Summer of youth handball

As the club season draws to a close, the focus of Europe’s national federations turns to youth handball and in particular the series of Younger Age Category events in both handball and beach handball that will take place across Europe organised by the European Handball Federation and International Handball Federation. Here's an overview of what is coming up over the summer:

IHF Women’s Junior World Championship
1-14 July 2012

The World Championship for junior women’s teams will be played under the auspices of the International Handball Federation. Ostrava and Brno are the host cities in the Czech Republic for an event, which will be played with 24 teams from around the world. The official website can be found here. 

Women’s 18 European Open - Sweden
2-6 July 2012

The world’s biggest youth handball festival, the Partille Cup, will play host the eighth edition of the European Open for national teams. This year it is the turn of the women’s under 18 national teams and 14 sides will be in Gothenburg, Sweden to decide the title. More information including a match schedule can be found on the Partille Cup website.

Men’s 20 European Championship - Turkey
5-15 July 2012

The 9th edition of the men’s under 20’s European Championship will be played in the Turkish cities of Ankara and Eskishehir. 16 nations teams will take part in the event organised by the Turkish Handball Federation. Denmark will be looking to defend their title, won at the previous event in Slovakia in 2010. Visit the event’s website for more information.

YAC Beach European Championship - Georgia
6-8 July 2012

16 teams will take part in the third edition of beach handball’s under 18 event, with eight men’s and eight women’s under 18 teams playing in the event. Croatia will be looking to defend their European title in the men’s competition and Hungary in the women’s. The three-day championship will be played in Batumi, Georgia on the Black Sea coast. Visit the event’s website for more information and their Facebook Page.

Men’s 18 European Championship - Austria
12 – 20 July 2012

Bregenz and Hard in Vorarlberg in the west of Austria will be the venues for the Men’s 18 European Championship. 16 teams will be compete for the title, held by Croatia from the last event held in Montenegro in August 2010. Visit the website for more information and follow the event on Facebook.

IHF Women’s Youth World Championship - Montenegro
16-26 August 2012

Montenegro is the host nation for the final youth event of the summer, as 20 teams go for the world title in an event organised by the International Handball Federation. Sweden are the defending champions, a title the won at the last event in the Domincan Republic in 2010. View the official website for complete information.