Whilst the beauty of the Pacific island nation of the Cook Islands is unparalleled, the sheer remoteness of the country makes getting anywhere particularly hard.

But when they arrive in Tunisia later this month for the 2025 IHF Youth Men’s Beach Handball World Championship, the Cook Islands men’s youth beach handball team will become the first-ever team from their country to appear at an IHF World Championship.

To get there, they will travel one of the longest distances between two places on earth – 18,000 or so kilometres from the island of Rarotonga where the Cook Islands international airport is located, to Hammamet in Tunisia. Their flying time will be well over 28 hours, split over three days and including at least three separate flights.

And it is not just the distance which is great. The mainly self-funded cost of US$8,000 per person for the trip has seen all of those involved with the team utilise a number of different methods of fundraising to help support the undertaking, including, most recently, a sponsored ‘Fun Run’.

The world championship appearance is testament to the strength of beach handball in the Oceania country, a sport which has grown exponentially in the country since the federation was formed back in 1998, becoming a member of the IHF the following year.

Evidence of this growth is best represented by the 148% increase of entries into the beach handball competitions of the Cook Islands Games in 2024, compared to 2023, and competitions are now regular occurrences across the islands.

And once the delegation do eventually arrive in North Africa, they will be welcomed with open arms as the sole representative of Oceania.

With a packed schedule ahead of them in Tunisia the immediate focus will be on each game as it arrives in the schedule, but the ultimate aim will be qualification for the 2026 Youth Olympic Games and if achieved, they will become the second, successive side from the continent to appear in the beach handball competition of the event, following the American Samoa women at Buenos Aires 2018.

But that first step is appearing at Tunisia 2025 and they start in a preliminary group with two other debutants, including Mexico and hosts Tunisia, with Thailand – appearing in their second world championship – making up the quartet.

“We look forward to playing against them all and we are very honoured to be representing our Oceania continental family,” said Cook Islands coach Peter Tangimetua John to ihf.info about their preliminary group. “Our key objective is to experience and learn as much as we can so we can take this acquired knowledge back to our Oceania region and share with all our member federations – we are coming to Tunisia to educate ourselves.

“Beach Handball brings our families and tribes together and we are looking forward to being a part of the family that the International Handball Federation has enabled us to be part of,” he added. “It is an awesome feeling to be part of that family.”

With an estimated population of around 15,000 on the Cook Islands themselves, family is a key theme running through life as an islander and it is no surprise that the team has members from the same family.

Twin Toru brothers, specialist Kuateti and left wing Jessie, both represent Tumutevarovaro and are key players, while the defensive, Pukapuka Island pair of Brendon and Tangianau Tepuretu are also brothers, Brendon the oldest.

Many of the players heading to Tunisia have represented the Cook Islands in seven-a-side, indoor handball as part of the IHF Trophy and OCHF world championship qualifying events held in Oceania, with the Cook Islands delegation hoping the mixture of experience and skills within the team can be an advantage in North Africa.

But for everyone involved with the team, Tunisia 2025 represents much more than games being played on the African sand.

“We have always been navigators and our presence in Tunisia will allow us to set our beacons and pathways for future generations to come. It is evident that we are growing and developing in beach handball,” explained Makiroa Mitchell-John, President of Handball Cook Islands and Secretary General of the Oceania Continent Handball Federation (OCHF).

“We are very appreciative to OCHF President Ricardo Blas and the Executive plus Amal Khalifa and Hristo Boskoski at the International Handball Federation for all their support in helping us debut and make history for the Cook Islands when we hoist our flag for the first time in Tunisia.

“It is about inclusivity, participation, sharing of cultures, camaraderie, friendship, enjoyment and hoisting our flag from "Te Moana Nui O Kiva". Our presence means we exist as a region that is normally overlooked.”

For more information about handball in the Cook Islands, visit their Facebook community HERE. https://www.facebook.com/groups/354132603622 

Coach: Peter Tangimetua John
Key players: Kuateti Toru (Specialist), Jessie Toru (Left Wing), Totoo Tiaore (Centre Back), Aiganalua Samania (Left Wing)
Qualification information: OCHF Nomination
History in tournament: 2017-2022: DNQ
Group at Tunisia 2025: Group C – Tunisia (TUN), Thailand (THA), Mexico (MEX), Cook Islands (COK)