Based on an agreement between the National Academy of Handball (NEKA) and the EHF with the assistance of the Hungarian Handball Federation the candidates participated in theoretical presentations and physical tests. Following those, they could take exams showing

their knowledge in practice by officiating in 12 official matches.  

Invitations have been accepted by 21 first and second league clubs, thus, teams such as Tatabánya, Balatonfüred and Budakalász (men) and Alba Fehérvár (women) from the first league (NB I) as well as Kozármisleny and Szent István SE from the second league (NB I/B) played in Balatonboglár, while NEKA was represented in three matches. Hosting the event required thorough preparations and serious logistic skills.

Dr. Ferenc Kersch, Sports Director of NEKA:

“The league season has ended already, so we are extremely grateful to every club that accepted the invitation without hesitation. They all have arrived with strong squads, took the matches seriously, helping this way the job of the referee candidates. We believe that the successful organisation will foster further cooperation in the future, so that Hungarian referees and delegates can join the international arena, which would certainly serve the interests of handball in Hungary.”

Mr. Dragan Nachevski, Chairman of the EHF Technical Refereeing Committee expressed his satisfaction regarding the event and the venue:

“We held this course in Balatonboglár for the second time already, as the facilities and the infrastructure both offer perfect conditions here. It is the first time that we merged the exams for referees and delegates, since their cooperation during the course of a match is vitally important, and the knowledge to be gathered here is crucial for all. The speed of the sport of handball in recent times puts the referees into more complicated situations, so we tried to prepare them for the most unexpected scenarios as well.”

Dr. Zoltán Marczinka, Director of the International Coach Training Centre of the Hungarian Handball Federation has also gladly accepted the invitation:

“Us coaches have always been in good contact with the referees and the bodies representing the players, since we work together for the development of the game, therefore it was my honour to be present at this occasion. The opinion of coaches forms an important part of the referees’ training, so I was glad to present this topic, while it was useful for me to learn by following this course about the changes in the rules of handball and I could also get an insight into the details of the training.”

Among the new EHF badge officials successfully completing the course we can find six referee pairs and fifteen delegates – one of the latter being Ilona Tordai from Hungary. Starting from next season they can officiate at international level.