The Hans Baumann Trophy was awarded to a member federation every two years at the IHF Congress from 1972 to 2015.

Member federations may submit a detailed recommendation to the IHF Head Office, specifying the reasons, no later than six months before the Congress.

The member federation receiving the award was given a diploma drawn up by the donors and a small replica of the trophy.

The Royal Spanish Handball Federation has made a particular contribution by organizing the symposium and special tournament for studying and testing new ideas for the format of the game.

The Handball Union of Russia was awarded the trophy for the great contribution to the world development of this sport.