The strong showing of seven teams from Germany at the 33rd International Schmelz Youth Handball Tournament in Vienna left its mark on the final day, Sunday, August 30. Two of the four final matches held at the Wiener Stadthalle B were won by German squads. In the first final at 9 a.m., the girls from HSG Schwarzbach Berries, based near Frankfurt, secured a 23:18 victory in the U14 category against the only Viennese team to reach the finals, Madx WAT Atzgersdorf. The highlight of the day came in the final match at 1 p.m., where TVB Stuttgart delivered a spectacular performance to defeat Croatia’s MRK Metalac 35:23 in the U16 boys’ category.
International youth talent clearly dominated Austria’s largest youth handball tournament this year, which has been organized by WAT Fünfhaus in Vienna’s 15th district since 1993. The young Croatians from MRK Metalac celebrated earlier in the day, taking home the U14 boys’ title after leaving Union Handball Wienerwald from Lower Austria with no chance in their 25:14 win. In the U16 girls’ final, the team from SMF-HK Zilina in Slovakia emerged victorious with a 17:9 win over Hazena Kynzvart from the Czech Republic, playing before the eyes of Dietmar Baurecht, the District Head of Rudolfsheim-Fünfhaus.
On Saturday afternoon, TJ Sokol Kobylisy II from Prague had already dominated the U12 girls’ final, winning 18:6 against Madx WAT Atzgersdorf. The only Austrian victory in a final was achieved by HC Fivers WAT Margareten in the U12 boys’ competition, where they defeated their local Viennese rivals, West Wien Handball, with a clear 23:12 scoreline.
WAT Fünfhaus and organization director Christoph Zeiml would like to extend their gratitude once again to the roughly 100 volunteers who made the Schmelz tournament possible, as well as to the loyal referees, particularly those who traveled from Bavaria and Leipzig.