Mics go open for female handball commentators

Most of them have played handball for many years and know the sport well. Still, they are about to pick up a whole new role within the game from a different perspective: Nikki Schreurs, Nina Bargel-Neuhaus, Alexandra Mair, and Clare Griffiths are the four candidates selected for the EHF Female Commentators project.

As a part of its wider approach to empower women in European handball, the EHF started its quest for the first female handball commentator last March. The project’s slogan, “Empower your voice”, has been derived from one of EHF’s brand claims, “Empower to inspire”.

From the many reactions during the application period, the EHF has selected the four candidates – and for three of them, things are getting serious this week with a first workshop at the Women’s 19 EHF EURO 2023. Schreurs, Bargel-Neuhaus, and Mair get an extensive, two-day training on the fringes of the tournament in Romania; Griffiths, a British five-time Paralympian in wheelchair basketball, is set to join a later workshop.

“I fully agree with the fact that the EHF needs a female commentator,” says Schreurs, who has been involved in handball as a player and a coach for over 20 years. “I am a big fan of diversity and I believe that women can be as good as men and hope to start a new era.”

The workshop on Thursday includes a general introduction by Jelena Bagaric from EHF TV & Media Operations on the EHF’s rules for commentators. Well-known handball commentator Paul Bray and HBS commentary expert Glen Mackay then talk in several sessions about becoming a good commentator, about preparations for a match, and about tips and tricks to master handball commentary.

On Friday, the three candidates will get down to the job and deliver test commentary during three W19 EHF EURO matches – Netherlands vs Croatia, Serbia vs Hungary, and Sweden vs Switzerland. The workshop closes in the evening with an extensive feedback session.

All candidates are looking forward to the workshop.

“When I saw the EHF Female Commentators project, I had to apply immediately. There is nothing better than working in a job that gives you pure emotion – for me, this is handball,” says Bargel-Neuhaus, who played in the youth teams of BV Borussia 09 Dortmund and also has experience in sports journalism.

Mair played handball in her native New Zealand and calls handball commentator “my dream job.”

“If you ask any of my friends and family, they know I love two things – talking and handball,” Mair says. “I realised very early on that in almost all sports I would watch I never got to hear a female voice or perspective. So, when this opportunity came up, I knew I had to take it, and hopefully bring the female voice to handball that I never heard myself.”

In the next step for the EHF Female Commentators project after this week’s workshop, successful candidates truly go ‘on air’ as they will be included into EHFTV’s commentary team for all EHF competitions in the 2023/24 season.

“Handball has given me so many opportunities for travel, making lifelong friends and building a community,” Mair says. “I can't wait to take this next step.”