The 2024 South and Central American Handball Confederation (SCAHC) Youth (U17) Men’s and Women’s Beach Handball Championships have concluded at the Arena Cavancha in the Chilean northern port city of Iquique.

In a reverse of the debut winners back in 2022 Brazil’s women and Argentina’s men took the gold medals.

The competition not only saw teams fighting for continental supremacy but a qualification ticket through to the 2025 IHF Men’s and Women’s Youth Beach Handball World Championships, which will take place in Tunisia next year – and will also act as a qualification for the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games.

The round-robin competitions saw Brazil (BRA), Argentina (ARG), Paraguay (PAR), Chile (CHI) and Uruguay (URU) both field teams in the men’s and women’s event, with Peru (PER) adding a men’s team.

Super-tight women’s competition ends with Brazil gold as Argentina miss out on world championship qualification
Just two of the 10 games in the women’s competition went to shoot-out, but that did not mean the competition was not close with three teams ending equal on points, at the top of the table. Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina – with legendary player Celeste Meccia on the coaching staff – all won three games each and lost one, the teams taking points off each other.

Brazil lost to Uruguay (1-2) and beat Argentina (2-0), while the Argentineans beat Uruguay (2-1). All teams beat Chile, who ended with four defeats from four. This meant that the top three had to be split by results against each other, followed by the difference in periods won. 

In the end, it was heartbreak for Argentina who finished in third, missing out on qualification for Tunisia 2025 thanks to their +3 period set difference (six won, three lost), compared to Uruguay – coached by men’s senior player Francisco Gallo – in second place, with a +4 (7/3) and Brazil at the top with +5 (7/2).

“The tournament was incredible, it was a unique experience for everyone,” Gallo told local media outlet, Referi. “Beating Brazil for the first time in history is a monumental achievement for our sport. It was a very intense match, with a lot of emotion, but also with a lot of concentration on the part of the players.

"The team was very solid throughout the tournament, even though we lost in the shoot-out against Argentina and did not get the gold medal, our performance was spectacular. We had moments of great pressure, but we knew how to stay calm and focus on the final objective.

“This historic achievement is not only the merit of the players, but also of the teamwork, preparation and winning mentality that we managed to forge in each of them. It was a tournament in which we demonstrated the growth of beach handball in Uruguay, and that we will continue fighting to leave our country at the top.

“What we are trying to do is a long-term project, transferring everything we have experienced and learned in this sport to young people,” he added. “We want the new generations not only to know how to play well, but to have a deep understanding of what it means to be on a sand court, of the quick decisions that must be made, of the importance of physical and psychological preparation. For us, who have already come a long way in this sport, the idea is that they do not have to go through the same obstacles, but can advance more quickly and with a solid foundation.”

"This teaching work goes beyond just training. It is a continuous process of sharing experiences, of being mentors and of making them see that this is a path that is travelled with effort, but also with passion and enjoyment. If we achieve that, the projection of beach handball in Uruguay will be even more promising.”

With a 17-point gap at the top of the goalscoring charts, Brazil’s Antonia da Silva Bittencourt (70 points) – who scored 22 points in the match against Argentina – easily beat Argentina’s Emma Isabella Bernasconi Vargas (53) into second place.

Argentina men complete perfect championship

A total of 15 games were played in the men’s competition with Argentina taking gold with five wins out of five. They saw off Paraguay, Uruguay and Peru 2-0 each, while it took shoot-outs to defeat Chile (7:6) in the first game, and Brazil – effectively a title-decider – in their last game (11:10).

Brazil finished in second, having beaten third-placed Uruguay via shoot-out (8:6) in their fourth game. The Uruguayans – including men’s playing legend Matias Andres Oholeguy Grub as part of the coaching staff – took bronze, and the final spot for Tunisia 2025, finishing third, ahead of Chile, who they beat via shoot-out (10:8) in their second game. Peru finished fifth, ahead of bottom team Paraguay who lost all five of their games.

Newton Venzel Perdiz, scorer of 22 points against Paraguay, clearly topped the goalscoring charts, the Brazilian scoring 83 points, 20 ahead of the second-placed Argentinean, Juan Bautista Dirr (63 points).

Chilean city hoping to become Beach Handball hotspot

Speaking to local media around the event Marcel Mancilla, President of the SCAHC, was keen to continue promoting the sport in his home country.

“We want to make Iquique the focal city for this sport, which has enormous growth potential and which aims to start being considered for the Olympic Games,” he said. “To do this, having a city like Iquique, which we already know vibrates with sport and competition, to start developing a long-term project, is news that encourages us in the idea of making this discipline grow.

“Arena Cavancha and organising a championship here at this level, for me, means a step in the future of the development of the sport. I am sure that we have marked a milestone and this is the beginning of a long relationship with this city.”

FINAL RANKING

Women’s Competition
1 Brazil*
2 Uruguay*
3 Argentina
4 Paraguay
5 Chile

Men’s Competition
1 Argentina*
2 Brazil*
3 Uruguay*
4 Chile
5 Peru
6 Paraguay

*Qualified for the 2025 IHF Men’s and Women’s Youth Beach Handball World Championships

RESULTS

Women’s Competition
URU v BRA 2-1 (21:16, 16:18, SO 5:4)
ARG v PAR 2-0 (20:8, 16:10)
PAR v BRA 0-2 (15:24, 17:28)
CHI v ARG 0-2 (10:16, 10:17)
PAR v URU 0-2 (6:13, 17:31)
CHI v BRA 0-2 (12:16, 14:26)
ARG v URU 2-1 (14:18, 16:14, SO 7:6)
PAR v CHI 2-0 919:14, 15:10)
URU v CHI 2-0 (18:13, 21:14)
ARG v BRA 0-2 (14:21, 17:18)

Men’s Competition
URU v PER 2-0 (18:11, 18:12)
ARG v CHI 2-1 (22:10, 18:20, SO 7:6)
BRA v PAR 2-0 (22:14, 22:7)
PER v BRA 0-2 (9:24, 4:16)
PAR v ARG 0-2 (6:23, 10:28)
CHI v URU 1-2 (17:15, 16:24, SO 8:10)
BRA v CHI 2-1 (20:22, 19:16, SO 7:4)
ARG v URU 2-0 (16:10, 17:12)
PAR v PER 1-2 (22:12, 12:18, SO 4:5)
URU v BRA 1-2 (10:11, 17:14, SO 6:8)
ARG v PER 2-0 (20:8, 24:9)
CHI v PAR 2-0 (28:4, 14:13)
URU v PAR 2-0 (16:10, 22:13)
PER v CHI 1-2 (15:10, 13:17, SO 2:5)
BRA v ARG 1-2 (18:10, 16:18, SO 10:11)

Photo credit: Handball SCA / German Paez