From November 1st to 5th, 2024, as part of a mobility project focused on observing and learning club management, representatives of the Academic Beach Handball Club Zagreb (AKRP Zagreb) – Valentina Vrbanc, club member, Sandra Šiljeg, executive director, and Matija Šulc, president – visited Cologne, Germany.
The host of this exchange and project organization was NR Sports Volunteering Solutions (NRSVS), led by president Nada Rochevska. Nada was part of the Vardar handball club during its golden era and has been a long-time volunteer manager at many major competitions.
During the five-day mobility project, Nada shared her experience in club management, emphasizing how to properly implement effective club leadership. She placed great importance on volunteers, whose contributions and expertise facilitate tournament execution, competition organization, travel arrangements, and the overall functioning of the club. Our representatives had the opportunity to see how efficient club management significantly simplifies club operations and how a well-structured task distribution speeds up and streamlines decision-making for any challenges encountered. Engaging members in the club’s work and organization is one of the first steps toward successful club management.
Discussions also covered the involvement of major companies and business organizations as partners in projects. Their contributions in logistics (human resource coordination, volunteer promotion) and sponsorships (in the form of equipment, materials, or financial support) enhance the club's visibility and strengthen its connection to the broader (sports) community. This, in turn, improves the club's reputation and opens doors for new projects.
All mobility projects, experiences gained, and knowledge applied will be shared with club members at the upcoming general assembly, scheduled for the end of November.
From June 26 to 29, 2024, representatives of the Academic Club for Beach Handball Zagreb (AKRP Zagreb), Mladen Paradžik and Antea Martić, visited Hungary to participate in an experience exchange program and adopt innovative approaches in the development of beach handball. The visit took place at the newly opened National Beach Handball Center in Gárdony, a project jointly realized by the Hungarian Handball Federation (HHF) and private investors. The goal of this new center is to create a hub for the development and promotion of the sport, and AKRP Zagreb representatives had the opportunity to meet with Mr. Tamas Neukum, chairman of HHF’s Beach Handball Committee, who presented the vision and strategic direction for the development of beach handball in Hungary.
The first part of the meeting was dedicated to presenting the goals and strategies that HHF applies for the sustainable development of the sport. The Croatian representatives had the opportunity to see how beach handball is successfully integrated into existing indoor clubs, with the Hungarian Federation supporting player versatility through dual registration. This system allows athletes to participate in both forms of the sport, significantly contributing to the popularization and expansion of beach handball in Hungary.
The Hungarian development model is also based on financial support from federation structures. HHF covers the basic costs of national championships, including referees, delegates, and logistics, making it easier for clubs to organize and finance their participation. By limiting the number of foreign players in the national championship, the Hungarian Federation ensures a focus on domestic talent, enabling the creation of a stable player base.
The Academic Beach Handball Club Zagreb was entrusted with the implementation of a new project for the promotion and development of beach handball following a call for tenders by the Agency for Mobility and EU Programmes.
As part of the project, which will run until the end of 2024, the members and staff of ABHC Zagreb will have the opportunity to collaborate with foreign colleagues from Hungary, Italy and Poland on many topics closely related to the development of sport in Croatia and Europe.
The project includes four activities to exchange experiences with colleagues from the mentioned countries, focusing on the following topics: 1. the development of new concepts to attract and motivate young people to beach handball, 2. the development of relations between clubs and the national federation and their mutual role in the development of the sport, 3. the specifics of organising humanitarian tournaments and 4. the strengthening of the federation’s capacities and networking with federations that are not exclusively focused on this sport, as well as the mutual potential that the federations gain in this way.
As already mentioned, the project comprises four trips abroad, the first of which took place last weekend in Budapest. Specifically, from 7 to 11 December 2023, a delegation from AKRP Zagreb led by the association’s Executive Director, Sandra Čičić, and the secretary of AKRP Zagreb, Mladen Paradžik, visited the Lupa Beach Sports Club. During the three-day programme, they had the opportunity to discuss topics related to the development and potential of the neighbouring country in attracting young handball players and how to increase their interest in beach handball. In addition, many other topics were covered as part of the plan and programme of the above-aforementioned mobility.
During a pleasant meeting with colleague Nemeth, many ideas came to light and it can be said that the first step of the mobility action has paved the way for further co-operation between the two clubs. Lupa Beach Sport, under the leadership of Zoltan Nemeth, is the organiser of one of the best beach handball tournaments in Europe, and the Republic of Hungary is a unique example of the systematic development of the sport from the state level to the local clubs. Therefore, the references adopted within the framework of this mobility action are of great importance for strengthening the human potential in our organisation. Therefore, I believe that it is extremely useful to work on such projects and promote beach handball in the future. As this was our first mobility project, we were a little nervous about how to do all the administrative tasks properly. However, thanks to the guidance and excellent support from the people in charge of the Agency for Mobility and EU Projects, we were able to finalise the first activity without any problems. I would like to take this opportunity to thank them once again for recognising our project and the support we received. Now we will write the report and summarise the ideas after this very effective “Hungarian” weekend. - said Sandra Čičić.
More mobility activities are planned for next year, where club members with different profiles will have the opportunity to learn something new from their European colleagues and thus strengthen the capacity of ABHC Zagreb.
Dear beach handball friends,
I am writing to you on behalf of the Organizing Committee of the 2nd Memorial Beach Handball Tournament "Stipe Vuletić" and would like to invite you to the next edition of our beach handball tournament.
This tournament is slightly different and has a special meaning for us, as it is in memory for our bellowed friend and beach handball colleague Stipe who passed away last year. In his memory, we also have an individual award for the best goalkeeper named "TO ASU!", according to his favourite saying when someone does some great move during the match.
2nd Memorial Beach Handball Tournament "Stipe Vuletić" will be held from August 18th until August 20th, 2023 at Opuzensko ušće in Opuzen, Croatia (https://goo.gl/maps/
You can register the teams at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
The participation fee for seniors is 100 €, while it is free for young age categories. Registrations will be open until August 10th, 2023, at 23:59.
The younger age categories are as follows:
For more information about accommodation, transport, meals, etc. please do not hesitate to contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
I hope that we will see you soon at Opuzensko ušće.
Best regards.
OC 2nd Memorial Beach Handball Tournament "Stipe Vuletić"
We are proud to announce that Academic beach handball club Zagreb became a part of the first beach handball oriented Erasmus+ project. VolFair, which is the akronym for Be(ach) Volunteer, Be(ach) Fair!
As the name suggests, the main goal of the project is to investigate how to attract volunteers in beach handball, and to determine what volunteers like or don't like during event organization.
Beside ABHC Zagreb, another partners on this project are two organizations with high volunteering experience in sport: EUSA Institute (Slovenia) and Akademicki zwiazek sportowy (Poland), while ABHC Zagreb and Stichting Camelot Beachhandball Tournament (Netherlands) are experienced in organizing beach handball events. Project will last for 2 years, and will include the meetings that will be organized in the partner's countries.
This is a huge step for all beach handball organizers in order to enhance the volunteer's experience during the event. Since the volunteers are one of the main backbones while organizing beach handball tournaments or any other sport event, it is of main importance to keep them happy, willing to learn, work and communicate. Within this project we hope that we will get the feedback from the volunteers in order to do the reqiored knowledge about their needs and requirements-Sandra Čičić (Executive director-ABHC Zagreb).