Beach handball: going from strength to strength
Beach handball has seen a lot of growth in recent years, and there is no place where it is more evident than the European Beach tour. The ebt began its first season in 2003/04. Forty-one tournaments took place that year, and 54 men's and 32 women's teams participated in the inaugural season, which had events in 14 countries. During the 2022/23 season, 196 teams, 113 men's and 83 women's, took part in 57 tournaments in 18 countries, including two that hosted an ebt event for the first time: Sweden and the United Kingdom.
The busiest time of the season took place from 29 June to 2 July, when eight tournaments were played simultaneously, including the eighth Budapest Cup and SUANCES Cup 2023 in Spain. The Iberian Peninsula was the hot spot for the series, with four of the top six tournaments boasting the highest number of teams participating, being shared by Spain (three) and Portugal. The ARENA1000 NAZARÉ DREAMS tournament in Portugal took the top spot, with 52 teams participating, while 47 teams playing at the ARENA1000 Cádiz tournament. The ARENA1000 Orihuela event and the Diego Carrasco Cup both had 37 teams.
