The 2024 SCAHC Men’s and Women’s South and Central America Beach Handball Championships get underway this week in Paraguay with places for the 2024 IHF Men’s and Women’s Beach Handball World Championships in PR of China up for grabs.

From 10 to 13 April, the Paraguayan Olympic Committee Building (Predio Comité Olímpico Paraguayo) in capital city Asunción will welcome teams from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay and Peru to compete in the men’s and women’s competitions.

Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay will field teams in both competitions, while Peru will additionally feature in the men’s competition.

The top three men’s teams will confirm their tickets through to China 2024 while the top two in the women’s competition will seal their place through to the global event, scheduled to take place in June 2024.

The women’s competition features five teams playing a total of 12 games, starting with a round-robin preliminary group stage with all teams playing each other once. After this stage, the top two teams will go through to the final and the third and fourth-placed teams will play-off for bronze.

A total of 18 games will be played between the six teams in the men’s competition, played in the same format as the women’s competition. All teams will play each other once with play-offs for 1/2 place, 3/4 place and 5/6 place.

Warmth and expectancy in Paraguayan capital

“We are very expectant and anxiously awaiting the start of this competition to see both the technical level of the teams and the individual quality of their players,” said Claudio Bluck, General Director of the South and Central America Handball Confederation (SCAHC), to ihf.info on the eve of the championships.

“It’s an attraction in itself to have multiple championship-winning countries like Brazil, whose men’s and women’s teams have been on the podium so many times, as well as world leaders like the Argentina women’s team who are title-holders and include a Youth Olympic Games gold medal-winning coach and players in their side.

“But the progress made by the other countries of the continent makes the results unpredictable,” added Bluck. “An example of this is the result achieved by the Chilean men at the South American Beach Games last year where they won bronze behind Uruguay and Argentina after defeating Brazil – this shows us how tight we expect the competition to be.

“In addition, the efforts that the Paraguayan Handball Confederation and their President, Nadyr Figueredo, have made in recent years to host various continental events of indoor handball, plus the excellent relationship with the authorities of both the Government of Paraguay and its National Olympic Committee, led by President Camilo Perez, have allowed us to use the first-class facilities within the premises of the Paraguayan Olympic Committee as they prepare to host the 2025 Junior Pan American Games.

“Everyone who will be part of it will experience the warmth that distinguishes the people who inhabit this beautiful country.”

Beach Handball growth continues in region

The 2024 SCAHC Men’s and Women’s South and Central America Beach Handball Championships is the third edition of the continental event after it made its debut in 2019.

The first championship was held in Marica, Brazil, from 11 to 14 July, with the host nation winning both titles, Brazil’s men beating Uruguay in the final and the Brazilian women seeing off Argentina for gold.

Following the global pause for the covid pandemic, the second championships were also played in Brazil, in 2022, with Argentina’s women and Brazil’s men taking the titles in Maceió,

Both finals featured Brazil taking on Argentina, with Brazil’s men taking a 2-0 (23:20, 18:17) win over Argentina, while Argentina defeated Brazil 11:10 via shoot-out in the women’s final.

“Our goal, as the SCAHC, is to continue growing and ensure that the development of our sport reaches and involves the countries of Central America, which, on this occasion, will send observers to learn about the complete experience of the organisation and development to replicate it in their own countries,” explained Bluck.

“This is all achieved through our Development Commission who implement various courses and seminars open to coaches, players and referees to keep them updated and prepared to face the competitive challenges that are increasing in all the countries associated with the SCAHC. 

“Added to this are the competition circuits organised by our various National Federations and the Open SCA Club Tournaments which allow competition between different countries.

“Beach Handball is a discipline that is growing, and we are focused continuously on making it grow – it is a priority for us. When you have a continent whose beaches and climate lend themselves to the practice of such a dynamic and attractive sporting activity as Beach Handball, you cannot think that it is not a priority to continue advancing in its development and visibility.”

All games from the 2024 SCAHC Men’s and Women’s South and Central America Beach Handball Championships will be streamed live and free on the SCAHC YouTube channel, with the playlist for the championship HERE.

2024 SCAHC Men’s and Women’s South and Central America Beach Handball Championships - Schedule
All times local

Wednesday 10 April

Women’s competition
08:00    PAR vs URU
08:45    CHI vs ARG
15:00    ARG vs PAR
15:45    CHI vs BRA

Men’s competition
09:30    BRA vs PAR
10:15    URU vs CHI
11:00    ARG vs PER
16:30    PER vs URU
17:15    CHI vs BRA
18:00    PAR vs ARG

Thursday 11 April

Women’s competition
08:00    PAR vs CHI
08:45    BRA vs URU
15:00    BRA vs PAR
15:45    URU vs ARG

Men’s competition
09:30    BRA vs PER
10:15    PAR vs CHI
11:00    ARG vs URU
16:30    URU vs BRA
17:15    PER vs PAR
18:00    ARG vs CHI

Friday 12 April

Women’s competition
08:00    URU vs CHI
08:45    BRA vs ARG

Men’s competition
09:30    URU vs PAR
10:15    CHI vs PER
11:00    BRA vs ARG

Saturday 13 April

Women’s competition
08:45    3/4 Placement (Bronze)
10:15    1/2 Placement (Gold/Final)

Men’s competition
08:00    5/6 Placement
09:30    3/4 Placement (Bronze)
11:00    1/2 Placement (Gold/Final)