Team of the best drivers travels to Germany at the end of September
As reigning English forklift driving champions, Chris Green, Simon Hughes and Ian McKenna will participate in the 3rd International Championships in Aschaffenburg, Germany on 25 and 26 September 2009. Nine countries will send teams of their three best forklift drivers to the international contest as England, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Sweden, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland and Spain this year take on Germany, the title defender. In front of thousands, the final of the German Forklift Driving Championships will see the national teams compete against each other in qualifying rounds to find out which is Europe's best forklift nation.
Aschaffenburg is considered to be the center of the stacking sport, and is now playing host for the fourth time to the final round of the forklift championships. More than 6,500 drivers have entered the unusual contest in Germany since 2005 and over 14,000 spectators attended the 2008 final on Aschaffenburg's Schlossplatz. The sole requisite for participation in the competition is possession of a forklift driver's license, but it's experience, instinct, and speed that really count.
Still, the competition is not only hugely popular in Germany. Starting in 2007, many other countries have introduced national championships in forklift driving, where reigning champions are pitted every year against each other in national teams in the International Championships held as part of the top German contest. After 2008, interest outside Germany has once again grown, bringing the event a good deal closer to its ultimate goal of becoming a genuine European championship.