Three months before European championship that will be held in Larvik, Norway , we spoke with one of the organizers of this championship. Mrs Kia Haftorn Johansen, marketing manager of this event answered to our questions. Enjoy the reading.
1. Can you tell us something about tournament system of the 2009 European Championships at Larvik? Which phases of competition teams will have to pass to reach the finals?
To get to the finals the teams will play as follows:
Preliminary round
Main round
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Finals
2. How many spectators will be expected to watch European Championships matches? How many stands for spectators will be installed?
Our main court will have the capacity of a little over 2000 spectators, and court 2 and 3 will seat 300 each.
3. Where will this whole event take place, on a beach or somewhere else?
The event will take place on the old ferry terminal in Larvik. During the last year the area has undergone great reformations, old buildings have been removed giving place to a brand new hotel, a new culture house, recreational area, and three beach handball courts that will be used for training and an accompanying youth tournament. The EC courts will be provisional during the championship, situated right next to the water with great view.
4. How will organization of the 2009 EC be financed?
Mainly by sponsoring.
5. How do you plan to improve the whole organization of the 2009 EC by comparison with last EC which took place in Misano, Italy in 2007?
We wish to continue the focus on Fair Play which had a high priority in Misano. Other than that it is hard for us to answer this question as we don’t have a lot of knowledge of the organization of the Misano EC, but the EHF gives us great guidance in preparing the EC.
6. What are expectations from Norwegian national teams (men`s and women`s) in Norwegian Handball Federation?
The women’s team had good results in the last EC and achieved a third place. Another medal would be great. We also hope that the men’s will improve their earlier results. Though the important thing is what the teams themselves are going for.
7. Do you have a marketing strategy?
Our slogan is “Join the Beach Party”. This is directly implemented in our marketing strategy to make the championship in Larvik a great experience both for the participants and the spectators. Our strategy implements both internal and external objectives, as well as a financial plan, sponsors, and activities on the event area and also in Larvik city before and during the championship. Our PR responsible has also developed a media plan.
8. How is promotion of the EC planned in the media?
As the EC will take place in Larvik, the local medias are important this far. When the matches starts, the Norwegian TV 2 will send the Norwegian matches on television and a résumé of the other matches every day.
9. Do you plan to organize TV coverage or, perhaps, live Internet streaming?
We are currently negotiating a deal with the Norwegian television company TV2, regarding TV coverage. We will provide live internet streaming from all three courts.
10.It is a great thing that Nordic countries have recognized value and attractiveness of beach handball, therefore European Championships will take place in Norway. It is important for popularization of beach handball that ECs take place not only in Southern Europe but in Northern Europe, as well. How is beach handball developed in Norway? Do you have national championship and how it is organized?
Beach handball has been known in Norway for well over a decade. During the last years we have seen an increase of interest from both spectators and players of «normal» handball. One of the OC goals of hosting the EC, is to make beach handball even more known to the Norwegians, hopefully by TV coverage as well. We have arranged the Norwegian Championship of Beach Handball for several years. The city of Sandefjord (aprox. 20 kilometers north of Larvik) has been the host city of this event for the last years. A number of the voulunteers that have made this tournament a success year after year have been recruted to make sure that the championship in Larvik has experienced workers.
11.What are the reasons for fewer participants in ECc at Larvik? 16 and 18 teams participated in previous ECs and only 12 will participate in ECs at Larvik. We wish to know how were teams selected, by qualification matches or, perhaps, by applications?
The participating nations have all responded to an invitation sent by the EHF. We are not quite sure why we see fewer participants this year. One theory is the prices in Norway – it is an expensive country. But we have managed to make good deals with both hotels and the community, and think we have managed to provide really great prices that include all meals for the participants. Another theory is that people fear the norwegian weather. As you are well aware we have no control over the weather. We can be lucky and have 30 degrees and sunshine, or not so lucky with 15 degrees and rain. We are currently looking into possibilities for a roof over the main court (just in case), but we are of course praying every day to ensure great weather. J
12.A few people want to travel to Larvik to support our national team, therefore we wish to know wether the price of tickets for watching EC matches has been already set.
Great information: Entrance is free for everybody! You can see as many matches as you choose to. All free of charge.
We are looking forward to hearing from you soon. Thank you for your answers.
Thank you for your interest. You will find more information on our website:
http://www.handball.no/eurobeach09 . In a short time there will be more information of Norway as well.