The United States of America had a double celebration on the Caribbean island nation of St Kitts and Nevis as their men’s and women’s beach handball national teams won their respective competitions at the fourth edition of the North America and the Caribbean Handball Confederation (NACHC) Men’s and Women’s Beach Handball Championships.

Held from 24 to 26 April on the sands of North Frigate Bay, the USA teams also booked their spots at the 2026 IHF Men’s and Women’s Beach Handball World Championships which will be played in Croatia in June. They will be joined by both Puerto Rico teams, who finished as runners-up in the men’s and women’s competitions.

 

Women’s competition ‘a positive boost for the continent’ as US make it three out of four

The US women won all four of their games, defeating Canada (2-1) and debutants Antigua and Barbuda (2-0) in the preliminary group stages, before seeing of Mexico in a strong semi-final performance, 2-0 (17:16, 16:12). They faced Puerto Rico in the final, who defeated Canada 2-0 (18:16, 22:18) in their semi-final and also came into the gold medal match undefeated.

With both teams already having something to celebrate ahead of the start of the match, thanks to their world championship qualification, they had to focus on the job in hand in a match which was a repeat of the 2024 edition. After two sets – the first won by the USA (20:16) and the second by the Puerto Ricans (24:22) – it went to shoot-out, won 6:2 by the United States. Mira Chew top-scored in the game, on 18 points.

Mexico beat Canada 2-1 (16:14, 12:14, SO 7:4) to claim bronze. The title for the USA means that they have now won three of the four editions of the continental championship (2019, 2022, 2026). USA’s Rachel Wong (41 points) finished as tournament top-scorer, just ahead of Puerto Rico’s Loreanie Rodriguez (40).

“The team is riding high and there is a palpable level of pride among this selection for achieving their goals. For some, silencing any critics was another sweet part of this victory,” said USA women’s team coach Lyndon Suvanto to ihf.info.

“The World Championship is going to be an amazing event for us with the level of competition jumping exponentially. It is going to be a challenge for us but one that we are excited to take on. We will be exploring our options between now and then to prepare; this could mean training camps in the USA or looking into tournaments in Europe to prepare for in advance. Countries such as Italy, Spain, and the Netherlands emerging as potential sites but plans still need to be ironed out.”

Earlier this year, Suvanto’s team held open trials to identify new talent and bolster their squad depth and the coach has not only been impressed by the homegrown talent discovered, but the general level of skills on show throughout the continent.

“Since taking over the head coaching role, this has been my first NACHC competition and seeing newer nations such as St. Kitts and Nevis and Antigua is such a positive boost for our region,” he said.

“Our open trials have been huge for the growth of our pool (of players). Anna Lachenauer came straight from our January camp and her ability to pick up the game, be open to coaching, and her previous basketball background led to her winning the ‘Top Defender’ award in St. Kitts and Nevis. For a player who was making their debut, she more than exceeded our expectations.”

Qualification through to Croatia 2026 for the USA means it will be their fourth, consecutive world championship (2018, 2022, 2024, 2026), while for Puerto Rico it is their second (2024, 2026).

 

USA men make it four in a row

The men’s event also saw a USA vs Puerto Rico final, just like in 2024, with the US men taking a 2-0 (18:16, 17:16) victory, Drew Bradley scoring a single point with three seconds left in the second set in a game which saw his US teammate Akuro Zuwed top score on 16 points.

The USA won all their games without losing a set, seeing off Dominica (20:9, 34:7), Mexico (19:16, 27:24) and Canada (30:13, 26:14) in the preliminary group stage and then Trinidad and Tobago (20:10, 34:21) in the semi-final. The result means that the US men have now won all four editions of the event (2019, 2022, 2024, 2026).

Debutants Cuba opened their tournament with an historic victory, against Puerto Rico 2-1 (8:25, 19:18, SO 12:10) before eventually finishing sixth, while Mexico beat Trinidad and Tobago 9:8 in the shoot-out to take bronze.

Cuba’s Nelson Alejandro Bridon Cantillo was the clear tournament top-scorer, finishing on 82 points, three ahead of Mexico’s Brian Navarro Gonzalez.

Puerto Rico now go through to their third, successive IHF World Championship, after competing at the 2022 and 2024 editions, while 2026 will be the fifth consecutive global event for the USA (2016, 2018, 2022, 2024, 2026).

2026 NACHC Men’s and Women’s Beach Handball Championship

Final Rankings

Women’s competition
1 United States of America*
2 Puerto Rico*
3 Mexico 
4 Canada
5 St. Kitts and Nevis
6 Antigua and Barbuda
7 Haiti

Men’s competition
1 United States of America*
2 Puerto Rico*
3 Mexico 
4 Trinidad and Tobago
5 Canada
6 Cuba
7 St. Kitts and Nevis
8 Dominica
9 Antigua and Barbuda
10 Haiti

Results

Women’s competition
PUR v MEX 2-1 (10:12, 14:12, SO 5:4)
SKN v HAI 2-0**
USA v CAN 2-1 (15:18, 12:4, SO 9:6)
PUR v SKN 2-0 (22:10, 20:4)
HAI v MEX 0-2**
USA v ANT 2-0 (16:2, 22:1)
CAN v ANT 2-0 (16:4, 28:2)
PUR v HAI 2-0**
MEX v SKN 2-0 16:5, 14:4)
Semi-Final 1: USA v MEX 2-0 (17:16, 16:12)
Semi-Final 2: PUR v CAN 2-0 (18:16, 22:18)
5-7 Placement Round: ANT v SKN 1-2 (5:1, 4:9, SO 1:6)
Bronze medal match: MEX v CAN 2-1 (16:14, 12:14, SO 7:4)
Gold medal match/final: USA v PUR 2-1 (20:16, 22:24, SO 6:2)

Men’s competition
SKN v ANT 2-0 (20:4, 23:4)
CUB v PUR 2-1 (8:25, 19:18, SO 12:10)
DMA v USA 0-2 (9:20, 7:34)
MEX v HAI 2-0**
TTO v CUB 2-0 (20:12, 28:14)
PUR v SKN 2-1 (18:19, 24:10, SO 7:4)
USA v MEX 2-0 (19:16, 27:24)
CAN v DMA 2-0 (18:9, 25:11)
ANT v TTO 0-2 (14:30, 17:30)
HAI v CAN 0-2**
DMA v HAI 2-0**
USA v CAN 2-0 (30:13, 26:14)
ANT v PUR 0-2 (9:32, 7:20)
SKN v CUB 0-2 (14:16, 15:19)
HAI v USA 0-2*
MEX v DMA 2-0 (16:6, 28:18)
PUR v TTO 2-0 (24:20, 20:12)
CUB v ANT 2-0 (27:11, 24:5)
CAN v MEX 0-2 (16:24, 12:19)
TTO v SKN 2-0 (20:12, 28:16)
Semi-Final 1: USA v TTO 2-0 (20:10, 34:21)
Semi-Final 2: PUR v MEX 2-1 (22:24, 24:14, SO 7:4)
5/6 Placement Match: CAN v CUB 2-0 (22:10, 20:19)
7/8 Placement Match: DMA v SKN 0-2 (17:18, 11:20)
9/10 Placement Match: HAI v ANT 0-2*
Bronze medal match: TTO v MEX 1-2 (20:21, 21:16, SO 8:9)
Gold medal match/final: USA v PUR 2-0 (18:16, 17:16)

*Qualified for the 2026 IHF Men’s and Women’s Beach Handball World Championships
**Haiti did not participate. All games were forfeited 2-0 in favour of their opposition.
 
NACHC Men’s and Women’s Beach Handball Championship – Previous rankings

Trinidad and Tobago 2019
Men: 1 USA, 2 MEX, 3 PUR, 4 TTO, 5 HAI, 6 DMA, 7 SKN, 8 BAR
Women: 1 USA, 2 MEX, 3 TTO, 4 PUR, 5 HAI, 6 DMA, 7 SKN, 8 BAR

Mexico 2022
Men: 1 USA, 2 PUR, 3 MEX, 4 TTO, 5 DOM, 6 CAN, 7 DMA, 8 SKN
Women: 1 MEX, 2 USA, 3 DOM, 4 PUR, 5 DMA, 6 TTO

Puerto Rico 2024
Men: 1 USA, 2 PUR, 3 TTO, 4 CAN, 5 MEX, 6 SKN
Women: 1 USA, 2 PUR, 3 MEX, 4 TTO, 5 CAN

Photo credit: CreateOne Media (Garth Archibald) / St Kitts & Nevis Handball Association