20th June 2013 01:00
But Gateshead is just one of four venues which can expect drama and excitement. Dublin stages the 1st League, Kaunas the 2nd League and Banska Bystrica the 3rd League, with promotion and relegation at stake.
The Championships began in 2009, replacing the European Cup with 46 teams divided into four groups based on their performances in the 2008 Cup, and instead of separate competitions for men and women, countries formed as one team.
As the hours tick away to this year’s event, it's time to look back over the history of the competition starting with 2009 ...
When Germany showed the meaning of strength in depth
When Germany showed the meaning of strength in depth
Leiria was the venue for the opening Super League event of the SPAR European Team Championships and Germany were crowned the first champions. They achieved their success with 326.5 points, beating Russia by just 6.5 points with Great Britain third with 303. But the host country suffered the disappointment of finishing in the bottom three and being relegated.
Germany showed the essence of what this competition is all about: the spirit of the team.
They had only five winners over the two days, but it was the supplementary places that was a key to lifting the trophy and showed how vital even the odd point can be.
German athletes finished second in five disciplines and third in six, proving how important the positions even away from the podium spots are in this competition.
Among those five winners - one man (Mark Frank in the javelin) and four women – were Antje Moldner-Schmidt in the 3000m steeplechase and Christine Obergfoll in the javelin who are both in the team in Gateshead.
But they also had stars of the future with Robert Harting among them. He was second in the discus in a career where he is now the Olympic, double world and European champion.
It was the same in the British side. Mo Farah won the 5000m and Dai Greene won the 400m hurdles, delivering signs of what the next few years would hold for them both.
Farah progressed to win the 5000m and 10,000m double at the European Athletics Championships the following summer, let alone his Olympic double last year and retaining his European 5000m crown, while Greene also won the European title in Barcelona in 2010 and then became world champion 12 months later.
Bergen hosted the1st League which saw Belarus triumph but Serbia finished bottom of the table. Among the Belarusian points-scorers was shot-putter Alena Kopets, third then and who in Göteborg in March won bronze at the European Athletics Indoor Championships. Finland, who were also promoted, had their star javelin thrower Tero Pitkamaki thrill the crowd with a brilliant 86.78m while Norway’s leading sprinter Jaysuma Saidy Ndure won the 100m and 200m double.
The 2nd League was held in Banska Bystrica with Lithuania finishing first. They won 10 of the events including the shot put where Austra Skujyte, the 2004 Olympic heptathlon silver medallist, triumphed with 17.21m. Bulgaria and Cyprus were relegated.
Sarajevo staged the 3rd League with Israel being crowned champions on a weekend of eight national records and three national junior records being set among the 13 countries.
1st European Athletics Team Championships (weekend of June 20-21, 2009)
RESULTS
Super League (bottom three relegated), Leiria
1. Germany 326.5; 2. Russia 320; 3. Great Britain 303; 4. France 301; 5. Poland 289; 6. Italy 278; 7. Ukraine 265.5; 8. Spain 257; 9. Greece 216.5; 10. Czech Republic 213.5; 11. Portugal 200; 12. Sweden 138.
1st League (top three promoted, bottom two relegated), Bergen
1. Belarus 332; 2. Finland 289; 3. Norway 279; 4. Netherlands 274; 5. Belgium 269.5; 6. Türkiye 266.5; 7. Romania 262.5; 8. Hungary 260; 9. Slovenia 252.5; 10. Estonia 223; 11. Switzerland 203; 12. Serbia 191.
2nd League (top two promoted, bottom two relegated), Banska Bystrica
1. Lithuania 216; 2. Ireland 200.5; 3. Latvia 181; 4. Austria 180.5; 5. Slovakia 180; 6. Croatia 174; 7. Bulgaria 163; 8. Cyprus 140.
3rd League (top two promoted), Sarajevo
1. Israel 401.5; 2. Moldova 393.5; 3. Denmark 391; 4. Bosnia and Herzegovina 357; 5. Azerbaijan 327.5; 6. Iceland 327; 7. Luxembourg 292; 8. Armenia 245.5; 9. Georgia 227; 10. Montenegro 217.5; 11. AASSE 135; 12. Andorra 123; 13. Macedonia 116.5.