In the 14th edition of the annual Younger Age Category European Championships in beach handball, the focus turns to the youngest again. 34 teams from 18 nations take part in this year's under-16 event. All 16 nations in the men's tournament are also qualified for the women's tournament. Additionally, the Netherlands and Slovakia have booked their place in the women's category.
Two years ago, Hungary and Spain battled it out for gold in both tournaments, with Hungary taking the double-crown.
The competition format varies due to the different number of teams.
The preliminary round of the men's tournament will be played on Thursday and Friday and consists of four round-robin groups with four teams each. The top two teams from each group advance to the main round. In the main round, played on Friday and Saturday, the seeding for the quarter-finals will be determined. Both main round groups consist of one of the top two teams from each preliminary round group. The quarter-finals take place on Saturday. The first-placed teams of the main round groups will meet the fourth-placed teams, while the second-placed teams take on the third-placed teams. On Sunday, the four remaining teams will battle it out for the medals.
In the women's tournament, the preliminary round will be played from Thursday to Saturday and consists of three round-robin groups with six teams each. The top two teams and the two best third-placed teams reach the quarter-finals on Saturday. On Sunday, the four remaining teams battle it out for the medals.
The first matches will throw off at 09:00 CEST (10:00 local time) on Thursday. All matches on all courts in Varna are streamed live on EHFTV and are freely accessible without geo-restrictions. The matches can be followed in the official EHF beach handball live ticker, with further coverage provided on the dedicated EHF beach handball account on Instagram.
Photo © Uros Hocevar / kolektiff