The first edition of the European Para Championships for ten paralympic sports took place in Rotterdam from August 8 to 20. More than 150 gold medals were awarded, considering this event as a big win for the paralympic sport. 

At the European Para Championships from 8 to 20 August, ten different sports were featured: Para cycling, Para archery, Para badminton, Wheelchair tennis, boccia, Goalball, Wheelchair basketball, Para judo, Para shooting sport and Para taekwondo. The multi-sport event also offered the chance for athletes to gain qualification points or direct qualification for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.

A total number of 1,500 athletes from 45 different countries competed in Rotterdam, where also, the 2nd edition of the European Universities Games was held in 2014.

The European University Sports Association (EUSA) was also represented at the event by its Vice-President Mr Bruno Barracosa, who attended the event and met with the President of the European Paralympic Committee (EPC) Mr Raymond Blondel, Vice-Mayor of the City of Rotterdam Mr Vincent Karremans and other partners.

The mission of the European Para Championships is to create a new standard for Paralympic sports events worldwide and to inspire people – with or without disabilities, rich or poor, young or old and regardless of background – to take up sports and exercise. This makes this event a very important for the European Paralympic Committee and sport for people with disabilities in general. 

All the competitions in the city were free to enter and managed to host nearly fifteen thousand visitors that bought the tickets to attend. Special interest was show for the finals of all sports, as large number of matches of the European Para Championships were finished in the city center of Rotterdam.

The European Para Championships will most likely appear on the calendar every four years. Now the event had ten sports with archery, badminton, boccia, cycling, goalball, judo, shooting, taekwondo, wheelchair basketball and wheelchair tennis, an expansion with several sports may be imminent. 

EUSA shares the believes of this event that cooperation, making connections, thinking big and believing in opportunities where others see limitations, will give adaptive sports the attention it deserves, so we will continue offering opportunities of para sports in future EUSA events.

That being said, on the upcoming edition of the European Universities Games in Debrecen and Miskolc, EUSA will again offer participation to people with disabilities, having Para Table Tennis and Sitting Volleyball as the two para disciplines planned to be on the sport schedule. 

The European Para Championships have been a whirlwind of emotions, action, passion for sports, will and unforgettable moments. In the final country ranking, the three most sucesfull countries with the biggest number of medals are: France, Italy and the Netherlands.

A great added value and a great result from this great event are certainly the personal experiences and shared memories of its attendees and viewers.

For more information, please see the official page of the event https://europeanparachampionships.com/