The 2017 Youth Beach Handball World Championship was the first edition of IHF Youth Beach Handball World Championship organised by the Mauritius Handball Association under the auspices of the International Handball Federation. The event was held in Flic-en-Flac, Mauritius from 11 to 16 July 2017. It was played in under-17 years category. It also acted as a qualification tournament for the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics which was held in Buenos Aires (Argentina). Bidding process The International Handball Federation received three bids from Croatia, Hong Kong China and Mauritius for the hosting of 1st IHF Youth (U-17) Beach Handball World Championship. The bids were analyzed by the IHF Beach Handball Working Group. According to the recommendations of the IHF Beach Handball Working Group, the U17 Beach Handball World Championships 2017 should be organized in a country outside Europe to widen the geographical borders of handball. Mauritius offers natural beaches and good climate conditions as well as hotels in walking distance to the venue. The IHF Beach Handball Working Group graded the bidders according to their bidding concept and participation fee per person/per day follows: Croatia 90%, Hong Kong 90% and Mauritius 95%. The IHF Council unanimously awarded the 1st IHF Youth (U-17) Beach Handball World Championships to the Mauritius on 23 July 2016 in a meeting held in Bratislava (Slovakia) on the recommendation of the IHF Beach Handball Working Group. Format The sixteen teams were split into four groups of four teams. After playing a round-robin, the three top ranked team advanced to the main round. Every team kept the points from preliminary round matches against teams who also advance. In the main round every team had three games against the opponents they did not face in the preliminary round. The top four teams of main round will advanced to the quarterfinals. All matches shall be played in 2 X 10 minutes with a half – time of 5 minutes. The team that wins two sets is the winner of a match, according to the official IHF Rules for Beach Handball. Points are awarded as follows: Win = 2 points Defeat = 0 points Tie-breaking criterion If two or more teams have gained the same number of points, after the group matches have been completed, classification is decided as follows: (i) Results in points between the teams concerned (ii) Periods difference in the matches between the teams concerned (iii) Goal points