Pirates, East Melbourne Spartans and Galahs are Australian beach champions

Across four matchdays, Coolangatta in Queensland was host of the Australian Open Beach Handball Club Championships 2023.

Between 23 and 26 February 2023, 23 teams competed on the sand through various mixed weather conditions for the title of national champions, with the championship comprising three competitions – the men's competition, women's competition and mixed team competition.

Spartans men victorious

Eight men's teams competed for the national title, with East Melbourne Spartans, St Kilda, SA Panthers, Knicks, Sydney University (SU), Raptors, Spingardium and BButs starting initially in a preliminary round before eventually moving through to the knockout and then medal matches.

And the Spartans dominated throughout, finishing top of the preliminary round with 14 points ahead of St Kilda, SA Panthers and Knicks, who were tied on 11 points each.

St Kilda and Spartans eventually met in the final, which saw a close first set, won by the East Melbourne side (18:16), before St Kilda came back strong in the second set (25:18) to take it to a shoot-out. 

But the Spartans rallied and took a 7:4, 2-1 overall victory to defend their 2022 title successfully and beat their Melbourne rivals. Knicks beat SA Panthers in an all-Victoria state match-up via shoot-out 6:4 to take bronze.

St Kilda did have something else to cheer alongside their silver medal, with Ignacio Oleaga Ballester ending up as championship MVP and men's top scorer (106 points). Raptors goalkeeper Koyo Shibata took home the award for the best shotstopper.

Queensland's Galahs are the best Australian women on the sand

Six teams took to the sand in the women's championship, with Galahs, Orcas, SU Botany Bay, BButs, SA Soulbirds and Melbas in action.

Just like the Spartans in the men's competition, Queensland states' Galahs Handball Club took gold after finishing top of the preliminary round.

They ended two points clear of Orcas (8 points) and SU Botany Bay (8) before eventually beating BButs in the semi-final via shoot-out (5:0) and SU Botany Bay, also via shoot-out, in the final (8:6). Orcas defeated BButs 2-0 to claim bronze.

The three medallists came from three different states in Australia – Galahs Handball Club (Queensland), Sydney University/Botany Bay (New South Wales) and Orcas (Victoria) – highlighting the spread of the sport around the country.

Australian international Allira Hudson-Gofers, who represented her country at both the 2022 IHF Women's Beach Handball World Championship and 2022 World Games last year, finished as the championship top-scorer, registering 83 points for her SU Botany Bay side, while BButs' Amy Thomas and Gemma Buckett were voted best goalkeeper and MVP respectively.

Pirates prevail in battle against Mermaids for mixed gold

The ever-popular mixed men's and women's competition featured the most matches of the championships – 40 in total – and nine teams competing, which included Pirates, Mermaids, Sandcat Fighters, Missfits, Raptors, The Excel Spreadsheets, SA Soulbirds, Yass Queens and BButs.

Pirates had points to spare after finishing top of the preliminary round, sitting in first place on 18 points, five clear of the second-placed Mermaids and Sandcat Fighters (13 each).

Victoria's Pirates continued their undefeated run in the championship to gold against state rivals Mermaids in the final, winning 2-1 (7:11, 21:12, SO 6:2), while Japanese side Sandcat Fighters won bronze thanks to a 2-0 win over Missfits (22:14, 13:12).

For her efforts in front of goal, Claudia Mitchell ended up as top scorer (92 points) and MVP for her side, Pirates, while Mitchell Cunningham (Excel Spreadsheets) was voted best goalkeeper.

Future looking strong for Australian beach handball

"It was a great event held in an optimal location for beach handball," said event organiser and manager Dr Susan Wilson-Gahan to ihf.info.

"It was so good to see the friendships and spirit of a shared love of the sport evident at this event. It was lovely to witness everyone working together towards common goals and understanding that we are all in this together - we all want the same outcomes and we can achieve them if we work together in a spirit of cooperation and friendship.

"The individual and team awards were spread across experienced and up-and-coming players," added Wilson-Gahan, who is also the President and Schools Liaison of Handball Queensland.

"The sport can only benefit from having the more experienced players involved in nurturing and supporting the development of the 'next generation'. 

Local councillor Gail O'Neill was present for the finals and presented the team and individual player awards to acknowledge her generous support of the event.

The championship was a warm-up for the Oceania Continental Handball Federation's (OCHF) Beach Handball Championships at the same venue from 21-23 April, with the winning teams going on to represent Oceania in the 2023 ANOC World Beach Games to be held in Bali, Indonesia in August 2023.

Final Ranking

Men's Competition

1. East Melbourne Spartans

2. St Kilda Handball Club

3. Knicks

Women's Competition

1. Galahs Handball Club

2. Sydney University/Botany Bay

3. Orcas

Mixed Competition

1. Pirates 

2. Mermaids 

3. Sandcat Fighters

For further information, visit www.handballqld.com.au or www.handballaustralia.org.au 

Photo: Chris Seen Photography, Bronwyn Thompson