The second season of the ‘Ohio River Summer Series’ (ORSS) beach handball league has completed in Cincinnati, United States of America with host team Cincinnati Gladiators taking the title and lifting the ‘La Belle Rivière Trophy’.

From May to July, four men’s teams: Cincinnati Gladiators, Kentucky Stags, Columbus Armada and Riverfront Renegades competed in a round-robin league – playing each other three times with each team hosting a matchday.

The league threw-off the first of its five matchdays, starting in Kentucky at Marshall Park in Georgetown (May) before moving to Shoreline Social in Cincinnati, Ohio (June), Baxter Jack’s Volleyball Club in Louisville, Kentucky (June), Woodland’s Backyard in Columbus, Ohio (July) and then returning to Shoreline Social on the banks of the world-famous Ohio River for the final day.

The floodlit championship match saw the Gladiators take a shoot-out victory (2-1, 26:30, 26:24, SO 5:4) over the Stags to dethrone the 2025 champions – who had also won all nine of their regular season games.

Set up in 2025 to help with the growth of the sport in North America, the ORSS was developed by former US national team player Jacob Roberts of club side Kentucky Stags along with Austin Lubell and Trey DeVries of the Cincinnati Gladiators as the two teams sought more opportunities to develop their skills while playing competitive matches without travelling the great distances to the traditional US hotbeds of the sport in Florida (1,500km+ away) or California (3,000km+).

“With many of the players in our league already playing indoor handball for either their university teams or adult teams, we wanted to provide additional opportunities over the summer to continue to grow and develop the popularity of beach handball in the United States,” said Roberts about the reasons behind setting up the ORSS, which doubled in size this year thanks to the addition of Columbus and Riverfront.

“What started out as a vision two years ago has rapidly grown to be the first and only official beach handball league in the country even though our part of the country is not known for having beaches.”

“Every match day utilised a new venue and had a different feel – whether we were in a city park or a bar setting, there was the ever present mix of competition and beach party,” added Austin Lubell of the Cincinnati Gladiators.

“The final match was truly special and showcased the spirit of the sport. There was an energy that was palpable, from the fans constantly cheering and the sound of music coming from the live band the venue had booked that night. It was infectious.” 

Jose Vega of Riverfront Renegades, who joined the league for the first time this year, could only take positives from their experience.

“There are multiple people that have played team handball before, normally in a PE class in school. However there are not that many that had a platform as kids or adults to continue with a sport that they liked. ORSS offers that platform,” he explained.

“We look forward to keep growing the sport, and we are excited that the whole city now has a platform through Riverfront Renegades and the ORSS to enjoy this amazing sport and keep growing the passion for team handball in the USA.” 

In addition to the ORSS, teams plays in a variety of beach handball tournaments around the USA during the summer period – including the Cincinnati Gladiators own ‘Queen City Beach Handball Classic’ and Kentucky Stags ‘Kentucky Classic’ – before moving inside during the winter. 

Plans are already being made for the 2027 edition of the ORSS, with participants also looking at gaining refereeing certifications through USA Team Handball.

Final Ranking
1 Cincinnati Gladiators
2 Kentucky Stags
3 Columbus Armada
4 Riverfront Renegades

All-star Team
Garrett Smith (Riverfront Renegades)
Randy Guite (Riverfront Renegades)
Gabriel Sanchez (Kentucky Stags)
Ryan Young (Cincinnati Gladiators)
Michael Mogne (Cincinnati Gladiators)
Teddy Campbell (Columbus Armada)

Top scorer: Shjon Ripy (Kentucky Stags): 180 points
Most valuable player: Ian Foster (Kentucky Stags)
Most valuable goalkeeper: Deborah Mattos (Kentucky Stags)
Best offensive player: Austin Lubell (Cincinnati Gladiators)
Best defensive player: Ethan Todd (Columbus Armada)

To watch the games of the ORSS, visit here.