Great Britain Scoops Gold In European Tchoukball Championships
Date: 07 August 2006
Great Britain picked up two out of three trophies in the 2006 European Tchoukball Championships in Macolin, Switzerland.
The GB men and Under 18 squads both won gold in exciting and close finals whilst the GB women scooped the silver medal.
The four British teams (men, women and two Under 18s) all made it into the competition finals, taking on Switzerland in four exciting matches.
Thirty-six players from Broadland in Norfolk, Sudbury in Suffolk, Liphook in Hampshire and Portsmouth made up the British contingent.
Richard Jackson, coach of the men’s and women’s squads, praised the performances.
Jackson said:
'Against all opposition, the men's and women's squads played aggressive and dominating Tchoukball. The men’s final was yet another point for point match but our training and discipline won out in the final two minutes. Switzerland currently holds the World title and we beat them with a courageous performance. In am very proud of women’s team. Unfortunately we couldn’t defeat the Swiss this year but the squad put in arguably their best ever performance. The 2007 World Championships is going to be a tightly-fought competition.'
Nina Crisp, Under 18 coach, was thrilled with the success of the younger players.
Crisp said:
'The juniors played a fantastic tournament throughout. Both the first and second teams consistently delivered high-level performances which bodes well for the future of British Tchoukball. The first team’s final was one of the most tense I have watched. They scored the winning point in the dying seconds to clinch the match. Despite being affected by injuries, our second team also won their play-off match against Switzerland 2 to finish third. I am immensely proud of them all.
The Final scores were as follows:
Men's Final
Great Britain 44 – 40 Switzerland
Women's Final
Great Britain 28 – 33 Switzerland
Under 18 Final
Great Britain1 39 – 38 Swizerland1
Under 18 Bronze medal play-off
Great Britain2 42 - 36 Switzerland2
The Great Britain squad will now take a summer break before beginning preparations for the 2007 World Tchoukball Championships in Brazil.
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