Page 8 - Beach Handball is about...

ntroduction
CHAPTER I. ...Book i

.Far from being just some nice holidays

Back in June and July this year Lloret de Mar on Spain’s Costa Brava was the age reached hundreds of thousands. The women's bronze medal match be-

“place to be” for Europe’s beach handball circus, as the city just north of tween Spain and Italy was watched by 244,000, while 226,000 stayed for the

Barcelona hosted the ninth edition of the European Championships. Lloret de men's inal between defending champions Croatia and Spain. A peak had been

Mar? Yes, Lloret which is arguably better known for being a very popular tourist reached already the day before when 318,000 people watched the women’s

destination proved that it can also be the home of outstanding sport events!
semi-inal between Spain and Norway.

And no doubt, what the stars of the sport showed on the sandy courts was The championships also saw an increase of numbers of people following the

nothing short of truly spectacular action. 12 men’s and 14 women’s teams over event on social media, which was also partly due to the work of photographer

six days vied for the prestigious championships plate, and their performance Axel Heimken. The European Handball Federation had hired the experienced

indicated that for all of them the trip to Lloret was far from being just a nice sports photographer to speciically showcase the sport in the best light possi-

holiday adventure. And eventually, after more than 100 matches had been ble. And while some examples of his work were already featured on channels

8
played in both events, two teams, two true powerhouses of beach handball, such as Facebook and Flickr, the full extent can only be found in this exclusive

topped the podium. In the men’s event Croatia won for the fourth consecutive book.

time, while in the women’s event Hungary successfully defended the title they
We hope you will enjoy it!
had won in Randers two years ago.

And Lloret 2015 was not only a hit from the sport’s point of view, but also when

it came to the attention from outside. Spanish sports channel Teledeporte

broadcast the semi-inals and inals with Spanish participation, and the cover-