"Tram driver Sally Burgess has never deliberately collided with another object on the track until last weekend, that is, when she hit a giant ball as hard as she could with the bumper of her tram. The goal: to knock down a series of 2-metre-tall rubber pins, like oversized skittles, lined up on the track ahead. I said I would smash the ball and I smashed the ball, Burgess tells Guardian Australia."
"Far from an ill-advised jape, this giant game of tram bowling was a serious competitive bout. Burgess was in Vienna, Austria, with her colleague Craig Maher, representing Melbourne, Australia, in the world tram driver championship. The tournament has traditionally been a European affair, but Australia became the first non-European country to compete on account of Melbourne's extensive tram network in Leipzig, Germany, in 2022."
"A 250-metre-long section of track was cordoned off in the city centre to host the championship, and more than 15,000 spectators attended over the course of the day, with many more watching it via livestream. Thousands turned out to see the event in the centre of Vienna. Photograph: Elisabeth Mandl/Reuters The games involved each team completing eight challenges twice over, with the drivers alternating roles each time, and points awarded for precision and timing."
Tram drivers from 25 cities competed in a global tram driver championship held in Vienna, performing precision and timing challenges on a 250-metre cordoned-off city-centre track. Teams of two alternated driving roles across eight challenges completed twice, with points for precision and timing. Events included tram bowling (knocking over 2-metre rubber pins), tram curling (pushing a trolley to a target), speed-and-target braking, and reversing aided by a whistle. More than 15,000 spectators attended the day, with many more watching via livestream. Melbourne’s duo represented Australia after the city first competed in Leipzig in 2022.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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