistic…

But perhaps their focus is so narrow that they actually prefer a status quo? Or perhaps their focus is only on earning the maximum amounts here and now, so that longer-term considerations, health risks and a willingness to express a preference for fewer games are unthinkable? Or do the players realize that fewer games would lead to reduced revenues and almost inevitably reduced salaries? Or is it ‘beneath the dignity’ of the elite players to act as ‘workers’ who need to get together and speak up, in the same way as unions or syndicates? (I was almost prepared to use a slogan from Karl Marx as a heading for this article: Players of the world, unite! But I got worried that this would scare people off!)

But seriously, I am now beginning to think that I am wasting my time on arguing in favor of increased opportunities for the players, if the reality is that they prefer to hide and stay quite…. But I surely hope it is not so! Players, please wake up and start looking after your interests!

P.S. I hear now in recent days about some awakening among the Bundesliga players; great! we need a good example for others to follow!

Danish teams visiting USA in the ‘old days’

Posted on by

Being of Swedish origin, I have of course always known about the reputation of the Danes for being the outgoing, gregarious types, especially in comparison with the boring, introvert Swedes. So when national teams visiting the United States create or experience some commotion, perhaps it is not surprising that they are Danes.

The first little story is from the late 70s, when the Danish men’s team, captained by Anders Dahl-Nielsen, visited for four or five matches against the U.S. national team, on the West Coast and in Texas. I was a referee in the two games in Texas. The first game was played in San Antonio, more precisely at Fort Sam Houston, the birthplace of military aviation. And the old, dilapidated ‘gym’ looked more like an abandoned hangar. But it was the setting for a really first-rate game.

Then we moved on to Texas A&M University, a school where engineering is one of the main fields. So the players on the local team spent the day before the game manufacturing the goals, and unfortunately the paint was not quite dry yet in time for the Danish team’s practice session. But more solid goals with more exact measures I have never seen.

But the real story came during the barbeque party that the hosts had organized out on a ranch nearby. We were brought out there on a cattle transport, and it was very nicely arranged with lots of food (and, yes, some beer) plus a lot of activities. The Danish players especially enjoyed the ‘bareback’ riding. But then we could all here some gun fire. The Danes were not so preoccupied at first, but then someone inquired about the reason. The nonchalant but not very reassuring answer was: “don’t worry; it is just our guards at the perimeter, shooting the rattlesnakes that they spot!!!” This brought the riding to an abrupt halt, and the now very pale-faced players suddenly looked much more like Swedes…

The next episode was caused by the Danish women’s team a few years later, and here the commotion was definitely caused by the Danes. They had a free day at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, prior to the start of a 4-country tournament, to rest and come to grips with the jet lag. The Training Center is a fenced-in area without public access, so in the strong sunshine at the high altitude the players thought it would be a great idea to sunbathe in the normal Danish manner, i.e., topless!!!

Well, apparently this abomination, by Colorado Springs standards, could be seen from some distance through the fence by some people passing by. The local police was quickly alerted and came out in full force to deal with this major security problem. Who knows what kind of riots could have resulted if this exposition had been allowed to continue. Naturally, the police came well equipped with video cameras to secure the evidence. Apparently they saw it as a serious matter that could not be left unpunished. Arrests and/or immediate deportation were being discussed. The tournament seemed to be in danger.

A desperate colleague from the USA federation reached me at home, where I was just about to start my travel to Colorado Springs. The plea was: ‘could I, as someone of Scandinavian origin but familiar with proper American behavior in public, speed up my travel to come out quickly to explain things to the Sherriff; especially to testify that the behavior displayed by these Danish people was perfectly normal and acceptable in Scandinavia and that they could not reasonably have suspected that the habits are so different in the ‘land of freedom and liberty’.

Fortunately, it was possible to convince the authorities, and the tournament could take place with the Danish team [u]on[/u] the court instead of [u]in[/u] court. The worst thing that happened to any of them was a 2-minute suspension. But for some time afterwards, there remained some hesitation about inviting those free-spirited Danes again. About the video evidence collected: I guess we were lucky that this was long before the days of YouTube…

Club views on competition calendar

Posted on by

Gerd Butzeck, the Managing Director of Group Club Handball (GCH), gave an interesting interview in handball-world.com recently, touching on a broad spectrum of current issues. http://www.handball-world.com/news-index.php?LID=1&GID=1&auswahl=28020

I find that I very often tend to agree with the views and ideas that Gerd brings out, either as a spokesperson for GCH or as a handball observor. This time I can appreciate most of his points, but there is one area where I am not so sure that he is coming up with the best arguments in order to get opponents or neutral observers on his side.

Gerd Butzeck is commenting at length about the progress the GCH and the broader grouping FCH (Forum for Club Handball) has made, primarily in negotiations with the EHF but gradually perhaps also with the IHF, regarding compensation and insurance issues. ‘Teamhandballnews’ has reported about these developments extensively in the past. Gerd also comments on the burden on the clubs caused by the substantial aggregate amount of time that the top players spend in a year with their respective national teams. This brings the interview to the question of the competition calendar. And this is where I am concerned about some of his statements on the competition calendar, and also about some things he is [u]not[/u] saying.

Quite naturally, as a representative of clubs, he is arguing in favor of a reduction in the number of ‘big events’, meaning the Olympic Games, the two World Championships and the two Continental Championships in each four-year period. He argues for eliminating 1 WC and 1 EC, so that there are only 3 major events ever four years. To me, this seems drastic and sounds like some kind of ‘bargaining position’. But when he comments on the expected reaction to such proposals, he makes an argument that I consider to be both tactically and factually wrong. He essentially says: “it is all about money”. Of course, the TV and advertising revenues for a major championship is a really major consideration. But, especially as someone who is used to looking at these matters from a European perspective, he overlooks other considerations.

[b]Impact for non-European nations[/b]

In Europe there is the Champions League and the other EHF club events, which do not have any serious equivalents in other continents. Similarly, the European Championship, which in Europe is often described as a tougher event than the World Championship, really creates a level of interest in Europe that cannot at all be matched by the championships in the other continents. What the top countries in the other continents really want is the opportunity to compete directly against the European nations. In other words, for all practical purposes non-European nations are already down to three ‘big events’ in each four-year period. They certainly do not want to lose one of those.

[b]Loss of propaganda value[/b]

Moreover, for these countries, and also for many European countries, money is not the only concern. The ‘propaganda’ value of the ‘big events’ is enormous, especially of course if one manages to qualify for participation, but also as a spectator and TV event. It is fair to say that the entire handball family, including the clubs, benefit from this. So I understand Gerd Butzeck’s objectives, but be careful with the arguments used and the arguments overlooked!

[b]Not all club matches are of the highest value either[/b]

Also, I hope the objective of the discussions regarding the competition calendar is not just about a shift in the balance between clubs and federations, but also about the health and well-being of the players. But even though Gerd represents club interests, I think he would sound more credible on this point if he occasionally pointed out that the clubs themselves waste the energy and the health of the players on games that are useless, except in one respect: ‘it is all about the money’ that they bring into the coffers of the clubs.

Finally, I have had a dialog with Gerd Butzeck over the years about different competition formats that would lessen the impact that major competition have on the big teams and the top players. I hope he will pursue this aspect also.

A bit more colonial spirit would help!

Posted on by

Many of our readers know about Inaki Urdangarin, probably the most successful player in the history of Spanish handball. The final role of his career was as a captain for the Spanish national team in the 2000 Olympics. I had met him earlier, of course, as he was always very approachable and friendly both on and off the court, but that’s where I got a chance to see how he nicely he juggled the final stage of his playing career with his family responsibilities. That’s where he first introduced me to his wife, H.R.H La Infanta Dona Cristina and we had a nice chat in their native language. But I must admit I got a bit rattled when he soon thereafter wanted to introduce me to ‘his mother-in-law’. It took me a few seconds to realize that I was about to face H.M. the Queen of Spain.

Anyway, Inaki, now better known as the Duke of Palma de Mallorca, is now an established family man and well into a professional career, drawing on his academic background in business administration. The interesting thing is, however, that after his transfer last year to a new position with Telefonica, the large Spanish multinational, he has now doubled the number of handball fanatics in the Washington D.C., area, as he lives across town from me in a Maryland suburb.

When his move first became known, I was joking with some handball players in the area that perhaps they could entice him to join their modest local team, and I suggested to the USA federation that they ought to find a way to rope him in and get some help with the propaganda efforts for handball in this country. After all, the Spanish made themselves ‘popular’ for their colonial spirit here in the Western Hemisphere a few centuries ago, so the spirit of converting the ‘hedonists’ from basketball to handball would be natural thing. Well, I figure that, more realistically, the former handball star has been too busy with work, family, and representational duties to worry much about handball in the U.S.

But I did get a shock the other day, when a friend drew my attention to a photo that was floating around on the internet:

[img]http://img37.imageshack.us/img37/4642/bewf7bd86.jpg[/img]

bicycle riding is of course just fine; but that terrible way of bringing up one of his sons by allowing him to… well, I do not even want to mention the word here! Of course, I could not use words as strong as ‘treason’ when commenting on the acts of a member of a Royal family, even if I know that our handball friend would understand the ‘pique’ intended and save me from court marshal procedures.

But I hope this article will somehow in some mysterious ways get to his attention, so: I beg you dear handball friend: put a stop to this before it is too late. Tennis, in the spirit of Nadal, would be OK, especially given your position as the Duke of Palma de Mallorca, but not…. And I think the only way to make amends at this point would be to find an opportunity to make some handball propaganda among the ignorant Americans while you continue to live among us!