One of the best referee couples on beach handball, Vanja Antić and Jelena Jakovljević, took some time and offered their opinion about current events for the BHC ZAGREB offical club site.
Can you tell us few things about your handball journey. When did you start to whistle, first impressions, hardest moments?
We played handball together in the same club since 1992 to 1996, we even trained in pair every practice. Because of injuries we had to stop playing handball, then we decided to pass the refereeing exam and we became referees with 16 years. First impressions were great because we figured that through refereeing you travel a lot and you meet a lot of new people. In 1997 we have already been at 3 international tournaments for younger categories in Prag, Izola and Bratislava. That attracted us to fall in love with refereeing because we didn’t travel much outside our country while we played handball.
When did you start refereeing on beach handball and how did you decide to take that step? Your best match/tournament that you have in your memory?
We had our chance for the first time in beach handball in 1998 at international beach handball tournament in Slovenia, after that the refereeing starts in our country too. In 2005. we became EHF referees for beach handball and 2007 IHF referees. The best match we remeber was mens finals beetween Brazil and Hungary, World Championship in Turkey 2010! That was a big honor for us. We were first female referees that got the chance to even whistle mens finals on World Championship. There is one more match that stayed in memory and it was European Championship 2009, full stadium with 2500 spectators, beetween Norway and Italy whitch ended with shoot out. Those two are our favourite matches and championships and we hope there will be more. Maybe one day on Olympic Games!
Even that beach handball is based on fair play, there are some events happening beetween referee- player. Quote some of your interesting/funny situations if you remember?
There was a lot of interesting, tense but funny situations with players, here’s one from last World Championship in Oman. In beetween the formal handshake with players before the match, a player from Bahrein turned to me and told me that he likes me. I was suprised, but i didn’t react. During the game that same player got two suspensions, red card, and then after the game he told me that he doesn’t like me anymore!! How fast I got his attention, that fast I lost it. The hardest thing is being a referee to teams that are meeting with tough criterias for the first time on sand. Explaining that the rules from indoor handball and beach handball are not the same and that they have to play fair, that is, milder. Teams like that mainly expel us from stroke, players that are confident in their handball knowledge but infact they don’t know the rules. They are always the loudest and they always react rough.
There will be 8 pairs of referees at European Championship in Randers. Except you, what is your impression about other referees and who do you think progressed to most?
About my referees coleagues who are going to be in Randers, we just know 3 pairs. Those are the guys from your country, from Spain and from Chech Republic. Chechs were refereeing with us at European Championship in Norway 4 years ago and they were good but since then we didn’t get the chance to see them so we can’t tell anything about their progress. Honestly we don’t believe that there are quality tournaments in Chech Republic and since they didn’t participate as referees on bigger tournament since 2009 we’re not sure they could even progress. As far as Spain referees we had the chance to watch Marcus and Vanesa while they were referees and we think that with switch they made got them a good referee couple. They have a good sence for the game and we expect from them to be very good. And at the end when it’s a word about Ivica and Dario, we met them a few years ago on tournament in Crikvenica for the first time, after that on tournament in Croatia and we think they are constantly progressing. They have high quality league in their country, many teams are playing beach handball and that helps them to progress more and more. I know that you hope that they won’t get a chance to be referees at important matches becouse of your national team achievements but we hope and we want for them to be referees in matches for medals becouse they deserve that.
A lot of referees think that being a referee in beach handball and indoor handball does not go together? According to your experience, what would you tell to young referees? Does refereeing on sand helps further decisions indoor handball too or yet there is no connection with each other?
Referees that think that those two sports don’t go together they probably never tried to take part in beach handball soo they conclude that way. We are indoor referees too, since 2008 we are EHF referees of indoor handball and we can say that being a referee on beach handball helped us improve our refereeing on court handball as well. For example, to call a offensive foul which happens a lot in beach handball, helped us to develop criterion and now we can see offensive foul much easier. It’s the same with steps because on beach handball there is a lot of mistakes in steps because there is no possibility for player to control the ball while guiding. So we have a situation when we judge steps on beach handball, we see about 10 examples of too many steps and offensive fouls, so we get our experience to recognize and feel that at indoor handball as well. Changeing rules in indoor handball when the goalkeeper from hostile team leaves his space while other team has counter-attack is the last example.
We know that many referees have problems with those situations, will you judge 7m or offensive foul, who got into possition first, will you give the red card or 2min suspension?! We think that the referees who are at the same time on beach and indoor handball don’t have a problem with that becouse they have met with that kind off situation earlier on beach handball in time for shoot out. So experience from beach handball can help you a lot in indoor handball. So we recomend younger colleagues that when ever they have opportunitie the be referees on beach handball they go for it.
I have noticed that many referees from EHF who started refereeing on international matches of indoor handball ( so as the last World Championship in Spain) first started their international refereeing on beach handball. Does it mean that EHF has recognized beach handball like additional test for referees or is it just coincidence?
We don’t think there is a coincidence or that EHF was planing that. The referees how have the feeling for handball, how are good and how can show what they know on beach and indoor handball. That is why they are successfull on both grounds! That is one more sign for younger colleagues, having a career as a referee on beach can’t damage your career of being a referee on indoor handball, it can only help you. Throuhg beach handball they have a chance to meet some of the EHF leaders witch are also leaders of indoor handball.
What is you plan and goal in the future as far as beach handball? Do you see yourselfs as delegates?
Yes, we have already talked with people from EHF who would like to see us as soon as possible as delegates on beach handball becouse they need delegates with experience with beach handball. So we are planing to go on some of the incoming courses so we can become delegates becouse we hope we can help our younger colleagues with our experience.
Beach handball in Serbia, how does it stand right now? With organization of tournament in Novi Sad the interest was renewed in a past few years. While talking with prominent officials of your federation I heard that the plan is to renew the tournament in Belgrade. What are your perceptions in further progress of beach handball in your country considering on very good results of your national team in the past?
Interest in beach handball in Serbia has raised in past few years. Already we have sign in for 2 tournaments within EBT tour, in Novi Sad and Bačka Palanca. The plan is to keep organizing tournament in Belgrade. I can say with certainty that the tournament in Belgrade will be from 21/23.06.2013.,so I take the opportunitie to invite all teams from your country to come and visit our tournament.
The plan is that we organize as many tournaments as possible this year and that those tournaments become permanent from next year and that we organize Serbian Cup like you have your Cup. So we have big plans from this summer, we hope we will accomplish them and that we will repeat our successes from few years ago on national level. We expect success of our junior national team, but we hope that our senior national team will get their best result they can if the team will be complete.
At the end your predictions about competitions witch will be played this year : European Championship in Denmark, World games in Columbia. Your predictions, favourites, possible suprises?
As far as the World games in Columbia I think that Barzil in womens competition are going to be invicible. The way they played in Oman they are at this moment very far from the other teams and they are playing the prettiest beach handball. And as far as Randers the Scandinavians, Hungarians and your national team will be playing for medals. We would love to see Italy in their best team squad like previous years so they make the competition a little complicated. In mens competition despite Brazilians who are always favourites, we have a few strong European team such as Ukraine, Russia, Croatia, Hungary, Spain… And so we expect an interesting summer on beach handball this year.