Podgorica to host 15th Women’s MHC championship

Eight national teams (players born in 2006 and younger) will vie for the title at the 15th Women’s Mediterranean Handball Confederation (MHC) Championship – Nikos Papadopulos trophy, which will be held in Podgorica, Montenegro from 18 to 23 April.

During the preliminary round of the competition for players born in 2006 or younger, the teams from Croatia, Greece, Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Turkey and the home side Montenegro will be divided into two groups, A and B, to play in a round-robin format on 18 and 19 April. 

In the next round, on 21 April, the two best teams from each group will join each other in the main round, while all the other participants will continue in the intermediate round. Teams who initially were in Group A will only meet opponents from Group B during that stage.

The decisive games will be played on 22 and 23 April. The teams from the main round will face each other in the semi-finals on 22 April, and then in the third-place match and the final on 23 April. In the same format, all the teams from the intermediate round will play their placement matches.

Competition regulations

Competitions organised by the MHC follow the IHF Rules of the Game (Indoor Handball), but with some specific technical adaptations:

Game duration

All games, except final
45 minutes, split into three periods (three (3) x 15 minutes), three time-outs, per team, per game

Final only
60 minutes, split into three periods (three (3) x 20 minutes), three time-outs, per team, per game

Points scoring

Games are decided not by total goals, but by points scored in each period

In each period, the team with the highest number of goals wins one (1) point

In case of a draw in a period (same number of goals scored by each team), one (1) point is divided by both teams i.e. each team receives 0.5 points each

At the end of the match (when all three periods have completed), the team with the most points gained wins two (2) points

If the match ends in a draw, the two (2) points will be divided between the two teams i.e. each team receives one (1) point each

Final result: win – two (2) points, draw – one (1) point, defeat – zero (0) points.

The total number of points which a team can take from one match is five (5) points i.e. win first period = one (1) point, win second period = 1, win third period = 1, a total of a 3-0 win. For the win itself add two (2) points. Total = 1 + 1 + 1 + 2 = 5.

Matches

In case of a draw, five penalty shots will follow immediately without extra time.
Once teams enter the hall for their match, a coin toss takes place to decide which end of the court they will start and for who has possession of the ball at throw-off in the first period (the team which does not have possession of the ball at throw-off for the first period, automatically has it for throw-off in the second).

Only at the end of the second period (not first), teams change benches.

Before the start of the third and final period, there is a coin toss to decide which team has possession of the ball for the throw-off.

In case of protest coming from the bench (from players or officials), referees will show a yellow card directly to the coach.

For more information on the event, visit the official website of the Mediterranean Handball Confederation.

Photo: Jozo Cabraja / MHC