Beach Handball to make European Games debut this week

The third edition of the European Games will get underway this week in Poland, with beach handball appearing for the very first time.

Known as the ‘Olympic Games for Europe’, the event will feature 7,300 participants from 48 countries competing in 29 sporting disciplines across 12 days (21 June – 2 July).

A total of 13 different cities and towns in the wider Malopolska region will host events, with Krakow city the focus of competition and host of the opening ceremony, which will be held at the Henryk Reyman Municipal Stadium on Wednesday (21 June).

The men’s and women’s beach handball competitions, featuring eight teams each, will be played in Tarnów, east of Krakow, from Tuesday 20 June to Thursday 22 June at the 2,000-capacity Tarnów Beach Arena.

The inclusion of beach handball in the 2023 European Games meant the EHF Beach Handball European Championships were held earlier than normal to accommodate a packed period for the sport, with the 2023 ANOC World Beach Games coming in August.

That recent European Championship secured the teams, in addition to the hosts, for Poland 2023, which will feature an initial preliminary round group stage of four teams in each. The top two teams in each group and gender will then go through to the knockout stages, starting with the quarter-finals.

Men’s Competition
Group A: Croatia, Hungary, Germany, Portugal
Group B: Spain, Denmark, Norway, Poland

Women’s Competition
Group A: Spain, Poland, Denmark, Norway
Group B: Germany, Netherlands, Greece, Portugal

The all-conquering German women’s team will look slightly different in Poland, with head coach Alexander Novakovic giving his European, The World Games and World Championship title-holders a break after an incredible 34-game unbeaten run.

“Development is more important than winning,” he told DHB.de and revealed that young players including Ryleene Teodoro, Joelle Arno and Nele Kurzke will get an opportunity to show the next crop of talent.

“Some teams will start with their strongest squad, but others - like us - will rotate through,” he added. “It is very important for us to now have the necessary breadth in the squad to take part in such great events, but at the same time to give our players the necessary breaks.”

You can find the schedule here.

For more information about beach handball at the 2023 European Games, visit here.