Spectacular Jarun Cup sets tone for ebt season

A country with a rich beach handball tradition, Croatia hosted the annual Jarun Cup on the shores of Lake Jarun for the 16th time last week.

When the event first became part of the ebt in 2015, a total of 20 men’s and six women’s teams were at the start; meanwhile, the Jarun Cup has grown into a huge beach handball feast with 37 senior, 25 junior, and – this year for the first time – four veteran teams.

A total of 470 senior and 250 junior players, plus 31 officials (referees and delegates), representing 21 different countries, created an unforgettable tournament.

GRD Leca – Spar won the men’s competition, where the Portuguese side edged out home crowd favourites BHC Zagreb in the shoot-out of a thrilling final (18:16, 20:21, 8:6), with Danish contenders Aarhus Beach completing the podium in third place.

A shoot-out also brought the decision in the all-Dutch women’s final, where Westside Amsterdam came from behind to beat Hiekka Houskaa U18 (23:24, 33:28, 6:2). Hungarian side OVB Beach Girls-Salgótarján finished third.

A number of side events contributed to the success of the spectacular five-day event, including all-star team matches, a shoot-out contest, and a kids’ day with beach handball legend Ivan Jurić – with children with special needs included in a workshop.

Beach handball fans not attending the tournament could watch the continuous live stream of two courts, while the finals and third-place matches were broadcast on TV with commentary from EHF’s Chris O’Reilly and Croatian beach handball great Mladen Paradžik.

Full results of the Jarun Cup 2024 are available on the official tournament homepage.

The next events on the ebt calendar take place in the last weekend of May, with tournaments in Tilburg (NED), Münsingen (SUI), and Omis (CRO).

The ebt calendar and ebt rankings are available on beach.eurohandball.com.

All photos © 2024 Pawel Jakubowski / BHC Zagreb