The results came from three different levels of the international competition structure. The FIBA 3×3 World Tour brings together the leading men’s teams, Challengers provide one of the qualification routes into its events and the Women’s Series follows its own calendar towards the Shanghai Final. The simultaneous competitions underlined the international scale of the circuit as the World Tour moved into its second half and the Women’s Series approached its conclusion.

Baskets Bonn confirm their rise in Lausanne

Lausanne hosted the World Tour for the 13th time at Place de la Navigation, on the shores of Lake Geneva. The city, home to the International Olympic Committee -IOC- since 1915 and officially recognised as the Olympic Capital since 1994, welcomed the circuit back after a five-week break. Baskets Bonn completed an unbeaten tournament and defeated Raudondvaris Hoptrans 21-9 in the final to secure their second title of 2026 after their earlier success in Amsterdam.

Fabian Giessmann was named MVP after scoring 51 points in five games, recording a player value of 59.2 and leading the tournament with 15 dunks. The 21-year-old German had also received the award in Amsterdam. Six different teams have now won at least one of the opening nine stops: Liman, Ub, Baskets Bonn, Miami, Hangzhou Jingwei and Amsterdam RABOBANK. Liman, Ub and Baskets Bonn have each collected two titles. Eight regular events remain before the Rio de Janeiro Final on 12-13 December.

Singapore opens the door to the World Tour

Toulouse secured their first stop title of the season across both the Challenger and World Tour circuits in Singapore. The French team defeated Hangzhou Jingwei 21-12 in the final after also overcoming them during the pool stage. Hugo Suhard hit the title-winning two-pointer and was named MVP after registering 27 points, 20 rebounds, 16 key assists and a player value of 43.6.

The event was the 18th Challenger of the year and awarded three places at the Malaga World Tour stop. Toulouse and Hangzhou Jingwei qualified as the two finalists, while Amsterdam RABOBANK earned the third ticket after completing the podium. The Bordeaux Challenger on 21-22 August and the Beijing Challenger on 22-23 August will offer further qualification opportunities before the World Tour resumes in Debrecen on 29-30 August.

Two Dutch teams extend their presence

The Netherlands U25 team claimed their first Women’s Series title of the season in Singapore after recovering against Slovenia in the final. The Dutch trailed 12-7 with fewer than three minutes remaining but levelled the score and eventually won 16-14 in overtime through a two-pointer from Quinta van Schijndel. Hennie van Schaik was named MVP after scoring 27 points and leading the tournament with 32 rebounds.

The senior Dutch team then extended its own winning run at the Sea Breeze stop in Baku. The Netherlands defeated Madrid 13-8, secured their fifth title of 2026 and recorded a fourth consecutive stop victory. Ilse Kuijt finished as the tournament’s leading scorer with 25 points and received the MVP award. Madrid reached their first final since winning in Vienna after eliminating hosts Neftchi SOCAR in overtime. The Women’s Series will continue in Bordeaux on 19-20 August, with four stops remaining before the Shanghai Final, for which only eight teams will qualify.

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The two Challengers awarded six places at the World Tour stop in Debrecen. Liman, Toulouse and Shanghai secured theirs in Japan, while Miami, Élancourt and Raudondvaris Hoptrans progressed from Birmingham, USA. On the women’s circuit, the Dutch victory tightened the contest near the top of the standings before the Shanghai Final in September.

The Netherlands keep winning

The Netherlands defeated Rapid Bucharest 21-15 in the FIBA 3×3 Women’s Series CS Rapid Final to claim a third consecutive title following victories in Batam and Tokyo. The team now has four wins this season, including its home success in Amsterdam. Noortje Driessen once again played a decisive role and was named tournament MVP after finishing as the leading scorer and guiding her team through the knockout rounds. Rapid Bucharest finished runners-up on home soil, while France and Beijing reached the Semi-Finals.

The result moved the Netherlands into third place in the Women’s Series standings, behind Ulaanbaatar Amazons and Neftchi SOCAR. The Azerbaijani team is led by Alexandra Mollenhauer, the circuit’s top-ranked individual player and one of the central figures behind its titles in Orléans and Marseille. Her influence has also accompanied the international progress of Azerbaijan, runners-up at the 2025 Europe Cup, finalists at the Champions Cup and fourth at the 2026 World Cup. Neftchi and the Netherlands therefore enter the closing stages through different routes: one built on consistency and the other driven by three successive victories.

Uenohara and Birmingham crown their first champions

Liman became the first winner of the Uenohara Challenger after beating Toulouse 19-13. It was the Serbian team’s second consecutive title at this level and secured its place in Debrecen alongside the French finalists and third-placed Shanghai. Dorde Simeunovic received the MVP award. Spain’s representatives included Valencia Basket, who finished fourth, Fuengirola in fifth and Barcelona, who reached the Quarter-Finals. The Barcelona team had already qualified for the Hungarian World Tour stop.

The other inaugural event was the FISE Birmingham Challenger, the first tournament at this level held in USA since 2023. It formed part of the International Festival of Extreme Sports -FISE-, which also brought BMX freestyle and skateboarding to City Walk BHAM. Miami defeated Élancourt 21-15 to win its first Challenger title of the season, with James Parrott named MVP. The French runners-up and third-placed Raudondvaris Hoptrans will accompany the US team to Debrecen. The two new tournaments therefore distributed their places among teams from Serbia, France, China, USA and Lithuania.

Lausanne opens the next chapter

The action will continue on 14 and 15 August with the 13th edition of the FIBA 3×3 World Tour stop in Lausanne, Switzerland. Liman will arrive as the top seed after its Uenohara victory, followed by Antwerp, Raudondvaris Hoptrans, Ulaanbaatar MMC Energy and Baskets Bonn. Valencia Basket will be the Spanish representative and will begin against Liman and Cibona Ph.Classic. The tournament will also bring several teams that have competed in recent Challengers back onto the World Tour stage.

All three sections of the calendar will overlap again during the same week. The Women’s Series will move to Singapore on 13 and 14 August, Lausanne will stage its World Tour event on 14 and 15 August, and Singapore will also host a men’s Challenger on 15 and 16 August. Debrecen will then welcome a women’s stop on 27 and 28 August before its World Tour tournament on 29 and 30 August. The Women’s Series Final, scheduled for 5 and 6 September, will bring the leading teams to Shanghai following a season in which Ulaanbaatar Amazons, Neftchi SOCAR and the Netherlands occupy the top three positions.

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Organised with the support of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie -OIF- and the International Olympic Committee -IOC-, the event is expected to bring together young athletes from several countries and a strong contingent from Senegal. As well as giving them an opportunity to compete in front of a home crowd, the gathering will allow organisers to test the field of play and venue logistics.

Testing a venue ahead of Dakar 2026

Holding Breaking en Francophonie at the venue selected for the Olympic competition will allow organisers to assess its operation during a sporting event and identify any adjustments required before the delegations arrive. WDSF considers the test a decisive step in the joint preparations and an essential technical assessment of the venue.

Dakar 2026 will take place from 31 October to 13 November and bring together approximately 2,700 young athletes aged up to 17. It will be the first Olympic event staged on African soil. Breaking, popularly known as breakdancing, will be part of the Games programme, while the independent Breaking en Francophonie event is being used to test the venue and organisational arrangements during the final months of preparation.

An opportunity for African breaking

The presence of Senegalese breakers alongside international participants will provide a platform for talent from Africa, particularly young athletes from the host country. The event will also present competitive breaking to the local public and highlight its connection with African urban culture on the road to the Games.

Breaking en Francophonie is not part of the Olympic competition, which will be held later during Dakar 2026. The Games programme provides for 24 breaking quota places, divided equally between 12 b-boys and 12 b-girls from different National Olympic Committees. The allocation principles include universality, continental representation, priority for Africa, host-country representation, athletic performance and gender equality. The discipline debuted at the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games, made its senior Olympic debut at Paris 2024 and will return to the youth stage in Dakar.

Training to support the sporting legacy

The weekend programme includes international congresses led by WDSF specialists and technical training sessions for breaking judges and DJs. Delivered as part of the collaboration with OIF, these activities are intended to build sustainable administrative capacity and strengthen the sporting legacy of Dakar 2026.

The collaboration between WDSF, the Organising Committee, the IOC and OIF therefore combines an assessment of the future Olympic venue with youth competition and technical training. The federation presents Breaking en Francophonie as an opportunity to advance preparations for the Games, showcase African urban culture and leave knowledge that can support the development of breaking after Dakar 2026.

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Athens, Darkhan and Hanchuan all made their Challenger debuts, occupying the 13th, 14th and 15th positions on the 2026 calendar. FIBA used three contrasting settings: the Panathenaic Stadium, associated with the first modern Olympic Games in 1896; the Darkhan United Arena, located in one of the countries where 3×3 has developed a particularly strong following; and the Tianyu Lake Scenic Area, which brought the circuit into a natural setting. Tokyo completed the programme with 16 teams competing in the second arena of the Yoyogi complex.

Three new destinations on the Pro Circuit

Ub became the first Athens Challenger champion after defeating Amsterdam RABOBANK 18-15. Fuengirola finished third and secured the last of the three World Tour places available in the Greek capital. The Serbian team strengthened its position among the season’s leading sides and claimed its third Challenger title of 2026, following previous victories in Cáceres and Novi Sad. Strahinja Stojacic was named MVP as the circuit staged an event inside one of the most historic venues in Olympic sport.

The competition then moved to Darkhan, where Liman completed five victories and defeated Chinese side DeQing 21-14. Toronto finished third and joined both finalists in qualifying for the World Tour. It was Liman’s first Challenger title of 2026, although the team had already won World Tour stops in Utsunomiya and Ulaanbaatar, becoming the first side to claim two victories on the main circuit this season. Stefan Milivojevic, who also played a leading role in the success achieved in the Mongolian capital, received the MVP award in Darkhan.

Lausanne completes the nine qualifiers

Hanchuan concluded the series of inaugural events with Lausanne’s first Challenger title of 2026. The Swiss team defeated Skyliners 22-14 in the Final beside Tianyu Lake, while Taipei WanBao finished third. Natan Jurkovitz was named MVP and Jonathan Kazadi led Lausanne in scoring. The result added a different champion after Ub and Antwerp had each accumulated three Challenger titles during the season, and gave the Swiss side its first victory at this level of the Pro Circuit in 2026.

The three tournaments qualified Ub, Amsterdam RABOBANK, Fuengirola, Liman, DeQing, Toronto, Lausanne, Skyliners and Taipei WanBao. The nine places went to teams associated with eight countries or territories: Serbia supplied two qualifiers, while the Netherlands, Spain, China, Canada, Switzerland, Germany and Chinese Taipei were represented by one each. FIBA has not yet confirmed the specific World Tour stops to which the places will be assigned. The distribution illustrates how the Challenger system connects local events with the World Tour and provides access to the main circuit through results achieved in different regions.

Tokyo keeps the race to Shanghai open

The Women’s Series followed a different model by bringing together national teams, under-25 selections and private teams. Its 16 participants represented 12 countries or territories, with particularly broad participation from Asia and Europe. The Netherlands completed an unbeaten tournament and defeated Mitsubishi Electric 21-16 as the Japanese team reached its first Final of the season in front of a home crowd. Japan finished third and Beijing placed fourth. Ilse Kuijt, who scored 41 points during the event, was named MVP. It was the Netherlands’ third title of 2026 after previous victories in Amsterdam and Batam, making them the first participant to reach that total this season.

The calendar will continue on 8 and 9 August with Challengers in Uenohara, Japan, and at FISE Birmingham in the United States, where further World Tour places will be awarded. The Women’s Series will move to Bucharest, Romania, on the same dates, offering more points in the race to the Project Redwings Shanghai Final. The women’s season finale is scheduled for 5 and 6 September, while the teams that qualified through Athens, Darkhan and Hanchuan must wait for FIBA to confirm their assigned World Tour stops.

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Through seminars and workshops, the Youth Worlds created spaces to discuss integrity, clean sport, health, nutrition and the safeguarding of young athletes. The activities involved not only competitors but also coaches, parents and medical staff, recognizing that the environment surrounding a developing athlete plays a fundamental role in their well-being. World Climbing delegates and external specialists addressed these topics through real-life situations, seeking to provide climbers with tools that can support them both in and out of competition.

Integrity and clean sport from the early years of competition

One of the workshops was led by Andrew Whittingham, Head of Education at Sportradar Integrity Services, and addressed risks that are part of modern sport, including competition manipulation, responsible use of social media and respect for codes of conduct. Through examples and discussions with participants, the session placed particular emphasis on recognizing situations that could compromise sporting integrity and on the importance of giving young athletes the tools to respond to them. Rather than simply presenting a set of prohibitions, the goal was to develop the ability to make informed decisions in situations that could have consequences for their sporting careers.

Anti-doping education also played an important role through a collaboration with the International Testing Agency (ITA). In addition to a session dedicated to clean sport, an information point was set up where athletes could ask questions about testing, medications, supplements, rights and responsibilities. Armando Urban, ITA Education Manager, highlighted that understanding these issues can reduce the risk of unintentional rule violations while protecting both athletes’ health and their careers. The work with young athletes, coaches and families sought to introduce this knowledge from an early stage, when many competitors begin facing increasingly demanding competitive environments.

Health, nutrition and safeguarding to support growth

The physical development of a young climber presents different challenges from those faced by an adult athlete. Dr. Krystle R. Tuano, Medical Delegate for the Youth Climbing World Championships, led a workshop on pediatric injuries, fractures and Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S), also aimed at coaches, medical professionals and parents. The session explored how to recognize injuries specific to a still-developing body, identify warning signs and understand the role that proper nutrition plays in health and bone development. In a discipline where physical performance can become increasingly important from an early age, the workshop focused on balancing competition with healthy growth and a sustainable sporting career.

This concern for well-being also extended to the emotional and social dimensions of sport. In a session led by Andrea Vaccaro, a specialist in child safeguarding across different sports and organizations, participants worked on the principles needed to create safe sporting environments, recognize harmful behaviors and prevent situations that could affect young athletes. The initiative is part of an approach that World Climbing intends to continue at future youth events, incorporating education into the competitive experience and encouraging athletes, coaches, families and organizations to share responsibility for creating an environment where young people can develop as they progress through their sporting careers.

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The race will also arrive at a special moment on the calendar. It will take place on the final day of the World Skate Games ASU26, following more than two weeks dedicated to roller sports, and will also close the program of the Speed Skating World Championships. For the athletes, Asunción will represent much more than another stop on the season: it will be the meeting point for national teams, Tour teams, individual competitors, masters and amateur skaters, turning the marathon into an encounter between the elite and an international community united by the same passion for skating.

World Skate Games ASU26 will bring skating to the heart of Asunción

The Speed Skating World Championships will take place from October 10 to 18 as part of the World Skate Games ASU26. The track events will be held at the Paraguayan Olympic Committee, while the road races, 100-meter sprint and highly anticipated marathon will bring the competition into central Asunción. The program will feature junior and senior athletes competing in sprint, points, elimination and relay events, building nine days of competition toward the long-distance race on Sunday, October 18.

The Paraguayan event will welcome the World Skate Marathon Tour after a season that began on March 29 in Shanghai, where more than 1,200 professional, amateur and young skaters took to the city’s streets. Bart Swings claimed victory in the men’s professional category, while Lianne van Loon won the women’s race after a tight final sprint. Later, the Challenger stage in Pamplona brought further victories for Swings and María José Quiroz. That international journey will now lead to Asunción, where the pressure will be different given the importance of the titles and points at stake.

A marathon with world titles and World Skate Marathon Tour points

The Asunción race will have a unique competitive dimension because every result will have an impact on two fronts. Athletes will seek to become marathon world champions while also competing for WSMT ranking points, prize money and the Tour leader jerseys. National teams, squads registered in the circuit and individual competitors will share the course, while the masters categories will include age groups ranging from 30 to 75 years and over. This broad participation will allow different generations to be part of a day built around the same distance and the same challenge.

Participation will begin to take shape months before the skaters reach the starting line. Official registration through the World Skate Infinity platform will be open from July 1 to September 10, 2026. Athletes representing their national federations must be registered directly by those federations, while independent and masters athletes will be able to complete the registration process individually for the WSMT Asunción stage. Amateur registration will be managed by the Local Organizing Committee, expanding an event that aims to maintain the inclusive spirit of the Tour while the world’s elite prepare to compete in the heart of the Paraguayan capital in one of the season’s most significant marathons.

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The three tournaments served different purposes within the calendar. The men’s Challenger in Novi Sad awarded three places at the FIBA 3×3 World Tour Malaga 2026, while the two women’s events distributed Race to the Final points for the FIBA 3×3 Women’s Series. The same weekend therefore connected a qualifying route into the leading men’s circuit with two stops on the women’s competition across Europe and Asia.

Novi Sad awards three World Tour Malaga places

Ub secured their first Novi Sad Challenger title by defeating Liman 20-19 in an all-Serbian final. Filip Kaluđerović scored the decisive basket with 30 seconds remaining and Nenad Nerandžić was named tournament MVP. The victory added another achievement for one of the professional circuit’s leading teams in a city closely associated with the international development of 3×3 basketball.

The result sent Ub through to Malaga alongside Antwerp and Fuengirola, who finished third and fourth respectively. Liman were runners-up, but the Challenger conditions allowed only one Serbian team to qualify directly, meaning the other two places went to the next eligible sides in the standings. Fuengirola reached the semi-finals to secure their World Tour appearance, while Valencia Basket also competed in Novi Sad.

Rapid Bucharest and Ulaanbaatar win the two women’s events

Rapid Bucharest defeated Austria 17-12 in the Baku final to claim their second consecutive Women’s Series title. The Romanian team had won their first circuit event one week earlier in Cáceres and completed another unbeaten campaign. Hortense Limouzin was named the stop’s MVP as Austria reached their first final of the season. Lithuania and Slovenia occupied the next two positions, while Spain finished sixth among the 16 participants.

Jinan joined the Women’s Series calendar for the first time with another 16-team field drawn from Asia and Europe. Ulaanbaatar Amazons defeated France 20-19 to secure their second title of the season after eliminating the host nation and Mitsubishi Electric during the knockout stage. Amari Robinson scored the deciding basket with the scores level and Khulan Onolbaatar was named tournament MVP. The victory gave the Mongolian team further points in their attempt to qualify for the Series Final.

The Women’s Series continues in Indonesia

The simultaneous Baku and Jinan events distributed 32 places among teams and national sides from Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas. The Azerbaijani stop included representatives from Chile, Brazil, Uganda, Benin and Singapore, alongside several European teams. The Chinese event brought together national sides and city or commercially backed teams from France, Germany, Japan, Thailand, the Philippines and Mongolia. This format allows the Women’s Series to combine national teams with other structures within the same international standings.

The women’s circuit will continue in Batam on 23 and 24 July, with further Race to the Final points available. The Indonesian city will subsequently stage a men’s Challenger, extending the sequence of events connected to FIBA 3×3’s two leading professional pathways. Ub, Antwerp and Fuengirola will take that connection into the World Tour in Malaga after earning qualification in Novi Sad.

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The arrival of GRAVITEO fits into a broader change at the Circuit. The Montmeló venue has not stopped placing motorsport at the centre of its identity, but the operation of an infrastructure of this size can no longer depend only on major Formula 1, MotoGP or endurance competitions. The strategy is to add activity across more days of the year, attract new audiences and generate complementary revenue that also helps sustain the sporting business of motorsport.

GRAVITEO, an urban festival with a federative base

The competitive core of the festival is built around eight official events. In climbing, the programme includes the European Boulder Championship and a World Climbing Europe Series speed event, as well as the Spanish Nordic Walking Cup. In wheeled disciplines, the Royal Spanish Skating Federation will oversee the Spanish Skateboarding Championships in Street and Vert, the Spanish Roller Freestyle Championships in Street and Vert, and the Spanish Scooter Street Championship.

The approach, however, is not limited to elite competition. GRAVITEO will include popular running, skating and duathlon events, as well as basketball 3×3, pickleball and hybrid strength-and-endurance circuit exhibitions. Entry and parking will be free with prior registration, within a format that seeks to combine championship, festival and public participation. The organisation expects to bring together more than 700 athletes and attract thousands of visitors over the three days.

Urban sport designed as an experience

The festival represents an increasingly common way of presenting urban sport: not only as competition, but as an experience event. Live music, DJ sessions, food trucks, brand areas, exhibitions and public activities will accompany the official competitions. That combination allows the Circuit to operate as a sports venue, but also as a cultural, commercial and leisure space.

From the federative perspective, the event is also being framed as an opportunity. Bernat Clarella, president of the Spanish Federation of Mountain and Climbing Sports, described it as a chance to place Catalonia at the centre of international climbing and highlighted the combination of national competitions, international events and popular activities. From the Government of Catalonia, sports minister Berni Álvarez has linked this type of project to a vision of “360-degree sports”, in which sport is also understood through its social, territorial and economic impact.

The Circuit as a year-round business platform

That model connects with the new stage of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya under the commercial operation of Fira Circuit. In 2025, the first full year with Fira de Barcelona in charge of management, the venue closed with €46 million in revenue, 7% more than the previous year, and pre-tax profit of €2.7 million. Fira Circuit also paid an annual fee of €11.5 million to Circuits de Catalunya, above the €9 million initially expected.

The key to the change lies in venue occupancy. The Circuit recorded its highest activity level in the last decade in 2025, with more than 650,000 visitors and very high annual occupancy. Racing remains essential, but the calendar is increasingly completed with corporate events, business meetings, hospitality experiences, cultural activities, music, innovation, mobility and leisure. The logic is not to replace motorsport, but to make better use of an infrastructure that for years concentrated much of its value in a handful of race weekends.

More uses to keep motorsport at the centre

The Circuit Strategic Plan had already pointed in that direction before Fira Circuit entered the picture. The roadmap proposed a more sustainable, innovative, industrial and digital model, linked to mobility, the automotive sector, Industry 4.0, fairs, congresses, live music, other sporting events and e-sports. In that vision, Montmeló had to remain an international competition benchmark, but also become a driving infrastructure for new economic and technological uses.

GRAVITEO fits into that strategy because it opens the Circuit to disciplines and audiences that do not necessarily arrive through Formula 1 or MotoGP. The festival does not change the venue’s economics on its own, but it does exemplify the model being built: more days of activity, more formats, more corporate and cultural business, and greater capacity to turn the Circuit into a year-round platform. That diversification helps motorsport remain viable in Montmeló, rather than displacing it, within an infrastructure seeking profitability without losing its main sporting identity.

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The run of tournaments reflects the usual density of a circuit that combines national teams, professional teams and projects linked to cities or clubs. Bucharest opened the week in the women’s calendar, Marseille will take over across both the women’s and men’s circuits, and Xiantao will again place China and Asia on the Women’s Series map. Spain also appears on two fronts: as champions in Bucharest and with men’s representation in Marseille through Fuengirola and Barcelona.

Spain find reward in Bucharest

Spain’s title was built through a low-scoring final against Lithuania. The Baltic side started better and moved 4-1 ahead, but Spain adjusted from defence, drew level midway through the game and closed the final with the last four points, scored by Helena Oma and Marta Canella. Before the title game, Spain had beaten Ireland and Poland on the opening day, Netherlands U25 in the quarter-finals and the Netherlands, the top seed, 17-14 in the semi-finals.

Alba Prieto finished the tournament as the most valuable player, with the best player value of the competition, 30 points and 11 two-pointers made, a figure she shared at the top with Kamile Nacickaite-van der Horst. Her performance summed up a Spanish win built on collective balance and perimeter production. Lithuania, meanwhile, produced one of the tournament’s most notable runs after advancing from the Qualifying Draw and putting together six wins before the final, including victories over Germany, Latvia, Czechia and Rapid Bucharest.

Marseille and Xiantao continue the Women’s Series

The Women’s Series will have barely any pause after Bucharest. Marseille takes over on 3 and 4 July, before the circuit moves back to China for the Xiantao stop on 4 and 5 July. The continuity between venues maintains the competitive rhythm of a season in which the women’s circuit alternates national teams, under-25 structures, clubs and local projects within an increasingly distributed international calendar.

Xiantao features a field with a strong Asian presence and several established teams on the circuit. Ulaanbaatar Amazons will start as top seeds, followed by Yanjing, Mongolia, Thailand and Philippines. The Main Draw is organised into four pools: Ulaanbaatar Amazons will share Pool A with Manila and Amgalan; China will lead Pool B alongside Takasaki and Sukhbaatar; Yanjing will be in Pool C with Philippines and the winner of Qualifying Draw A; and Mongolia will headline Pool D with Thailand and the winner of Qualifying Draw B.

The men’s World Tour settles in Marseille

The French city will also host the FIBA 3×3 World Tour Marseille 2026, with several of the leading teams from the men’s circuit. Ub arrives as top seed and will share Pool A with Barcelona and Marijampole MANTINGA. Liman, the number-one team of the season and recent champion in Ulaanbaatar, will lead Pool B alongside Fuengirola and Los Angeles. Antwerp will play in Pool C with Toulouse and Zvornik, while Raudondvaris Hoptrans, Hangzhou Jingwei and Élancourt will form a Pool D featuring several teams capable of challenging in the knockout rounds.

The line-up also brings together very different profiles across the circuit. Strahinja Stojacic again appears as Ub’s reference point; Stefan Milivojevic arrives with the momentum of his MVP award in Ulaanbaatar; Jonaes Foerts supports Antwerp’s recent growth; Vuk Borovićanin represents Hangzhou Jingwei’s competitive step forward; and Franck Seguela will have the home element with Toulouse. From a Spanish perspective, Diego De Blas and Jaume Zanca bring part of Spain’s recent momentum to Marseille after qualification for the FIBA 3×3 Europe Cup 2026. Without turning the week into a turning point, Bucharest, Marseille and Xiantao offer a clear picture of the current 3×3 calendar: connected venues, active men’s and women’s circuits, and Spanish presence in more than one competitive line.

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The meeting brought together continental delegates, federation officials and guests to review the progress of European DanceSport, approve statutory matters and set priorities for the coming years. DSE president Robert Wota said the Assembly combined the usual administrative obligations with an active climate of participation among federations. “The energy was exceptionally high, and the meeting was both concise and focused,” he said.

DanceSport Connect, the bet until 2032

The main project presented in Rome was DanceSport Connect: United Through Movement, a platform designed to run until 2032 and connect competition, community, education, institutions, governments, sponsors and local organisers. The programme was presented by Kris Spaho, DSE commissioner and project leader, and stands as Europe’s major bet to create a more structured environment around young athletes.

Wota explained that the goal is to build a more stable foundation for the future of the sport in Europe. “The purpose and scope of DSC is to create a better environment and a structure for the future of DanceSport in Europe,” he said. The platform aims to organise the different elements of the ecosystem, from competitions to educational programmes, institutional partners, public administrations, official sponsors and local organisers.

DanceSport enters the classroom

One of the most concrete new features of DanceSport Connect will be its connection with the education system. The DSC Cup will begin with events in Albania and North Macedonia, and will allow participants to register the details of their academic institutions. From there, DSE will be able to issue official recognition certificates addressed to schools or universities, with the aim of raising the institutional prestige of DanceSport and attracting new participants to national federations.

The project also includes the DSC DanceSport College, a free training structure for young athletes. “All group lessons will be free of charge for all participants in the competitions,” Wota explained. The proposal aligns with the message delivered by WDSF president Shawn Tay, who urged continental bodies to dedicate core resources to raising the competitive level of new generations. For DSE, that priority does not represent a change of direction, but the confirmation of a path already focused on the Juvenile and Junior categories.

Youth circuits and new formats

The Assembly also reviewed the evolution of the DSE European Grand Prix, a ranking circuit for Juvenile and Junior categories that is approaching its tenth anniversary. The data presented showed a stable trajectory between 2025 and 2026, with almost 700 couples from 33 countries. The circuit remains open to all WDSF-registered athletes in order to support local organisers, although official ranking points and prize vouchers remain reserved for athletes from DSE member countries.

Another highlighted project was the DanceSport Europe Team Challenge Cup, a national team format featuring Standard, Latin and a team show performance. DSE directly subsidises organisers to provide free accommodation for national team members, a measure designed to increase participation and facilitate the presence of more countries. “The primary objective of this initiative is to facilitate the inclusion of more exceptional couples and diverse countries in the event,” Wota said, while also pointing to the possibility of adding another discipline next year.

Financial stability and support for Ukraine

The financial review presented by the treasurer and financial controllers confirmed a stable, transparent and sustainable position for DanceSport Europe. Continental reserves allow structural investment in grassroots development, youth circuits and direct athlete support systems. At the same time, the Assembly unanimously approved freezing all annual membership fees for 2027, with the aim of protecting national federations from inflationary pressures.

The meeting also reaffirmed support for the All-Ukrainian DanceSport Federation. The Assembly voted unanimously to maintain the exemption from its annual membership fee for 2026, while preserving all its rights, including the vote during the legislative weekend. Wota recalled that the European community has supported the Ukrainian federation for three years since the start of the war. “Our community unanimously approved this request, and we have been providing support for three years,” he said.

The DSE Assembly also served as the starting point for the WDSF institutional weekend in Rome. Tay linked the European roadmap with the WDSF’s global objectives. “The innovative roadmap presented by DSE in Rome mirrors our global objectives. By targeting the grassroots and bridging the gap with academic institutions, Europe is building a sustainable ecosystem that ensures our sport grows responsibly from its very foundations,” he said. The final message from Rome left a shared idea: the future of European DanceSport depends on connecting federations, young athletes, education and local structures within the same growth project.

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