The International Handball Federation is proud to announce the publication of the latest issue of the IHF World Handball Magazine – Tech, as the magazine produced by the IHF analyses the latest coaching trends, as well as the refereeing aspect of the game, with the competition in focus for this issue being the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

The current edition is the second one released in 2024, after the one analysing the 2023 IHF Women’s World Championship, and looks at the succesful handball competitions – both men’s and women’s – at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, where the Denmark men’s and Norway women’s teams secured the coveted gold medals.

Several topics have been breached by the IHF experts, who are part of the IHF CCM (Commission of Coaching and Methods), with the newest trends analysed by the Chairman of the IHF Commission of Coaching and Methods, Dietrich Späte, as well as other members of the CCM, like Paul Landuré and Oh Seong-ok.

The magazine analyses, in depth, the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, presenting the major trends of the matches in the first article, "More close matches than even before”, which underlines the nature of the competition, where the level of the participating teams has been balanced.

Another article by IHF CCM Chairman Dietrich Späte examines the adaptation of the defence, with several defensive concepts described against tactical openings in positional attack.

IHF CCM member and IHF analyst Paul Landuré then presents the secrets of Denmark’s victory and how the Scandinavian side won the gold medal without dropping a match, as well as an analysis of the decisive areas in positional attack in the women’s competition at Paris 2024.

Per Morten Sødal, Chairman of the IHF Playing Rules and Referees Commission (PRC), focuses on the refereeing aspect of the competition in another article, while an overall analysis of one-against-one situations is penned by IHF CCM member Oh Seong-ok.

The new issue of the IHF World Handball Magazine – Tech, as well as the previous editions of the IHF World Handball Magazine – Tech and the IHF World Handball Magazine can be read digitally on the IHF Education Centre website.

Within the IHF Education Centre, users can currently find extensive learning materials divided into six categories: coaches, referees, teachers and delegates, as well as a separate coaches library designed for teachers and a section about top players in the sport. Across all the categories, materials for teaching and coaching handball from an early age all the way to the highest level of adult competition are provided, as well as the vital areas surrounding the management of the game. 

The teachers section focuses on the Handball at School programme, providing teaching materials and rules for the adapted children’s game, as well as 3D animations to serve as visual aids. The coaches library features two different sections: handball for beginners, concentrating on playing and training methods for the introduction of handball to children aged six up to 12, and basic training, for 12- to 15-year-olds. 

Moving up in age bracket, the coaches section of the Education Centre provides materials for working with all levels, from basic to the top. This section includes technical analyses of different events such as World Championships and Olympic Games, detailed explanations of tactical elements in attack and defence, and a tactics school for individual, group and team tactics. In addition, the coaches symposium section provides theoretical lectures and practical demonstrations. 

The players section serves all coaches, teachers and handball athletes no matter the age bracket or level by providing profiles of the game’s standout players at different events as well as leading stars like IHF World Players of the Year.