The Australian Handball Federation [AHF] elected a new Board at its recent Annual General Meeting.

AHF congratulates Paul Smith for being elected unopposed to the position of President.  Alex Gavrilovic who held the position of AHF President since 2006, did not stand for re-election due to his appointment to the Organising Committee of the London 2012 Olympic Games.  

Paul Smith has served as a member of the AHF Board for a number of years, as a Director.  He brings to the AHF a wealth of experience, not only in sports administration and the law, but also in dealing with government.  He is currently a Member of the Land Court of Queensland.  He has been a member of the Queensland Judiciary for over 9 years. Paul was admitted as a Barrister in 1982. Prior to his judicial appointment, Paul held the very senior position of A/Deputy Director General, Premier’s Department, Queensland and was responsible for policy co-ordination across all areas of the Queensland Government.

Paul is a Churchill Fellow, a Visiting Professor to Novosibirsk State University, Siberia; a Fellow of the Centre for International Legal Studies, Austria, and a Harvard-trained Mediator.  He has lived all his life in Ipswich, Queensland.

The new AHF Board is comprised of the following:

President                                 Paul Smith

Secretary-General                     Lee Schofield

Directors                                  Stephen Harbort

                                              Rikke Petersen

                                              Bronwyn Thompson

State Directors                         ACT                            Anke Winnig

                                             NSW                           Scott Fearnside

                                             Queensland                 Mark Dawson

                                             South Australia             Martin de Graaf

                                             Western Australia         Tone Lampe

Associate Member                    Victoria                        James McDonald

AHF thanks Alex for all the good work he has done for handball in Australia and the Oceania Region.  Alex was employed as the Handball Competition Manager by the Sydney Organising Committee for the Olympic Games from 1997 to 2000 where his role included managing and organising all facets of the Handball competition for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.  It was as a result of this role that Alex established a sound working relationship with many key members of the International Handball Federation and other international and national sporting organisations.

AHF also wishes Alex all the best as he takes up the position of Competition Manager for the London 2012 Olympic Games handball competition.  Alex’s contribution to this competition will no double reflect well on Australian handball.  His appointment was highlighted by Australian Olympic Committee President, John Coates, OAM at the recent AOC Annual General Meeting held in Sydney.

The new AHF Board not only aims at continuing the good work of the previous Board but also putting in place new initiatives and programs designed to escalate the development of the sport at all age levels.

For further information, please contact the AHF Media & Public Relations Officer, Violi Calvert by email: public.relations@handballaustralia.org.au. or by phone:

+ 61 408 22 77 94.