The Pioneer Stadium Sand Courts in Christchurch were the setting for the 2024 New Zealand National Beach Championships on 23, 24 and 25 February with eight teams in action on the Oceania sand.

Four men’s teams and four women’s teams – including a guest side from Australia battled it out for honours in the city based on the South Island. Numerous national team players for both Australia and New Zealand were in attendance.

Wellington Parrots, Canterbury Pekapeka and Otago Sheep fielded sides in both the men’s and women’s competitions, while men’s team Barad-dûr Beach Bros and Australian women’s side Dirty Pigeons completed the line-ups.

Like previous editions of the championship, a social, mixed event took place on the opening, Friday night of the championships, with the match action in the men’s and women’s competition played on Saturday and Sunday.

Both competitions featured a round-robin group stage, with six games each, with the final group positions then determining the semi-final line-ups, followed by the bronze and gold medal matches.

And in the end, Barad-dûr Beach Bros and Dirty Pigeons emerged victorious, taking their respective titles in dominant fashion.

Australian women dominate in New Zealand

The visitors from Australia – essentially their women’s national team – won all three of their round-robin games to set up a semi-final spot against Otago Toroa, who they dispatched 2-0 (26:6, 21:14) before facing Wellington Parrots in the final. Again the score was 2-0 with a 18:4, 21:10 victory.

The side were coached by Andrew Kelso, who is also Head Coach of the Australia women’s national team and with the championships falling on the same weekend as a planned national team training camp it was decided to form a club side and attend for some valuable international experience, which included a friendly match against New Zealand, won by Australia 2-0 (21:10, 18:10).

“Although we were unable to send a full national team, with only six national players able to attend, this was an amazing experience for us,” said Kelso to ihf.info about the Australian success in Christchurch.

“This was the first time we have been able to play as a team in a tournament for the love of Beach Handball - without a qualifying tournament or as preparation for a major tournament following immediately after.

“I am incredibly proud of the way we played, our growth during every game and the execution of our game plans,” he added.

“It is a real testament to how much the team has grown both on and off the court over the past two years. Having made the trip to New Zealand for the first time, despite several teams travelling to Australia for our nationals over the past years, I was incredibly impressed with the amount of youth talent on display.

“It was clear evidence of the hard work that those involved with the sport in New Zealand have undertaken on growing the game at all levels and I’m super-excited for what the future of Beach Handball in New Zealand and Oceania holds, especially over the next few years.”

Claudia Mitchells (Dirty Pigeons) top-scored in the women’s competition with 77 points and also grabbed the MVP award, with teammate Jemima Harbort taking the Most Valuable Goalkeeper award.

A successful weekend for the brothers

Title-winners Barad-dûr Beach Bros won all three of their round-robin games 2-0, and continued their perfect streak through to the semi-finals, where they saw off Otago Sheep 2-0 (22:12, 20:17) and then Canterbury Pekapeka 2-0 (24:10, 19:12) for gold, a step up the podium after finishing as runners-up in 2023.

“It means a lot to win, we’re very proud to represent New Zealand handball and be a part of growing the sport in our country,” said Barad-dûr Beach Bros’ Gus Hamilton to ihf.info.

“The level of Beach Handball in New Zealand continues to rise with young talent emerging inspiring and pushing us further as a team of experienced players. The Beach Handball community in New Zealand is becoming younger every year and it is encouraging that our tournaments are becoming more competitive with younger players – the development of New Zealand handball continues to take giant leaps forward.

“We are attending the Australian National Beach Handball Championships next month and want to compete in the space, pushing Oceania handball to new heights,” added playmaker/middle player Hamilton, who has 16 appearances for the New Zealand national team.

“In the future I want to see our youth players emerge into the senior frame, continue to push not only our older players but our development forward and develop Beach Handball culture in New Zealand even further.”

Hamilton scored 77 points to claim the top-scorer award in the men’s competition, with teammate Paul Ireland taking the MVP award. Alex Brown made it trio of wins for the side with the Most Valuable Goalkeeper title.

The Otago Sheep teams were given the Kotahitanga (Fair Play) Award.

Next up for New Zealand Beach Handball is their famous ‘North vs South’ series of games at the end of March. The series features players from the two main landmasses (North Island and South Island) which make up New Zealand, competing against each other in a number of matches.

“Inclusiveness and comradery” as New Zealand Beach Handball goes from strength-to-strength

Willy Silcock, Beach Handball Co-ordinator and Tournament Director for the New Zealand Handball Federation, told ihf.info that the 2024 edition showcases the quality on offer at home and in the wider region, but wanted to first praise those who made it happen.

“Without the passion of volunteers, Beach Handball in New Zealand would not be in the space it is in today,” he explained. “Without the volunteers truly believing that New Zealand has the ability to turn heads on the world stage we wouldn’t get the quality of outputs we are seeing at this event and we have been taking this event from strength-to-strength over the past three years.

“For the first time we had more female participants than male with over 70 athletes competing,” he added. “With the addition of an international side from Australia, it really upped the quality of play to the next level which is paramount to provide to our athletes who dream of competing on the global stage. The men’s game is looking stronger than ever with all teams going to golden points multiple times.

“This regular, high-performance competition in our own backyard gives us the ability to foster the next generation of athletes as well allowing our current athletes to get a high volume of game time which is invaluable for our inevitable return to the world stage.

“Beach Handball in New Zealand has a philosophy based in inclusiveness and comradery. This game allows our players to get together have a few laughs and let our hair down before stepping on the court in a more serious matter.”

And Silcock was keen to point out that the friendly match between the women’s national sides of Australia and New Zealand is not just limited to the two neighbours.

“It isn’t just about providing national competition with Australia, but to all nations within Oceania wanting to play Beach Handball on the world stage,” he explained.

“Oceania is – geographically-speaking – extremely isolated from the rest of the global Beach Handball scene. The only way we get better as a continent is to provide pathways to reach a global level of competition.

“This starts at a regional level in New Zealand, then within New Zealand at our North vs South level and finally regular matches with our Oceania counterparts. Without this, we cannot truly provide pathways to playing competitively on the world stage.

“We look forward to strengthening ties with our Oceania brethren and want to widen the net to provide a quality beach handball experience for all of the continent. It’s important for Oceania to been seen as one region bringing each other up. In the last qualifiers there were strong sides sent from the Cook Islands and American Samoa.

“Without a strong OCHF competition we will not grow in quality as a Beach Handball region so we need to offer as much gametime as practical to all nations from OCHF and abroad. We hope by providing regular and livestreamed action we can prove that Oceania Beach Handball is a real contender on the world stage.”

Silcock also confirmed to ihf.info that the New Zealand Handball Federation will announce the coaching and management teams of the men’s and women’s national teams soon.

RANKING

Men’s Competition

1 Barad-dûr Beach Bros

2 Canterbury Pekapeka

3 Wellington Parrots

4 Otago Sheep

Women’s Competition

1 Dirty Pigeons (Australia)

2 Wellington Parrots

3 Canterbury Pekapeka

4 Otago Sheep

RESULTS

Men’s Competition

Round-Robin

Otago Sheep vs Barad-dûr Beach Bros 0-2 (14:20, 13:24)
Wellington Parrots vs Canterbury Pekapeka 2-0 (17:14, 22:20)
Otago Sheep vs Canterbury Pekapeka 0-2 (8:16, 14:20)
Wellington Parrots vs Barad-dûr Beach Bros 0-2 (14:30, 24:26)
Wellington Parrots vs Otago Sheep 2-0 (18:12, 21:10)
Barad-dûr Beach Bros vs Canterbury Pekapeka 2-0 (24:22, 19:16)

Semi-Final: Barad-dûr Beach Bros v Otago Sheep 2-0 (22:12, 20:17)

Semi-Final: Canterbury Pekapeka v Wellington Parrots 2-1 (20:18, 18:19, SO 7:4)

Bronze: Wellington Parrots v Otago Sheep 2-0 (25:15, 29:16)

Gold: Barad-dûr Beach Bros v Canterbury Pekapeka 2-0 (24:10, 19:12)

Women’s Competition

Round-Robin

Otago Toroa vs Canterbury Pekapeka 0-2 (10:12, 6:14)
Wellington Parrots vs Dirty Pigeons 0-2 (8:26, 4:24)
Wellington Parrots vs Otago Toroa 2-1 (12:6, 14:15, SO 3:2)
Dirty Pigeons vs Canterbury Pekapeka 2-0 (22:4, 25:11)
Otago Toroa vs Dirty Pigeons 0-2 (0:18, 10:18)
Wellington Parrots vs Canterbury Pekapeka 2-0 (11:10, 11:10)

Semi-Final: Dirty Pigeons v Otago Toroa 2-0 (26:6, 21:14)

Semi-Final: Wellington Parrots v Canterbury Pekapeka 2-1 (12:17, 20:18, SO 5:4)

Bronze: Otago Toroa v Canterbury Pekapeka 1-2 (9:8, 13:14, SO 1:2)

Gold: Dirty Pigeons v Wellington Parrots 2-0 (18:4, 21:10)

Friendly International Match: Australia vs New Zealand 2-0 (21:10, 18:10)

Photo credit: Chris Ellis/New Zealand Handball Federation