Gabriella Horváth, the chairwoman of EHF Beach Handball, is known for her commitment and vision. She prefers to be seen as "a doer and not just a dreamer" and, because of that, alongside many other representatives of European beach handball, she works diligently to advance the sport in the Olympics. Inspired by her hard-working and passionate personality, we decided to discuss what she can suggest for Ireland’s situation.
Ireland, despite its long history with indoor handball—set to celebrate 50 years of existence in 2025—still faces significant challenges, besides the illegal board positions taken without the club's knowledge. The country lacks proper handball halls, has no junior league or national team, and relies on only five clubs in the senior league to keep Olympic Handball Ireland Assosiation active as the governing body. Beach handball, on the other hand, presents a unique opportunity for growth and success, potentially more accessible and cost-effective than its indoor counterpart.
Present in the country as a community sport for years, beach handball had its first team built to participate internationally for fun only since 2017. Now, with 2 Irish beach handball teams in Dublin, with one already participating internationally, we believed a discussion with Gabriella could shed light on how beach handball might be leveraged to rejuvenate and grow the sport in Ireland.
This conversation hopes to inspire the Irish community and other countries facing similar challenges to consider strategic and sustainable development projects for this promising summer sport, highlighting the advantages of having both sports active—indoor and beach handball—supporting each other.
What do you think and suggest Ireland should do in this situation, knowing that we actually have interested teams that would like to develop the idea of beach handball and of the fact that there is poor awareness of indoor handball?
“Well first, if you are thinking of the SWOT analysis of Ireland, of course, there are some things that are pros and cons. What one might really want to do is to create curiosity around the sport, and I admit that the first steps can be difficult especially for all those countries where one has to develop a sport where infrastructure is a boundary.
Handball may also seem a bit complicated sport in terms of the rules, and it also needs special infrastructure for the indoor version. The latter is something even many of the top countries lack, enough halls. Not to mention, that we are always competing with other team sports for the time in the halls.
So, on the one hand, one must create a community to make handball accessible to the people who want to play, to the parents who want to send their kids to play and to promote what handball is as a sport. Create curiosity around it and build a community around it. And of course there are the first struggles: Are there enough halls to play handball in? Are you competing with other sports for the availability of the halls or for the kids?
There are different ways to approach this question and I am going to answer it from the perspective of beach handball, and how this sport could contribute to the project.
What I like about beach handball is, that it is inexpensive, and accessible and fun. So, I’d like to believe that beach handball can contribute a lot to handball as a whole. And for some countries it can be an access point.
I met beach handball in Denmark in the early 2000s when I was playing there. All we did was go to the beaches where they created, very inexpensively and very easily, some courts. They invited the teams and people and just started playing beach handball. I think that one of the big advantages, especially for countries where there are beaches, is this: the infrastructure is something you can create, and it’s inexpensive. For some countries, you can immediately start building a community and start having handball activities on the sand. One can invite people, invite kids from the schools, and just introduce the sport.
For example, I remember a very interesting, and to me, a dear project in Austria, where they made one court and a beach handball competition where they invited a lot of people from a town. They just created two colours of jerseys, and whoever wanted to join, joined team blue or team white. They just kept playing for hours and hours, and they just enjoyed it.
All in all, I cannot give the recipe because I think every country has different environment, and its people understand better what’s possible or what’s not. But what I can assure you of is that this is an inexpensive thing: to build some beach handball courts in a nice environment, and play a fun, spectacular game.
Who doesn’t want to be on the beach after all? Or play a game there? And then there’s a ball, and kids just start playing, and there are these girls and boys who actually know how to play, so they can start to show the tricks. Then you can slowly create a festival around it. Beach handball could be the gate where handball becomes accessible and then people can create curiosity around the sport.
In other cases of other countries, the existing handball activities are lacking the ability to enter international handball, but this is also possible with beach handball. With EHF’s European Beach Handball Tour competition for the clubs or the young age category competitions, you don’t have to go through complicated qualification processes. All you need to do is register for this and your team is on the international stages. Why is it important? It’s important because the international stage can create visibility, engagement and impressions.
Often resources are a question. However, there are some programs for helping the participations. And yet again, with beach handball, you can inexpensively create a national team or a club like these boys did, and immediately enter the international handball stage.
So, this is an access point for handball itself, and you can create a community around handball little by little. Then it’s just up to the people's creativity and dedication.
I understand that the situation is complicated, but I do believe that with a lot of creativity, this can be a very good access point to international handball. Then you can tell your governing bodies that “We would like to prepare these kids to play as a national team at a young age category or a senior European qualification.”
The other thing about beach handball is that it’s quite new, and you can get results in a different way than in indoor handball. In indoor handball, you need very serious resources to start.
Ireland has what many countries don’t: Ireland has the beaches, and I think people are aware of the different weather conditions, and it would not stop them to go and enjoy the fresh ocean/sea-air. So, there are a lot of advantages you could use there. Make a competition system or a festival, invite the kids and show them how to play beach handball and use other activities around, and then maybe announce it also as a selection, and create a national team for the young age category. Then you can say, “Hey, we have a national team!”
There’s also social media and all these other opportunities that the internet and the new media world offers us. So, I’m always optimistic and encouraging these methods.
You can ask for help from a lot of people/entities, and you can start organizing your handball life. Probably those kids who play beach handball will want to go to indoor handball as well. I was already out of handball when I met beach handball, and it brought me back, and I became a professional again. So, I think there’s a lot of opportunity.
Lastly, and I think this is also an important factor: the European Federation has a few ways to help. There’s the reformed program called Master Plan 360, where the EHF is offering the possibility of tailor-made assistance or help to the country in those fields that are needed and laid down in the concept. So, there is a possibility to work out a beach handball program where experts from EHF can help starting with the first decisive steps. Also, the European Federation has a material support program for beach handball, and we are happy to help the federations who think seriously about their projects. So, if we get a good application, like, “Ireland, would like to step up with beach handball and plan to organize a festival for young kids and then start working with it.” and the concept is good, I’m sure that we would find a way to help the project.
It's worth mentioning that some people in Ireland state that beach handball isn't a sport, which shows a clear lack of understanding and education about what beach handball really is. We hope that your insights will help change the perspective of those with the power to work for the community, rather than letting personal opinions influence the future of the sport.
"Well, I'm always happy to talk to anyone because I know that I’m enthusiastic, and I have good arguments, but I also know that a lot of people are judging beach handball. We often have the feeling that a lot of people are judging beach handball without being genuinely interested in it, or trying to give an effort to understand it, or put a little bit of time into observing what it really is.
What I now try to do is just to change the perspective a little bit and create some curiosity. I am sure that, if someone’s minds and hearts are open, we can show them that if they bring the kids to the beach, then they will be able to develop them also for indoor handball. You can develop some skills and some mental preparedness in a way that you are not able to do indoors, simply because of the characteristics of the game.
I think this is a very important message to give to people because they need to see the opportunities that are in it. It is a challenge for us, that we get a lot of judgment but little curiosity around the sport. With those who open their eyes and hearts a little bit, and we get into a conversation, we can develop curiosity.
I know because I spoke with university professors and coaches in Spain, in Hungary and some other countries, and to a lot of coaches through webinars too. We showed them how it can be interesting for the indoor coaches, what they can teach and learn from beach handball. It did create curiosity and productive discussions among those people. And it was especially interesting in Spain, as there, talking about beach handball – knowing their tremendous traditions – first felt like bringing water to the sea, but it wasn’t, and we could open some new perspectives."
It's all about having an open mind and making connections how indoor handball and beach handball help each other, despite their different rules. Both players and coaches can apply valuable insights and techniques from one to the other.
"Yes, and you can use them in players' education, in building up the community, and in using beach handball to enter the international world. It's inexpensive, and I think this is very crucial because it makes it accessible. Not in all countries, but Ireland is a country where beaches exist, so it is an inexpensive and accessible way to enter international handball and build a society around it.
That's the way I look at it. It's a fascinating game, it's exciting and spectacular when played well. Even if it's just for fun, I think creating interest among the pupils of Ireland, the schoolboys, or young athletes through beach handball is worth it."
Recently, I had a short chat with Mr. Dejaco, called the father of beach handball. He mentioned the same thing you just did a few seconds ago: everything has to be built around the community, focusing on fun, and creating excitement. It's a sure thing that when people come and enjoy the sport, they start to love it. Once they love it, they learn more easily and become motivated to aim for the national team, contributing to further development.
"Then there will be people who just play it better and want to be more serious about it. But you know, it's just so much fun to play, and if you want to keep the kids in handball or bring new kids into handball, I think it's a perfect way because everybody loves to be on the beach, and everybody loves to compete.
Alex Gehrer, my good colleague, wrote an excellent book on beach handball for beginners, and he also developed mini beach handball for the youngest players. They really enjoy it because you run on the sand with the ball, you play, and there's a goal. This is something that he brought into the schools in Germany. He has a project where mini beach handball rules are implemented in halls because in many countries there is a struggle with many school sports halls being much smaller than a handball court. So, they can't play handball, but they still want to have handball activity in the school. He created this game based on beach handball that allows you to bring handball, beach handball, or mini beach handball indoors. You can introduce this into places where regular handball cannot be played. If it can be done in Germany, I believe it can also be done in Ireland, where there are even fewer halls available for handball. There are a lot of creative ways to deal with it.
I never see handball and beach handball as competitors. We don't want to compete. I think we should explore how one can reinforce or complement the other, and I firmly believe that it can.
It's excellent to have beach handball in developed, middle ranked and emerging countries as well. It can bring additional value everywhere. In my opinion no one should miss out on any opportunity related to handball and should work towards creating a larger community, perhaps a broader business model to keep people engaged. In some countries, this could mean better survival, access, or the establishment of a handball culture. Perhaps Ireland is one of those."
The chairwoman of EHF Beach Handball, Gabriella Horváth, provides insights that underline the transformative potential of beach handball for Ireland. Despite the challenges faced by indoor handball, the accessibility and low-cost nature of beach handball offer a unique opportunity to build a thriving handball community. Gabriella’s experiences and suggestions emphasize the importance of curiosity, community engagement, and strategic planning in overcoming infrastructural limitations.
Beach handball can serve as a gateway to rejuvenating the sport, fostering a new generation of players, and eventually strengthening indoor handball. By embracing this opportunity, Ireland can leverage its natural resources, create excitement among youth, and develop a sustainable handball culture.
Moving forward, it is crucial for stakeholders to open their minds, set aside preconceived notions, and collaboratively work towards a handball future. As Gabriella emphasized, creating a sense of community and fun around the sport can lay a strong foundation for its growth. With strategic support from organizations like the EHF, a collective commitment to development, and by adopting these insights and leveraging available resources, Ireland can embark on a journey of growth and success in both beach and indoor handball.
With dedicated efforts towards strategic and sustainable plans, along with the proper governance of the Olympic Handball Ireland board, the handball community in Ireland can look forward to a bright and promising future.
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