In the series of the articles about the official persons that will be part of our Summer story, on Jarun cup 2015, we bring the interview with the famous Hungarian beach handball couple, Mr Palkovits and Mr. Szilvasi.
Please, introduce yourself (main information). How long are you involved to the (beach)handball activities?
Gabor: Handball and beachhandball were always part of my life, considered as my second „job“. I started playing handball in ’99 and when beachhandball was introduced in my country, I fell in love immediately. Besides playing I started to be a referee in 2003 and I joined beachhandball as an official in 2008. From the very beginning I go from tournaments to tournaments with David. In private I work as an HR Director for a multinational company called Xerox.
David: In 2000 I started as an indoor referee and since 2005 I’m actively involved in all beachhandball activities. From 2008 with Gábor we participated numerous domestic and international tournaments, visiting many interesting places in Europe. Regarding the number of matches we whistled, it is hard to count but it should be close to 1000. Apart from handball in everyday’s life I’m working for Vodafone as a Billing Manager.
What are your greatest achievments so far? Where did you whistle so far and describe us shortly the best game you were part of. Is there any match you wish that you didn’t whistle maybe 😉 ?
Gabor: We whistled couple of EBT men’s finals but probably we are most proud of the EBT Master’s Women’s final in 2009. Apart from that luckily we had the chance to whistle to most of the greatest club teams in Europe like Detono J, AXA, Barbate, Alcala, Ekaterinodar….. In the recent years we always visit the Camelot and Calella tournaments where we are flattered by the atmosphere and the people, nonetheless no summer could pass without the major Hungarian EBTs.
David: Definitely my best memory is a Barbate – Detono match in Corfu. The level of quality and the atmosphere were something I will never forget. Another engraved moment when in Georgia – during the Youth Ech – we whistled a quarter final game, Croatia against Turkey. In the shoot-out the Croatian goalkeeper had to save the last shot in order to equalize. He saved with his arm and the ball went up in the air. At this moment he started celebrating but the ball fell back and went into his goal, they lost the game…
What are your plans for the future regarding the beach handball?
Gabor: Obviously we are eager to participate in the major world events like the world championship – which will be in Budapest next year – and maybe the world games in Poland.
David:Whatever comes in our way, wether it is a local junior match or a world championship final the most important thing is to give our best performance. Therefore we are and will be always happy for any challenge we get.
By your opinion, how do you evaluate the beach handball progress so far? Do you think that it goes in good direction?
Gabor: I leave this question to David. J
David: The popularity and the importance of beachhandball are growing rapidly. As an extremely good sign it is selected to be part of the next youth olympics games, therefore I stongly believe we are on a good track. This game is still very young and has much to improve from many perspective, like infrastructure, number of teams, national leagues etc. Also if the games would be more spectacular, the fan could see more tactical variations – like (re)introducing the 3 points – probably we could see even better progress in the near future.
Although beach handball is mainly based on fair play rule, sometimes there are exceptions between the players and referees. Did you have some awkward situation so far and if the answer is yes, please describe it.
Gabor: Although the circumstances in a world event are ideal, there are differences on local level sometimes. A few occassions we faced strange situations but I would rather share these funny stories around a table with some drinks in hand.
David: Of course tense situations and critical moments can end up crazy but during our career luckily these were quite limited and we try to forget them immediately. J
If you would have the magic wand, which beach handball rule (if any) would you immediately change? In other words, what is the most confusing beach handball rule for you?
Gabor: 2 points for spin-shots. Due to many circumstances (like the sand, visibility, position of the feet and torso….) it is difficult to maintain a consequent level for spin-shots therefore I could imagine some improvement in that area.
David: However, during shoot-out the defending keeper’s move out of the goalkeep area can be a strategically important, still from referee point of view it is a nightmare. I still don’t know how to modify the rules to make it easier.
At the end, by your opinion- name the most important things for the beach handball. (Is it fair play, friendlines, sun, etc…)
Gabor: I like the fact the beachhandball has its own community and we meet every year. For me friendships and the time spent together are the most important.
David:In addition what Gábor mentioned fast and spectacular actions are critical in the life of beachhandball. Nevertheless, personally – besides the sunshine and the parties – I love the creative tactics and the strategies that the teams apply and change during a game.
Guys, thank you once again and see you soon. Please send me some good, high resolution, photos so I could put it on official JarunCup.com site together with this interview.