Diverse insights delivered at Women’s Handball Conference 2024

The topics covered included specific projects designed to attract girls and young women to play handball and other sports, managing female player dropout, media coverage of women’s sports, elite refereeing, and individual experiences, such as those of two past IHF World Players of the Year, Andrea Lekic and Allison Pineau, and the story of Netherlands wheelchair handball player Joyce van Haaster.

The panel discussions, which each featured a number of different experts, were: She plays handball — attracting the younger generation; Encourage, empower and inspire — training techniques for female players; Empowering HERstory — women’s empowerment and leadership; and The future of women in handball.

The first edition of the Conference took place on the fringe of the Women’s EHF EURO 2022, and was introduced as part of an effort to continue developing the women’s arm of the game.

“If we grow and develop more in women’s handball, then all handball will be bigger”

Proceedings were opened by EHF President Michael Wiederer and EHF Methods Commission Chairman Pedro Sequeira.  “The European Handball Federation fully stands behind these projects to empower women’s handball,” said Wiederer. “The main thing is that we want to make our sport stronger.

“This conference definitely, like other measures, contributes to this. What I kindly ask you, after having joined us for this activity, is to go back to your countries, to your federations, to your activities, and continue the effort there. 

Sequeira spoke about the specific content that would be covered in the Conference. “What we are trying to do is not only for you but also for us — that we really go to the practical approaches. Not only from handball, but also learn from other sports,” he said. “We also need to learn with good practice from others.

“If we grow and develop more in women’s handball, then all handball will be bigger. This is also why it is very important that we are very focused with the different approaches, because this will help all of the handball, in your countries and in Europe.”

“Encouraging the girls to be brave, not perfect”

The opening presentation on the main stage was one of those focused on projects in another sport — basketball. Head of Women in Basketball and Special Projects at FIBA Elisabeth Cebrian spoke on the FIBA project “Her World, Her Rules.”

“We have three main priorities, which are empowerment of federations, women in basketball, and shaping international club competitions,” said Cebrian, outlining FIBA’s overall focuses from 2023 to 2027.

Cebrian shared how for women’s basketball, the aims are to increase participation of female players by encouraging safe and inclusive spaces for girls, develop female coaches and officials, maximise the impact of women’s competitions, increase the number of fans, and improve gender diversity.

“We started actually in 2019 [with female participation] being already a key priority for FIBA, and this goal was implemented as a pillar independent from the others. What we learned now is that we need to work holistically,” said Cebrian.

“Her World, Her Rules” focuses on increasing participation and retention of female players, but Cebrian emphasised that it is transversal across FIBA’s work. The project involves collaborative activities with national federations, focused on those who do not have strategies specifically for the women’s game, and visibility through a social media campaign.

“We don’t have one fits all. Whatever fits France doesn’t fit in Brazil or in Italy or in India, so that’s why it’s so important to integrate the campaign in the reality of each country.”

“Her World, Her Rules” started in 2018 in Europe and has been expanding globally since then. So far 113 national federations have been involved, and over 100,000 girls around the world reached.

The project involves star players as ambassadors, who receive training for and are not only figureheads, but have active roles. Cebrian said ambassadors do not have to be players, but can be any role models in the sport, particularly those who challenge stereotypes.

Player retention is also targeted through the “I Coach Girls” project, which falls under the umbrella of “Her World, Her Rules” and was created as a specific focus based on the “I Coach Kids” project introduced previously.

“It’s about being welcoming and creating a safe environment. It’s about being adaptable; offering something for everyone. The girls, they want to be part of the community, but they want to be seen as individuals. They want to also see that the coach is really interested in how I feel, what I want and is really adaptable to the needs of everyone. Being encouraging — encouraging the girls to be brave, not perfect. Those kinds of messages are really crucial,” said Cebrian. 

“In a team, everyone needs to find their own place”

There were strong links between Cebrian’s presentation and the experiences shared by Lekic and Pineau, who, on the second day of the Women’s Handball Conference, took part in a panel discussion-style presentation focused on leadership and the end of their playing careers. 

Lekic and Pineau spoke about the importance of individual empowerment within a team, and how it is the responsibility of team leadership — both the leading players and staff, including coaches. When a group are working towards a common goal, communication, trust and empowerment of the individuals within it are essential for success. In this context, the two have experienced similar growth through their careers, starting as young talents who realised they needed to be leaders in their teams and have developed in that area. 

“For me, leadership is like a social process — like an act or skill leading people towards a certain goal. And it’s inspiring. Inspiring a group of people to do the best they can,” said Lekic, while Pineau added: 

“As a leader, you are a guide in a team, even though you have different character, different sensitivity. As a leader you have to pay attention to that, because you cannot talk the same way as you do to one player to another. Some of them are more strong, some are more sensitive. You need to give attention to that, because in a team, everyone needs to find their own place.” 

Lekic spoke about how finding a common language when working towards big goals can be challenging. She hypothesised this area might be easier if there were more female coaches in handball, but emphasised that she supports quality coaches over gender. 

“It’s not easy to find a common language, but there are a lot of techniques we can use to get there,” said Lekic. 

“This is the difficulty in team sports, to find this common language. The most I think is communication,” agreed Pineau. “We need to find this safe space, where everyone can give their opinion in the right way. We can share that and find the best of it, because we are in the same boat. We have the same common goals. The communication is the base of everything.” 

Lekic talked about her first year at Krim, in 2007/08, being a very difficult season, but she has learned how important the challenges are for growth. 

“It was a very bad year but a year full of experiences,” said Lekic. “Usually, this kind of discomfort zone is pushing us to our best results.” 

It was in that time that Lekic realised others were looking to her, and leading by example was one element that was important. 

“Being a leader means you have to have some psychological skills of course. You need to feel your team. That’s one of the most important things. You have to also possess extremely high emotional control,” said Lekic. “You need to be ready to control your ego, definitely, to be aware of the situation.”

Another important personal development journey for both Lekic and Pineau was the inevitable learning of how to deal with disappointment. 

“Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. This is a normal process in life,” said Pineau, who also shared that even wins can lead to challenging periods and decreased motivation, as she experienced after the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, when she took the gold medal with France. She fell into “some kind of depression” after achieving what was the highest goal of her career.

“You learn more in the process of failure, that’s for sure. You are adjusting yourself all the time. You have some perfect days and some others that are bad. You are learning how to find the best point. How to adjust yourself.” 

Turning to the topic of their transition into the next chapter of their lives, after their playing careers, Lekic and Pineau have both undertaken university studies and have already not only laid the groundwork for what they will do next, but started with different projects. Many in handball will already be familiar with Lekic’s handball academy for children. 

“I feel very comfortable with this topic because I have prepared myself somehow for many years,” said Pineau of her own journey in this respect. “The only thing I want is to stay in sports, because I really love sports. I have this in my genes and I live for the sport in general, not just for handball. 

“I want women to be empowered, to find their place, to raise their voice.” 

Photos © EHF/kolektiff