The ANOC World Beach Games Europe Qualification 2023 will take place in Werkendam, Netherlands from 9 to 11 June 2023. Today the draw for the team relay was announced.
“The World Beach Games is a unique opportunity to showcase AirBadminton as a dynamic game that is accessible to all. AirBadminton on sand delivers an exciting, skilful, intense level of play, and with such a proud history of badminton in Indonesia, we expect our very first World Beach Games appearance in Bali to be a thrilling one”, said BWF President Poul-Erik Høyer in 2022 after AirBadminton was announced to be part of the World Beach Games (WBG).
With the WBG taking place in August, it is time for the continental qualifiers to take place. From 9 to 11 June the best teams in Europe will be fighting to be part of the first ever AirBadminton competitions at World Beach Games.
These teams will take part in Werkendam, Netherlands:
Group A:
Denmark
Netherlands
Bulgaria
Belgium
Group B:
Germany
France
Switzerland
Greece
The draw is based on the BWF World Team Ranking of April 4th 2023.
AirBadminton at Bali 2023 will feature 72 athletes (36 men and 36 women) across four medal events: Men’s Triples, Women’s Triples, Mixed Doubles, and the Mixed Team Event.
What is AirBadminton?
AirBadminton is a new game format developed under the umbrella of the Badminton World Federation (BWF). It is played outdoors and on a variety of surfaces such as grass, urban grounds, tartan, and especially sand. The similarities with badminton are mainly in the hitting and running technique as well as in the game structure. Differences to badminton include changing wind and weather conditions, different flight characteristics of the shuttles, and different surfaces. Specific AirShuttles, which are more wind-resistant, are used. In addition to singles and doubles, there is also a new discipline called triples, in which players play three against three. A special rule in triples is that a player is not allowed to hit the shuttle twice in a row during a rally, so there is a lot of rotation, and communication within the team is even more important.