At the beginning of this year the Brazilian Handball Confederation (CBHb) fully-launched their nationwide 2022 ‘Mini-Beach Handball’ (Mini-Handebol de Praia Brasil) programme after opening the registration process to be involved as a centre, future centre or to participate in online courses late last year.

The programme aims to increase the reach and influence of the sport across the South American country and is part of the overall ‘Mini-Handball’ programme run by the CBHb, which has the aim to promote handball to young people aged 5 to 10 years old across Brazil in an adapted, playful and global way with or without the ball.

The Mini-Handball programme is overseen by National Director, Professor Diego Melo de Abreu and National Deputy Director, Professor Telma Assis Lemos, with Professor Thamiris Madeira Duarte and Professor Daniela Cardoso Nicolini as National Coordinators for Mini-Beach Handball.

Launched by mascot ‘Tino’, the national, developmental Mini-Beach Handball programme has five main objectives:

1. To popularise and democratise the sport
2. To provide young people aged 5 to 10 years old with the opportunity to experience, learn and develop through the sport in an informed, playful and positive way
3. To provide and promote a progressive and constant training programme for teachers and professors who are delivering the programme
4. To increase the number of people involved with mini-beach handball and beach handball throughout the country
5. To create a network between institutions and professionals all across Brazil

To achieve these objectives, the CBHb awards an official seal of quality and approval to hubs of the sport across the country, usually clubs or teams, who will support the programme and its participants to the level of quality expected.

Once these hubs, or ‘poles’ are confirmed, they then promote courses of different types and levels, ongoing training programmes for teachers and professors, hold festivals, organise national and international academic virtual and face-to-face meetings, amongst many other possible actions.

Teachers and professors also have the opportunity to follow an accredited learning and training programme as well as developing teaching materials for schools and multiply and add to knowledge as well as providing best practice examples and test theories with a cooperation network of mini-handball between institutions and professionals across the country.

To promote Mini-Beach Handball, the CBHb recently announced two current national team players as ambassadors for the programme with Patricia Scheppa and Thiago Jordan – multiple world, continental and national medallists in beach handball. 

“These athletes were chosen for their great trajectories in national and international beach handball, but not only that: they are athletes who transmit on and off the court their great character through their exemplary behaviour, transmission and support of the values of fair play and being able to identify with the youth categories and children,” explained Nicolini to ihf.info.

“They have the role as idols for the discipline, talking about their careers to the children and encouraging the CBHb Mini-Beach Handball teachers.”

Rogerio Moraes and Barbara Arenhart were announced earlier this week as ambassadors for Mini-Handball and for Scheppa, the invitation was impossible to turn down. 

“I received the invitation with great affection and honour and accepted because I want to leave my contribution to these children and this programme,” said Scheppa to ihf.info. “I see the programme with good eyes and want to help more people to know and practice the sport.”

Scheppa, who started playing beach handball in 2010 and has been with the national team since 2011, is looking forward to inspiring the next generation on the sand. 

“The mini-beach handball programme has me as a mirror for children, a reference where they can be inspired and motivated to play beach handball,” she explained. “I will be available to make that happen.”

A packed calendar for 2022 has already seen numerous activities for the programme, as well as the overall ‘Mini-Handball’ programme. 

Activities include a number of in-person and virtual events, including regionalised lessons. A wide range of individuals across Brazil are part of the programme – such as volunteers from the 2015 IHF Men’s Junior (U20) World Championship, held in Brazil.

To see all the places across Brazil where the Mini-Handball programme is based, search the below map. 
 

For more information, and to get involved, visit the CBHb website. 

Photos courtesy of CBHb and Daniela Nicolini