It’s time to talk about the really serious part of this tournament. Everyone spends time training, preparing and getting themselves ready to compete at a high level, sure, but what we really all care about is who looks good whatever they’re doing on the sand. As always, there are some really cool jerseys at this tournament, some teams with cool shorts and some teams who should burn whatever they’re wearing at their earliest possible convenience (there’s some very cool stuff in the VC tent for those players who do the honourable thing, so they’ll definitely be able to find a good replacement).
Here is the definitive list of the best kits at the European Beach Ultimate Championships ahead of the traditional trading night this evening. As always, the method used to determine these kits is entirely and highly scientific and disagreement will not be tolerated.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS
There are some nice shirts that just miss out on our top six this time around. Poland have a nice, clean look with some subtle sublimation that looks good. The Spanish darks are also very nice and the Dutch orange is a classic – both suffer slightly from being a bit cluttered due to the sponsor but it’s cool to see teams being able to get sponsors so we give them a slight pass. The Great Britain red is also very nice, and the Ukrainian men have a blue shirt that is lovely, with a logo I haven’t seen before.
Ukraine looking very cool. Photo by Illia Shypunov
The best honourable mention, who can consider themselves unlucky to be missing out on the top six, is Luxembourg, who have a red that works wonderfully.
Luxembourg are unfortunate to miss out on our top six. Photo by Verena Brucklacher
DISHONOURABLE MENTIONS
The other Ukrainian shirts, with the numerous lines, are a bit cluttered for our liking. The Slovakian jerseys with lots of cool elements but all together we find it a bit much, and mixed master’s Finnish shirts made our eyes go funny with all the patterns. Without a doubt, though, the Currier Islands take the title in this particular category with their incredibly busy jersey and shorts pairing. Sincerest apologies to the proud residents of Currier for this slander.
TOP SIX
Denmark white
In this beauty and the beast shot, you can see Denmark’s shorts. Photo by Robert Engelbrecht
As modelled in the cover photo for this story, this is a classy shirt, recycled from WCBU. The shorts are also a key part of the overall grade here, as they’re also very cool.
Czech Republic light blue
Look at these hats! Photo by Illia Shypunov
The colour works well and isn’t one you generally see on Ultimate jerseys. These look best when paired with a trilby, as stylishly demonstrated here.
Austria black
Austria modelling their darks. Photo by Illia Shypunov
Subtle sublimation works well here too, with the slightly lighter section rising up through the typically Austrian white and red swoosh.
Russia black
The shirts without the white part are the ones we’re talking about here. Photo by Robert Engelbrecht
The contrast between the Russian flag colours and the black works really well here. Another shirt we’ve seen before but another that’s just too good to ignore.
Germany white
No frills but all style. Photo by Verena Brucklacher
Germany always come with a clean, understated aesthetic and this time is no different. The almost entirely plain white features clear black writing and the colours of the German flag in a subtle way near the text. Extra marks for the names being so easy to read when commentating or taking notes.
Portugal black
A beach classic, with bonus mood lighting. Photo by Robert Engelbrecht
Yes, we know, this one is something of an obvious statement. We’ve heard conflicting views on the traditional burgundy shirts of the Portuguese squads, with some people enjoying the colour and some not fans. The black shirts, though, are seemingly universally loved. The gold detail on the side, the pairing with the shorts, these jerseys are classics.
Let us know what you think by using #ebuc2019 on social media – did we miss your team out? Did we say unkind things about your small, possibly fictional island nation? Do you want to organise a ritualistic kit burning? We’d love to hear from you whatever you think of the top six!
Featured photo by Illia Shypunov
