Germany suffered a massive upset on Forklift Racing’s biggest stage

For the past 19 years, competitions for precision, concentration, speed and finesse have been held in Germany. Well, “athletes” need a valid forklift license. yes forklift racing it’s a thing, and the once-dominant German team has relinquished its dominance on its home pitch. Welcome to my new rabbit hole.

The Stapler is the creation of German forklift manufacturer Linde Material Handling. Partly a marketing ploy, I’m sure, but also a recognition of an unsung but vital profession. Makes sense, right? But what does a stapler have to do with forklifts? Everything! Because loader in translation means stapler in German.

According to Wall Street JournalThe StaplerCup debuted in 2005 and was open to certified “Stapler Heroes.” International teams took part in the competition, which was initially held in the country, in 2008. However, the forklift racing was largely dominated by Germany.

Eventually, as word got out about the quirky competition with legitimate bragging rights, more countries took part, and the national competition with international friends turned into an official world championship this year. The previous German Forklift Driving Championship became the World Forklift Driving Championship. Sounds even more intense.

“We’ve seen the StaplerCup community grow and attract participants from more and more countries, so it made perfect sense to expand internationally,” said StaplerCup Sports Director Martin Stadtmüller. press release. “Our goal is to create the world’s largest forklift community, bringing together forklift enthusiasts around the world and finding the best of the best.”

StaplerCup 2024 gathered participants from 11 other countries, mostly European. China, which participated in 2019, was a non-EU entity. Teams and individuals competed in single combat to demonstrate their skill in multiple disciplines. Speed ​​is important, but so is accuracy.

They are not racing on the track (yet), but they don’t use basic palettes either. They stack exercise balls and sort pens or build towers of oddly shaped pieces, then maneuver that load to the side finish line. In the previous competition, contestants were tasked with using a scale model of a forklift to retrieve pieces from a table. It sounds simple enough, but in a double loader style, the model could only be moved with the actual forklift fork it was placed on.

This year, the world championships were held among men, women and national teams. The corporate cup, made up of company teams, is part of the StaplerCup awards but is not recognized as a world championship. The Germans won the individual classes, but it was Belgium, a known underdog, who edged out Germany and Slovakia for the gold medals.

Stadtmüller told WSJ that his countrymen are getting too comfortable, and are looking forward to seeing their long-held dominance challenged.

“I want real competition,” he said. “Sometimes too much confidence can be dangerous.”

Next year, the StaplerCup will have even more qualified participants, including teams from the United States and Canada.