The first season of the Wheelchair Handball Bundesliga RHBL threw off on Saturday, 22 February, in Hanover, with seven teams at the start – six from Germany and one from the Netherlands, in a round-robin format, which provided hugely entertaining matches.

Six teams from Germany - ThSV Eisenach e.V., TuS Eicklingen e.V., TSV Wefensleben 1990 e.V Freiwurf Hamburg e.V., TuS Fürstenfeldbruck, Rollstuhl-Sportgemeinschaft Hannover‘94 e.V. – were at the start of the competition, while one team from the Netherlands, CSV Handbal, also took part, but their results were not taken into account in the standings of the Wheelchair Handball Bundesliga RHBL.

Nevertheless, CSV Handbal had plenty of players in their roster which have already featured in international competitions for the Netherlands national team and dominated the proceedings, finishing on the first place in the competition.

However, with CSV Handbal not taking part in the official rankings in the Wheelchair Handball Bundesliga RHBL, the second place in the competition topped the standings, with RSG Blue Bandits – Hannover taking the laurels, after a clear 8:0 win against Blue Lions Eisenach.

The Blue Bandits Hanover are now topping the standings with five points, followed by the Blue Lions Eisenach, with four points, Brucker Panther’n’Roll with three points, Red Ants Eicklingen, with two points and Black Hawks Wefensleben, with one point.

‘I am incredibly proud of what we have achieved for German wheelchair handball in such a short space of time. I am particularly impressed by the level of play that the German teams have now reached. This tournament was an important step for the further development of our sport,’ said Dr Meike Lüder-Zinke, Head of Wheelchair Handball at the DRS and 1st Chairwoman of the Wheelchair Sports Association Hannover ‘94 e.V.

The second tournament of the Wheelchair Handball Bundesliga RHBL will take place in Celle, on 5 April.

Credit photo: Rollstuhlhandball Deutschland / Michael Thieme