Just seconds before the game starts girls of the Cyprus International University team are giving high-fives to each other and shout “Hey-hey-hey!” to encourage themselves to play a great match. The final step of preparation and settling for the proper spirit is coming all together and screaming the short name of the university — CIU.

How can the girls describe in one word what beach handball means to them? Easily! Experience, happiness, and fun were the most popular answers.

It is the first time this team competes in an event of such scale, and the crew itself has formed not long ago. The squad from Cyprus is really pleased with organization and atmosphere surrounding EUSA Beach Handball Championship. The same goes for their perception of Zagreb. The team has already visited some sights — cathedrals and shopping malls are among them.

Some participants find it hard to play because of the overheated weather. In fact, it is normally even hotter in Cyprus, so the team of CIU got used to it. However, it is not an easy way for them: in their native place the air is dry, but here, in Zagreb, humidity is higher.

There is also another difficulty in the CIU team. According to the Head coach Tarkan Kayas, all women in Cyprus are usually of short stature, and to play handball properly you need to be taller.

When asked about any rituals the team does before matches, Kayas starts smiling and mentions that the official logo of CIU is a fox, and a mascot always encourages the girls during the games in their motherland. So, maybe we’ll see some mascot foxes dancing soon, he adds.

The CIU squad will maintain an ambitious attitude and go forward. Getting to final is among their plans for the near future, and after the competition, they will restart working hard to prepare for the next season. The aim is to come to the European Universities Games in Belgrade the following summer.

Yulia Kovalenko