Water polo was supposed to debut at the World Beach Games this year. Still, it won’t happen in 2023. The debut has been postponed until further notice.
The second edition of the World Beach Games, scheduled for August (6 – 12) in Bali (Indonesia), has been canceled.
The Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC), which organizes an event, announced that the Indonesian Olympic Committee (KOI) had withdrawn from its commitment to host the 2023 World Beach Games.
ANOC expressed great surprise and extreme disappointment and added
“With the Games scheduled to take place in one month, the decision at such late notice prevents ANOC from being able to find an alternative host and so there is no option but to cancel this year’s edition of the Games in Bali in August“.
ANOC said that the Indonesian Olympic Committee had stated the decision was taken after the budget was not released by the Government of the country, and there is now no time to deliver the Games.
ANOC said that ANOC and KOI had met for weekly coordination meetings. The previous meeting was held last week and at no point did the KOI indicate there were any issues that would lead to such an outcome, ANOC announced.
“While there have been challenges in the Games preparations, as at any major multi-sport event, ANOC had been regularly assured by the KOI that solutions would be found and the Games would go ahead as planned.”
The World Aquatics Qualification tournament for the 2023 World Beach Games was held in Egypt less than two months ago. Six teams earned their berths and joined the nations that qualified through the World Championships in Budapest last year and through continental competitions. Montenegro won 1st place in Soma Bay, ahead of Egypt, and Hungary. The medalists in the female tournament were Greece, the Czech Republic and South Africa.
The teams that qualified through the other competitions and confirmed their participation were – Men: Spain, Italy, Greece, Croatia and Puerto Rico. Women: Hungary, Netherlands, Puerto Rico, Spain, China, Italy
The first World Beach Games were held in Doha (Qatar), with 13 sports on the program, but water polo wasn’t one of them. The event in Bali was supposed to include 14 sports.
The dates and the host of the 3rd Beach Games haven’t been determined yet.
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