# Melbourne's tram team finishes second last in Warsaw

> The Tramaroos competed at the 2026 European TramDriver Championship, where 26 teams tackled precision tasks inspired by real tram driving.
- Title: Melbourne's tram team finishes second last in Warsaw
- Summary: The Tramaroos competed at the 2026 European TramDriver Championship, where 26 teams tackled precision tasks inspired by real tram driving. Melbourne's…
- Keywords: melbourne tramaroos, european tramdriver championship, warsaw, yarra trams, tram competition, ivan cavanagh, claudia barrientos, news, world, Melbourne's, tram, team
- Source: the Guardian — https://theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/sep/20/the-gunzels-grand-final-melbourne-tramaroos-campaign-derails-at-european-tramdriver-championship
- Published: 2026-09-20T08:16:39+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: melbourne tramaroos, european tramdriver championship, warsaw, yarra trams, tram competition, ivan cavanagh, claudia barrientos, news, world
## Melbourne's tram team finishes second last
The Tramaroos competed at the 2026 European TramDriver Championship in Warsaw on Saturday. Despite Melbourne having one of the world's largest tram networks, the team finished second last, ahead only of London.
## Twenty-six teams tackled precision driving tasks
The event featured demanding tasks inspired by tram drivers' day-to-day work. These included smooth stop and go with a water bowl, speed control at twenty-five kilometres per hour, target braking, tram bowling, lateral distance, basketball, and reverse rides guided by whistle commands.
## Prague pair won the championship title
Vendula Tmejová and Zdeněk Rychtář from Prague in the Czech Republic won this year's title. The championship saw thousands of fans watch live in Warsaw, with about eighty thousand viewers worldwide watching via livestream.
## Melbourne's team represented Australia
Yarra Trams sent Ivan Cavanagh from Southbank depot and Claudia Barrientos from Kew depot to compete as the Tramaroos. Australia was the first non-European country chosen to participate when it joined in two thousand twenty-two.
## Cavanagh joked about the trophy's destination
Had the Tramaroos won, the trophy would have gone straight to the pool room, Cavanagh said. Daniel Bowen from the Public Transport Users Association called it an unusual event and an opportunity to find inspiration from other tram systems worldwide.

> straight to the pool room
## Melbourne will host the championship in twenty twenty-seven
The next European TramDriver Championship will be held in Melbourne in two thousand twenty-seven. Bowen said it would be interesting to see if other Australian cities join, given recent light rail extensions in Adelaide, Sydney, Canberra and the Gold Coast.
## Key takeaway

Melbourne's Tramaroos finished second last at the 2026 European TramDriver Championship in Warsaw, ahead only of London among 26 competing teams.