​Dear Goalball Community Members,

​The goalball subcommittee recently gained two members.  We would like to present them, who they are and their role within the community.  They were endorsed by their national federations and will be serving their mandate for untuil the next subcommittee appointment (usually 4 years).  Whenever a new member joins the subcommittee, we will introduce them to you.  We would now like to introduce our two newest members, Juha Halme and Adreja Kumer.

J​uha Halme, Referee Coordinator

​"Some of you now me, some of you don't.  I'm your new referee coordinator.  I became involved with goalball ten years ago.  At that time, I just needed a hobby, but as usual it got out of hand.  2017 was the top for me with 107 travel days for goalball.  So, it was time to consider opportunities to work more in the shadows, and not so much in the frontline.  The goalball subcommittee charman asked if I was available for the referee coordinator post.  I didn't reply immediately as it was not an easy decision,  But then I started to think that maybe Ihave something more to give to goalball.  Something my daughter as a player would be proud of (or maybe ashamed…).  So I'm on duty now.  But not forever.  For me, subcommittee membership time is limited, not a lifetime position.

​"My job description is the following: "The Referees' Coordinator is responsible for all rule interpretations an referee issues and is also the representative of all referees on the goalball subcommittee."  In practice, it means serving as chair of the Referee Advosory Group, maintining the referee dateabase (GDPR compliant), publishing the referee list on a regular basis, supervising referee fee payment and communicating to referees about topics of iterest to them.

​"What's going to change in the future?  Well, I'll be prompt with deadlines and follow the referee programme.  This transition time was an exception but in the future the policy will be strict.  But on the other hand, more transparency to cut rumours and false interpretations.  And also, we need to improve processes and communications, but not only from the refereeing point of view."

Juha

​Media Coordinator, Andreja Kumer:

​"I became involved in goalball by chance when I was still studying translation in 2006.  My friend invited me to be a goal judge, because they needed one.  I volunteered as a table official and goal judge for many years before I decided to become a referee.  And when I was accepted in this "big family" I realized this is a community I want to stay in – the adaptive sports community is so much more than just a competitive sport.  There was no media representative for some years,.  So in 2017, the goalball subcommittee chariman suggested to have one for beter communication and promotion of this sport within the goaball community and most imporatantly to the broader public.  I am happy to tak on this role and share my ethusiasm and skills, share news, interviews and updates from around the globe as well as connect various agents within the community and I am always open for suggestions on improvements."

Andreja