Experience matters on the handball courts in Tampere as the 17th edition of the annual European Masters starts Thursday 29 June, with the finals scheduled for Sunday 2 July.
The tournament is part of the fifth European Masters Games, which include 29 sports in total.
The handball tournament consists of four age categories, with 19 teams from eight different countries taking part (teams in italic are the defending champions from the European Masters 2022 in Granollers):
- Women 33+/43+
Angyalok (HUN), Lynge Uggeløse (DEN), FIF/HØJ (DEN), Dicken (FIN)
- Men 35+
Balonmano Granada Veteranos (ESP), HK Pötsi (FIN), Masters Porto (POR), Sierra Handball (ESP)
- Men 45+/50+
Budapest Old Boys 45 (HUN), Budapest Old Boys 50 (HUN), Kolding IF (DEN), Flying Finns Oldboys (FIN)
- Men 55+
- group A: FGO Odesa (UKR), Oldi Szczecin Polska (POL), Silesia Polska (POL), MAFC Masters Budapest (HUN)
- group B: WKPR Masters Warszawa (POL), Budapest Old Boys 55 (HUN), HC Viimsi (EST)
The full playing schedule is available here. All matches are played over 2x15 minutes without a break and team timeouts. However, the four finals are 2x20 minutes including a five-minute break at half-time plus one team timeout per half.
The finals on Sunday start at 9:00 CEST and will be available on a paid livestream on the 2023 European Masters Games website. Viewers need to buy a pass for 10 euro which gives access to all four handball finals.