In fact: the ice hockey season starts on Friday, November 6th.
For the SC Riessersee it's all about survival.
He relies on security, austerity and small cadres.
Garmisch-Partenkirchen -
One of the most popular and most important questions asked by a sports journalist is: Which season goal are you aiming for?
The answers of the coaches, players and those responsible are different.
Some don't want to make a statement, don't want to put the team under pressure.
Some are optimistic, some are understatement.
The SC Riessersee answers this question with one word this year: survive.
It's all about that from Friday, November 6th, when the SCR receives the Passau Black Hawks for the season opener in the ice hockey league (8 p.m.).
It's just not going to be a normal season, just like the previous one with the demolition, and like the whole of 2020 is not a normal one.
Corona determines the world and the traditional club from Garmisch-Partenkirchen.
Therefore, the 2020/21 season is an uncertain one.
And that's why the club is currently playing it safe.
Means: save money.
Means: small squad.
The austerity course has ensured that only 16 men have been part of the SCR to date.
There are also two players from the DNL team and five funding license players.
The big league competition takes a completely different path.
At the top of the table in terms of squad width are the Selber Wölfe with 26 players.
Peiting, Deggendorf, Rosenheim follow with 25, 24, 23 men.
All calculated without the funding license players.
No team has fewer players under contract than the SCR.
SCR Managing Director Pana Christakakis: "Maybe some say how stupid we are"
“Maybe the others will say how far-sighted we are.
Maybe some also say how stupid we are, ”says managing director Pana Christakakis.
He doesn't care.
He believes in his way and knows how to defend it.
“Our small squad is a protective measure,” emphasizes Christakakis.
The low workforce on the ice is not due to financial bottlenecks, it is purely a strategy of caution, as the managing director assures.
The budget that the SCR has available this season has not been exhausted.
“We're holding back a little.
Every month that we save player salaries will ultimately benefit us.
And it's ten times more difficult than usual to plan a season. ”Corona has made the world unpredictable.
Therefore Christakakis wants to wait and see, probably without tea, but with patience.
"We will watch the developments."
Sport only plays a minor role this season.
However, the athletic performance should not be completely ignored.
If the table goes too far down, Christakakis can react at any time.
And the club doesn't seem to have to worry about relegation anyway.
In the current implementation regulations of the DEB for the Oberliga Süd there is at least no mention of a relegation regulation.
The league is expected to be increased by one team to 14 teams in the 2021/2022 season.
However, a promotion regulation is included in the implementation regulations.
But that is certainly not an issue with the SCR.
Spectators are forbidden - "We actually do it for them"
In Garmisch-Partenkirchen, people think differently, especially about who they are actually playing for.
At the Olympic Ice Sports Center this Friday and throughout November they will only do this for a handful of helpers, for the journalists and for themselves.
Spectators are prohibited.
“We actually do it for them.” So it pains Christakakis that there will initially be a spooky atmosphere.
But there's no point in complaining, it's all about survival.
