As part of the Jarun Cup 2026, and in collaboration with the ‘Healthy Under the Sun’ association, a free mole examination for participants and visitors took place at the beach handball mega-event.
Situated beside the number one and two courts, Healthy Under the Sun set up their free drop-in clinic with two dermatologists (doctors) on hand to examine anyone who was interested in checking the health of their moles (skin growths).
The examination took just five minutes with just under 100 people in three hours taking the opportunity to get checked, including Jarun Cup players, coaches, fans and the general public.
“I wanted to check to know if anything is wrong and if so, make the right decision to ensure it doesn’t get worse and make everything good,” said one young male patient. “The service was very good, very quick.”
“I was with a friend at Jarun, and while we were out for a ride, we noticed the stand and decided to get our moles checked,” added one young female patient. “It’s very important to check moles regularly for early detection of any skin changes and I think everyone should do it. There are many free events where people can come and potentially prevent something serious in time.”
To coincide with ‘Melanoma Monday’, traditionally held on the first Monday of May, the Healthy Under the Sun association set up the free day of checks to raise awareness about the importance of regular skin examinations before the summer season, a cause which the Jarun Cup supports fully.
“We are organising this action for the first time because beach handball is an outdoor sport and its players are constantly exposed to the sun,” explained Mladen Paradžik, who is part of the Jarun Cup organising committee.
“The Jarun Cup is traditionally centred around the 1st of May, and with Melanoma Monday on the first Monday of May it formed a good connection, but, more importantly, melanoma is the most serious form of skin cancer and we wanted to promote good sun protection action.
“Around 10 of the people who got checked out had potentially dangerous moles, with three of those potentially really dangerous, so they were referred on for further investigation – this highlights the importance of why these checks are important and why good sun protection is so important.”
The goals of the Healthy Under The Sun Association are the:
– promotion of the importance of responsible behaviour in the sun with the aim of preventing and reducing the number of people suffering from malignant skin tumours
– prevention of various Dermatovenerology diseases
– promotion of general health, healthy habits and healthy eating
– promotion of physical activity for the purpose of preventing various disease
For more information about the Healthy Under The Sun Association and to discuss your own check-up, visit www.zdravipodsuncem.hr.
Quotes from Helena Kvesić.