11th March 2022, Brussels, Belgium: The first in-person EHF Officials Committee meeting since 2020 took place in the EHF Head Office, Brussels.
The meeting opened with a welcome from Inez Cooper (EHF Vice-President) to Iryna Harchenko from Ukraine Hockey Federation, who addressed the committee about recent events.
Magda Nazaret, EHF EB member and committee chair thanked and stressed the importance of each member of the committee, who gives a perspective of their own nation as well as contributing to the overall work of European hockey. Every member brings something to the table.
The Committee brings together several groups- Appointments, Education (Officials), and Education (Umpires). The first portion of the day involved the full committee before they broke out into the groups during the afternoon.
The group reviewed their activity for the period since the March 2020 meeting, assessing how far they deviated from planned objectives as a result of a lot of the committee’s work being either ‘on hold’ or moving online due to the lack of events over the last two years. They identified key challenges and priorities for the upcoming period.
Sylvie Petitjean (FRA), who also sits on the FIH Officials Committee, gave a report on their upcoming priorities and timelines.
Appointments Group:
The appointments group, chaired by Christian Deckenbrock (GER) discussed planning and timelines for EuroHockey Indoor 2023 season, as well as changes/developments to the Outdoor 2022 panels. Feedback reports, performance and event reporting, regrades and communication channels between committee & officials were also discussed.
Education Group:
The education group welcomes a raft of new members. Both Paco Vazquez (ESP) and Roel van Eert (NED) joined us in Brussels, with Maksym Perepelytsia (UKR) also dialing in to speak.
Led by Rob ten Cate (NED) and Rogier Warris (NED), the education group was pleased to discuss the resumption of EHF courses, beginning with the U4N, U4E and UDP courses at the EHL in April. Focus then turned to discuss the requirements for the Breda weekend where officiating courses will also resume.
The EHF Officials Committee will meet again in September 2022, with regular online meetings planned in the meantime.
