Handball in North America and The Caribbean: “A realistic pathway to major IHF events”

17 Jul. 2020

Handball in North America and The Caribbean: “A realistic pathway to major IHF events”

The North America and The Caribbean Handball Confederation (NACHC) was officially born on 13 April 2019 and only a few months later recognised by the International Handball Federation (IHF), after the IHF Member Federations voted on its recognition at the IHF Extraordinary Congress held in Gothenburg, Sweden on 3 July 2019. 

Comprising of 21 members and based in the United States of America, the NACHC, along with the South and Central America Handball Confederation (SCAHC), replaced the Pan American Team Handball Federation in order to allow for more development opportunities and bespoke management of the varied and unique situations among the member federations within the region. 

To celebrate International Handball Week, ihf.info spoke with NACHC President Mario García de la Torre to check in on the fledgling confederation and the handball in its region which includes Greenland in the north down to Mexico and Trinidad & Tobago in the south.

ihf.info: In what ways is handball thriving in your confederation?

Mario García de la Torre: The basic benchmark in our confederation is the promotion of a participation environment which enables the active intervention not only of all the members of the NACHC Executive Committee but also any person or entity that has the capacity to collaborate in the promotion and development of handball.

This can ensure that a balanced development can be attained in all participating sectors: players, coaches, referees, functionaries and even the general public.

ihf.info: How does handball compete with other popular sports within your continent?
 
Mario García de la Torre: In the NACHC I believe that, step-by-step, we are conquering a place among other team sports that have been around for more years than handball has been and that are better known to the sporting communities, but nevertheless the objective is to strive in order to convince our societies that handball is a sport alternative that deserves to be at the same level as other team sports in the region.

ihf.info: Why did you want to become President of the NACHC?

Mario García de la Torre: The main reason was to give hope and to increase the motivation of the countries within the confederation that, before the regrouping of the countries in the Americas, did not usually qualify for major IHF events and now, with this new structure in the Americas, there is a realistic pathway to participate in these events, like IHF World Championships. 

Additionally, I wanted to see more people from my region involved in the worldwide process, and fortunately today, we are seeing this with more coaches, referees, delegates, handball managers from our region being identified and promoted accordingly.

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 ihf.info: What initiative are you most proud of that your confederation is doing/has done?

Mario García de la Torre: This is a fairly new organisation, but nevertheless I will try to describe three actions that make the members our organisation proud already.

Firstly, the representatives of the National Federations, North America and The Caribbean had the courage and trust to engage in a journey that concluded in the foundation of the NACHC, which in itself is a landmark of the history of our sport in our geographical region.

Secondly, the potential possibilities from that  have resulted in real opportunities for the people in our region, such as teams, players, coaches, referees and many more. Some of them have already participated in IHF World Championships and are now engaged in the international structure via the various IHF Commissions and IHF Working Groups.

Thirdly, during this time of COVID-19 and confinement for many, there have been three educational events organised virtually, by video conference. The first one was for referees and the generation of a new culture. The second video conference directed our coaches to ‘explore new limits’ and the third one was our conference for women involved in handball.

I believe that we will continue in the future to look for moments that will really make our members proud to be part of handball in North America and The Caribbean and to be part of the NACHC.

ihf.info: What is something you are excited about in the next five years for your confederation?

Mario García de la Torre: For me, the NACHC shall be a sport institution that promotes a comprehensive participation of all their members, using clearly-defined protocols and criteria in every one of the issues that we have to deal with.

To make a long story short, I believe that my mission in the short term future is to conduct in the most responsible way and process for the development of handball among the countries of our geographical region.

ihf.info: How is the relationship between the IHF and NACHC?

Mario García de la Torre: I feel that the relation of the NACHC with the IHF benefits mainly from the principles of solidarity and recognition and, as an organisation, the NACHC harmonises all of our activities according to their directives.

But, to tell the truth, in this moment I have to recognise that the benefits that the NACHC receives from the IHF are higher than our possibilities to reciprocate, but I expect that we will continue to develop in order to balance this situation in the future.

ihf.info: Why do you love handball?

Mario García de la Torre: My love for handball started at a very young age, at around six years old, when I saw my first-ever match, so it is very difficult to find just one expression to define what I love about this sport, but if I have to be concise then I would say that I feel more alive when I am around handball.

ihf.info: Why is it important to have an international handball week?

Mario García de la Torre: International Handball Week gives our sport the possibility to be seen and appreciated worldwide.

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ihf.info: What is your confederation and its member federations doing for International Handball Week?

Mario García de la Torre: As we are now at the epicentre of the COVID-19 outbreak in the Americas, it is not feasible to have physical activities, so we have approached it virtually, online, through electronic meetings.

We plan to have a video conference where the players shall be the focus, with at least one player of every one of our National Federations participating, under the topic of ‘Our journey into the future of handball in North American and The Caribbean.’

ihf.info: What is your message at this time to the global handball community?

Mario García de la Torre: Take care of your health, play safe and enjoy handball: we are coming back!

For more information about the NACHC visit their websiteFacebook or Twitter.