The Argentine Beach Handball Circuit wrapped up its 2022 season in February, finishing another great year of competitive play with the third annual Argentina Cup, held in Puerto Madryn, Chubut from February 24th– 27th.
It was a busy four days, with 74 matches played by 26 teams from four provinces. In both divisions, 14 teams had qualified from the circuit, and 13 made it to the event.
In the men’s tournament, Sol de Mayo, from Río Negro, won their first national championship after a decisive 2:0 match against Club Atlético Unión Argentina. They unseated reigning champions IFES Fly Summer, who placed fourth after their 1:2 defeat by Vilo in the bronze medal match.
In the women’s tournament, IFES Fly Summer, from Neuquén, held onto their title, winning the championship for a third consecutive year after defeating Municipalidad de Avellaned 2:0 with a golden goal. Arena Madryn took the third spot on the podium after a 2:1 match against Goliat.
In both tournaments, the winning team also had the top scorer- Gisella Bonomi from IFES Fly Summer scored 64 points during the event, while Santino Sposito was the top male player with 75 points.
For the first time, the Argentina Cup was also a qualifier for the South and Central American Beach Handball Championship, with the top five teams from each division moving on to compete against teams from Paraguay, Uruguay, and Brazil in the international event, which took place from March 1st -3rd in the same city.
Gonzalo Vieyra, the captain of Argentina’s national team believes this will further expand the tournament’s reach within the country. The Argentine Beach Handball Circuit and the Argentina Cup have already raised the profile of the sport within Argentina and contributed to its meteoric rise in popularity among Argentinians. Since the circuit began three years ago, it has brought new fans to beach handball, and given players and coaches the chance to hone their skills.
“For all of us, this type of tournament is very important. We need internal competition to grow and the structure of beach handball to be expanded throughout the country,” said Vieyra said.
The event’s organizers hope it will continue to grow in coming years, making competitive beach handball accessible to even more Argentinians. Juan De Arma, the country’s National Director of Beach Handball said : “Our main objective is for each provincial federation to have its own beach handball tournament, no matter how small.”
