From 27 to 29 July, the ‘IHF Beach Handball Showcase’ will take place on the fringes of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. 

Three men’s and three women’s All-star Teams, plus the French men’s and women’s national teams will play Beach Handball games across three days coached by six world-renowned, medal-laden coaches.

In total, 64 (32 men, 32 women) of the world’s best Beach Handball players from 18 countries will feature, including players from Argentina, Brazil, Croatia, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Islamic Republic of Iran, Netherlands, Norway, People’s Republic of China, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Spain, United States of America and Uruguay. 

In a special series of question and answers, IHF.info hears from players and coaches selected for the showcase. This time, it is one of the most well-known and well-respected athletes and personalities in the sport, the self-titled ‘Handball Ninja’. USA player Ebiye Jeremy, one of the players at the event in Paris.

IHF.info: How do you feel to be selected for this event? 

Ebiye Jeremy: It’s a dream come true, no hyperbole. I first saw handball at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and tried out for Team USA after the 2012 Olympics in London.

My first handball coach was French and my original inspirations in the sport like Jackson Richardson and Luc Abalo were French so the original dream was to be able to play professionally in a club like PSG.

So, to get this opportunity as an American whom discovered handball through the Olympics at 15 years old and 15 years later gets to play in Paris during the 2024 Summer Olympic Games, 100 years after the original edition of the Summer Olympics in Paris, is the ultimate full-circle, culmination of an American pursuing a journey within this sport.

IHF.info: Tell us about your Beach Handball career and your highlights so far…

Ebiye Jeremy: My first Beach Handball competition was the American Open Beach Handball Championship in April of 2015 whilst a member of the US men’s indoor handball national team. I tried out for the USA men’s beach handball national team in November of that year and the rest is history.

I have played for various clubs, including RIP Beach Handball Club (USA), Maroubra Bluebottles (Australia), Nacional Tubarao (Brazil), Beach Handball Dream Team (China), MHC Mestre (Brazil), 2areg Algeciras (Spain), Vakedogaw (Portuguese in Italy), SAS Gdańsk/KPR Zukowo (Poland) and GFCA (France in Turkey), plus the US national team of course.

My career highlight so far was being named the June 2020 World Games Athlete of the Month, the first handball player since 2014.

IHF.info: What do you love about Beach Handball? / How does Beach Handball make you feel?

Ebiye Jeremy: There’s an effusive, ‘it’s almost too good to be true; quality to a game that’s as seemingly simple as ‘Balling on the Beach’. Then again, there’s something to the adage, “simplicity is the ultimate sophistication”.

I love the pace of the game, the beautiful atmosphere the game is played in, the spirit of Fair Play in officiating, and the variety of play styles expressed both aerial and on the ground.

While most high scoring sports tend to more heavily ‘favour the favourites’, per the Law of Averages, the set-scoring system makes Beach Handball as upset-friendly as lower scoring sports like hockey and soccer.

Beach Handball also has a unique combination of technical acumen plus flair. It rewards brain and brawn equally. It’s a game that can be played and enjoyed at both a young and an old age due to its low-impact nature while remaining a medium through which top athletes continue to push the limits of what’s possible as a human.

IHF.info: What are your hopes for the future of Beach Handball and the Olympic Games?

Ebiye Jeremy: Initially proposed by the late Pierre de Coubertin upon the creation of the International Olympic Committee, ‘Citius, Altius, Fortius’ three Latin words which translate to ‘Faster, Higher, Stronger’ have been the motto of the Olympics since the 1924 Summer Games in Paris.

The initial conception of the Olympic Games was to showcase the beauty and morality of humanity, and in my opinion, there isn’t a discipline in the world that combines the power, grace, and collectivism that Beach Handball does with athletes that throw and contort their bodies every which way to score and stop goals.

In my, admittedly-biased, opinion, Beach Handball embodies the Olympic Spirit more than any other discipline.

IHF.info: What would you say to anyone who has never played or watched Beach Handball and is thinking of getting involved with the sport?

Ebiye Jeremy: If you’re looking for a fast-paced sport that’s underdog friendly with a low barrier to entry, low incidence of injury, an abundance of scoring and #SCTop10 (Sports Center – TV programme in the USA) moments that resonate with the social media loving Generation Z, whilst also exemplifying the principles at the core of the Olympic Charter, Beach Handball is the convergence of all of that which international sports have ever strived to be.

Be ready for a high-flying, fast-spinning spectacle of a sport, but also congratulations on discovering the healthiest, high-octane game in the world.

Personally, Beach Handball has served as the ultimate opportunity to make the most of my body and mind in a healthy way. I feel as if this sport is in my DNA and playing it is what I was designed to do with my life.

The IHF Beach Handball Showcase is a collaborative effort between the IHF, Paris 2024 Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games (COJOP2024), French Handball Federation (FFHB) and International Olympic Committee (IOC).