The 1st IHF Children’s Handball Symposium is just one week away, with eight interactive Zoom webinars every Tuesday and Friday in May from 14:00 to 15:00 CEST.

With grassroots programmes at the core of the development of handball both in established and emerging nations, the symposium, which is part of the IHF Virtual Academy, aims to promote handball activities and educate those responsible for the base level of the pyramid.

Throughout the next weeks, a select panel of speakers will spread knowledge for the attendees, focusing on the introduction of the IHF’s Handball at School (H@S) methodology, regarding both the first steps in handball, planning the first practice session, but also focusing on in-depth aspects, like scoring goals and winning the ball in defence. The final webinar, which will consist of four speakers, will feature the IHF Handball at School Working Group discussing the most requested topics made by participants during the first webinar.

The webinars are free to attend and open to all those interested, without registration: coaches, referees, delegates, physical education teachers, parents and children.

The Zoom webinars are being streamed live on the IHF Facebook page. Translation of the webinars into Arabic, French and Spanish will be available on Zoom only, with attendees being able to ask the lecturers questions via the Zoom chat and Q&A functions.

Furthermore, participants who log-in to Zoom with their email address and full name and attend all eight webinars will receive a certificate of participation.

Therefore, all who are interested in developing the teaching process in handball for children aged 5 to 12 years old are encouraged to join.

Lecturers include Dr Ilona Hapkova (IHF H@S Working Group Chairwoman, IHF Expert), Dr Patricia Sosa Gonzalez (IHF H@S Lecturer), Dr Pablo Greco (IHF H@S and Commission of Coaching and Methods Lecturer), Dr Gerard Lasierra (IHF H@S Working Group Member), Dr Milan Petronijevic (IHF H@S Lecturer), Dr Nabeel Taha Al Shehab (IHF H@S Working Group Member, IHF Expert) and Craig Rot (IHF H@S Working Group Member, Commission of Coaching and Methods Lecturer).

The full programme of lectures for the 1st IHF Children’s Handball Symposium is as follows:

Tuesday, 4 May
14:00-15:00 CEST: Dr Ilona Hapkova, IHF Handball at School Working Group Chairwoman – Getting children started in handball

Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83898598655

Friday, 7 May
14:00-15:00 CEST: Dr Patricia Sosa González, IHF Handball at School Lecturer – Planning the first practice

Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85606393917

Tuesday, 11 May
14:00-15:00 CEST: Dr Pablo Greco, IHF Handball at School and Commission of Coaching and Methods Lecturer – Building the foundation through handball

Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85669346783

Friday, 14 May
14:00-15:00 CEST: Dr Gerard Lasierra, IHF Handball at School Working Group Member – Handball as an interactive sport

Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86215548363

Tuesday, 18 May
14:00-15:00 CEST: Dr Milan Petronijevic, IHF Handball at School Lecturer – Scoring the first goal

Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82666277771

Friday, 21 May
14:00-15:00 CEST: Dr Nabeel Taha Al Shehab, IHF Handball at School Working Group Member – Winning the ball in defence

Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82445389804

Tuesday, 25 May
14:00-15:00 CEST: Craig Rot, IHF Handball at School Working Group Member, IHF Lecturer – Teaching in the real world

Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81338359814

Friday, 28 May
14:00-15:00 CEST: Dr Ilona Hapkova, Dr Gerard Lasierra, Craig Rot, Dr Taha Alshehab (IHF Handball at School Working Group Members) – Next steps in handball after the pandemic – panel discussion

Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83130558093

The 1st IHF Children’s Handball Symposium follows on from the success of the debut edition of IHF Children’s Handball Week – which can be viewed on the IHF Education Centre YouTube channel – which took place last August and further underlines the IHF’s commitment to make handball accessible to all.

For more information on Handball at School or other education courses, click here. For more educational resources, visit the IHF Education Centre website.

Should you have any questions, please contact [email protected].