“This European Championship was short track. As it’s meant to be.”

The ISU Odido Short Track European Championships 2026 unfolded exactly as the sport is meant to be experienced. Close to the ice, packed stands, high intensity. Sold out on Saturday and Sunday. On Friday, an arena filled with children from Tilburg and the surrounding area. New audiences, focused eyes, loud cheers. Perhaps these are the fans of tomorrow.

For TeamNL, it felt like coming home. After the event, Xandra Velzeboer and Michelle Velzeboer spoke about the energy coming from the stands and what it means to race a European Championship on home soil.

Jens van ’t Wout (three times gold, once silver) and Melle van ’t Wout showed how elite sport can truly move you, with his first medal in a long time. Fast, raw, surprising and visible. That is exactly what makes short track short track. For the athletes on the road to Milan–Cortina, it provides confidence with the Olympic Games approaching.

The Championships were also a moment of reflection. On where the sport stands in the Netherlands today. From pioneering with Sjinkie Knegt to consistently competing with the world’s best. With the support of the KNSB. With builders of the sport, living legends like Sjinkie Knegt. And with an audience that keeps coming back.

Tournament director Cees Juffermans put it succinctly:
“This European Championship showed where the Netherlands stands in short track. Strong on the ice, ahead of its time organisationally, and with the best fans filling the stands. This European Championship was short track. As it’s meant to be.”

For TIG Sports, that is where the value lies. Not in applause for ourselves, but in what we organize together. Something we do together. With partners, the federation, the city and volunteers. An event that feels right, in a sport that is growing, a city that wants it, and because our visitors experience something that stays with them.

Finally, this photo.
The crew. The volunteers. The KNSB. The organisation.
Without them, no European Championship. Without them, no short track as it’s meant to be.