From 17 to 21 April, Coolangatta Beach in Queensland hosted the 2024 Australian Beach Handball Club Championships.

The championships saw clubs and players from Australia, New Zealand and Japan – in addition to athletes from France, Brazil, Canada and other countries – all joining together through their shared love of handball to create yet another memorable event with an international feel.

Comprising of three competitions – men’s, women’s and mixed teams – the championships took place on the Gold Coast sand with a number of Australian internationals also competing, many of whom are in their final preparation period for the 2024 IHF Men’s and Women’s Beach Handball World Championships next month which will feature both the Australian men’s and women’s national teams.

On the Queensland sand, it was a dominant performance in the men’s and women’s competitions from East Melbourne Spartans HC and Galahs who retained their respective 2023 titles.

The 2024 title for the Spartans was their third in a row after winning the 2022 and 2023 editions, last year beating St Kilda HC in a final shoot-out.

This year, the Spartans again beat St Kilda in a shoot-out, but at the semi-final stage where they saw off their long-term rivals 6:0 after losing the first set 14:16 and taking the second by a single point (18:17). They met the traditional powerhouse of Australian handball – Sydney University HC – in the gold medal match, but ran out comfortable 2-0 (19:16, 18:16) winners. St Kilda took bronze with a 7:4 shoot-out win over the Redlands Raptors 2-1 (13:12, 17:21, SO 7:4).

Home state side Galahs HC retained their women’s title, again pushing Sydney University HC into silver spot, after their 8:6 shoot-out win last year. This time around it also went to a shoot-out, to a second round of shots, with Galahs eventually taking a 9:8 victory (2-1, 17:12 13:14, SO 9:8).

Galahs had defeated Parrots 2-0 (18:8, 24:12) in their semi-final to set up a clash against Sydney, who had defeated Melbourne Orcas 2-0 (10:5, 17:14). The Orcas took bronze with a 7:2 shoot-out win over Parrots to ensure it was the same top three as 12 months ago.

In the mixed team event Excel Spreadsheets (UTS HC) took the title, pushing Mermaids into their second, successive silver spot, ahead of BButs (UTS HC).

Awards in all three competitions were presented to the MVP, top goalscorer and best goalkeeper, while a number of friendly matches between Australia and New Zealand also took place across the event. 

“Thanks to all for bringing yourselves and your teams to Australia's Gold Coast,” said Event Organising Committee spokesperson Dr Susan Wilson-Gahan at the event.

“What an amazing four days of athleticism, friendship and beautiful beach handball action. Massive thanks and a big shout out to sponsors and supporters who make the event and the good times possible, especially our major sponsor, Councillor Gail O'Neill of Ward 14 from the City of Gold Coast for the funding, presenting the awards and being here”.

Games can be watched again on the Handball Queensland YouTube channel. For further information, visit www.handballqld.com.au or www.handballaustralia.org.au.

Photos: Bronwyn Thompson / Handball Australia

RANKING

Men's Competition

1 East Melbourne Spartans HC

2 Sydney University HC

3 St Kilda HC

Women's Competition

1 Galahs HC

2 Sydney University HC

3 Melbourne Orcas HC

Mixed Competition

1 Excel Spreadsheets (UTS HC)

2 Mermaids

3 BButs (UTS HC)

ALL-STAR TEAMS

Men’s Competition

MVP: Nathan Deslandes (East Melbourne Spartans) & Ignacio Oleaga (St Kilda HC)

Top Scorer: Ignacio Oleaga (St Kilda HC)

Goalkeeper: Rui Gomez (SUHC) & Molnar Gyorgy

Women’s Competition

MVP: Sally Potocki (SUHC)

Top Scorer: Ana Medjed (Melbourne Orcas)

Goalkeeper: Jemima Harbort, Amy Thomas, Kristina Hames & Barbara Vega

Mixed Competition

MVP: Cade Elliott (Redland Raptors HC)

Top Scorer: Cade Elliott (Redland Raptors HC)

Goalkeeper: Mitch Cunningham