The IHF
U17 Beach Handball World Championship – Men's & Women's Qualification Games
took place from May 2 to 5 in Rarotonga, Cook Islands, with Australia, American
Samoa and New Zealand securing places at the 2017 IHF U17 Beach Handball World
Championship.
The U17 World
Championship is organised for the first time in 2017 as a qualification pathway
for the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, where beach handball will
make its debut in the Olympic programme.
Two teams from
each gender category qualified to represent Oceania at the World Championship,
with Australia’s men’s and women’s sides both booking spots in Mauritius, while
American Samoa claimed the other women’s place and New Zealand qualified as the
second men’s side.
American Samoa
won the women’s competition at the Qualification Games, beating Australia 2:0
in the final, while Australia claimed the men’s title after defeating New
Zealand 2:0 in the trophy match. Hosts Cook Islands ranked third in both the
men’s and women’s tournaments.
The Most Valuable
Player awards, presented by BSP Bank South Pacific, went to American Samoa’s
Stephanie Floor and Australia’s Liam McCourt.
“I feel amazing
about going to Mauritius,” said Australia men’s coach David Hudson on the Cook
Island’s Beach Handball Facebook
page. “We’ve watched the Europeans, we’ve watched the Pan Americans, and
we’re ready to beat them all!
“Considering
where they started [the teams], I think they’ve come a really long way. I hope
they really enjoyed themselves and keep playing beach handball forever.”
The final
standings are as follows:
Men’s competition
1. Australia –
qualified for 2017 IHF U17 Beach Handball World Championship
2. New Zealand –
qualified for 2017 IHF U17 Beach Handball World Championship
3. Cook Islands
4. American Samoa
5. Kiribati
Women’s
competition
1. American Samoa
– qualified for 2017 IHF U17 Beach Handball World Championship
2. Australia –
qualified for 2017 IHF U17 Beach Handball World Championship
3. Cook Islands
4. Kiribati
Photo: Jun
Tanlayco