Five days of intense competition came to a close on Sunday (17th July) as host nation, The Netherlands took to the court to battle first time finalists, Italy, to the highly coveted European title. Finishing in a 7-2 victory on home soil for The Netherlands, the reigning World and European Champions held firm onto their title leaving Italy with a well deserved silver.

The Bronze medal match saw Germany steal the show with a 9-1 victory over Belgium while a 6-3 Danish win over Switzerland secured a 5th place ranking for the Denmark team. Finland who’s tournament had been a series of draws and close calls, took a convincing 10-2 victory over Spain leaving with a 7th place ranking.

IWAS Powerchair Hockey Chairman, Fabio Rodo said, ‘We saw an impressive sport level on the field, almost all the teams are now so close that each match can end with a surprise. The Netherlands, World and European Champion in our sport, is still the team to chase but all the others are willing to go on doing that! There were doubts about the real chance to  organize such a huge event in such a short time but the LOC under the guidelines of the Technical Delegates accomplished the nearly impossible mission. I can’t stop to thank all the volunteers involved, the supporters and the sponsors that made this European Championship 2016 and the Sports Assembly possible. Looking forward to seeing you all soon for the World Championships in 2018!’

IWAS also extends a special thanks to the IWAS Powerchair Hockey SEC, the Local Organising Committee and volunteers for all their hard work in the organising of the competition and a huge congratulations to all competing teams! Catch up on the action from the live streamed matches here. 

For more information on Powerchair Hockey or for updates and events, please visit the official website.