Since Wednesday there has been a small glimmer of hope for club sport.
And the hope that after the opening, the number of members will turn back for the better.
Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen
- “Difficult or even threatening the very existence” is the current situation for the local sports clubs.
This is what it says in a letter drawn up by the Bavarian State Sports Association (BLSV).
It should go to mayors and district administrators on Wednesday.
Because for over a year now, almost nothing has been going normally in sports clubs due to corona.
There was a phase last summer in which training was running in a semi-regulated manner - but in autumn there was a standstill again in training halls and on sports fields.
Now there was a first glimmer of hope for the sport on Wednesday.
Depending on the incidence, it may soon be possible to train in small groups outdoors.
The community with peers is very lacking
"At the moment we are dependent on big politics," reports Heidi Danner, chairwoman of SC Gaißach, on request.
You wrote a letter to the Bundestag member Alexander Radwan before Christmas.
"He understood all of our problems, but at the time he couldn't promise any relief." Individual sport was always allowed - "Adults can handle it".
But it is much more difficult for children.
The trainers had shown a lot of imagination to keep the children engaged with various “challenges”.
"But the community with peers is very missing." There is a "digital sports group" for adults, but it has been given up again for children.
Mirko Naumann, chairman of TuS Geretsried, thinks the clubs have been left pretty much alone the whole time.
Especially with the hygiene regulations, everyone was on their own.
"I would have liked that not everyone would have had to write down the hygiene concept themselves." He cannot understand that club sport itself has been banned.
"I would have understood that people said there shouldn't be any group training sessions." But everyone is keen to finally be able to do sports again.
“We scratch our hooves.” The concepts are available for both indoor and outdoor sports.
It is true that the crisis has been coped well with, and some sectors also offer online sports programs.
“But an association lives from the community, the social aspect.
And that is not so pronounced online. "
Gymnast from the national team is allowed to train in the sports hall
After four months in the “vacuum”, Christian Haas from TV Bad Tölz is happy that there is a small perspective.
The hygiene concepts are there and can be brought up to date at any time.
In the meantime, numerous branches have also offered online training.
One athlete is even allowed to train on site again: Gymnastics gymnast Franziska Gold was appointed to the national team and is therefore authorized to use the sports hall alone with her trainer.
Overall, the entire club had to show enormous commitment in the crisis, says Haas.
TV chairman Jane Clarke agrees: "We were less in the hall, but it was a busy year." And it will not be less: "If the training depends on the incidence, there is a lot to organize" says Haas.
The lockdown has left traces everywhere
At EC Bad Tölz, U20s and U17s were always allowed to train because they play in the top leagues of their age groups, as ECT President Hubert Hörmann reports.
In the age groups U15 and U13, the so-called squad athletes are not affected by the lockdown in sport - they are allowed to train.
However, this puts the ice club in a position that Hörmann describes as "unbearable".
“There is unequal treatment because some are allowed to train and others are not.” On the other hand, you have to reach for the little straw if anyone is allowed to train at all.
He thinks it is negligent that the youth sport has been paused for so long.
“Young people have to move.
You have to put the risks in relation. ”With a sensible hygiene concept, youngsters can play.
For the young ECT players, he hopes that the ice in the arena will not be thawed this year.
"Then we could give something back to the children."
At the moment it just doesn't work, says Stephan Bammer, second chairman of TV Lenggries.
The branches dealt with the restrictions very differently: While the gymnastics department offers online training, this is not ideal for the judoka.
The trainers of TSV Wolfratshausen did an excellent job, chairman Alfred Barth finds only praise words.
"There was not a single corona case in sports operations in 2020." The lockdown has probably left its mark on everyone.
"We have organized everything perfectly and could immediately start training again at any time."
In the area of the BLSV, larger decreases in membership have been recorded
Otherwise there is a risk that members will turn their backs on their association.
Renato Wittstadt, who is responsible for the Tölz-Wolfratshausen sports district, reports that the BLSV has seen larger decreases in membership after the previous years had grown steadily.
At least the clubs surveyed do not seem to be more affected by this.
"There are certainly some members who have reoriented themselves and now practice individual sports, but hopefully most of them will be there again with pleasure," says Heidi Danner.
The decline in membership is within the framework of previous years, but there are currently no new additions for young children.
Even at TSV Wolfratshausen, the shrinkage is not too great, reports Barth.
"But now there has to be something again for those who do sports."
In 2020 there were no entries on TV Bad Tölz
The ECT has not yet noted a decrease in membership due to Corona.
“All clubs are equally affected.
So there was not much migration to another sport, ”says Hörmann.
There was no exit wave at TV Lenggries.
“With 1400 members there is always a back and forth,” says Stephan Bammer.
Basically, however, the connection to the association is great, which can also be seen in the numerous long-term members.
In addition, the club fee is not very high.
At TV Bad Tölz, the number of members has risen steadily in recent years, says Christian Haas.
In 2020 it was different: Although the terminations were in the usual range.
But the admissions would have been missing.
“That's why the difference is bigger.” Normally there would have been a lot of new registrations after the Christmas gymnastics, reports Jane Clarke.
However, this failed in the pandemic year.
On the whole, however, the TV got away with a black eye, says Haas.
“But in 2020 it was an immense amount of energy to keep everything alive.” He hopes that the importance of sports clubs and sport will become more apparent after the pandemic.
“Especially the social side,” says Clarke.
"The clubs that have developed appropriate hygiene concepts should now also be allowed to implement them."
At TuS there are usually around 300 exits a year, but there are 400 to 450 new entrants, says Mirko Naumann.
The club has grown steadily recently.
Last year, however, these new entrants were missing.
“We can already feel that.” Especially in the children's area, where, for example, many have been introduced to the club through mother-child gymnastics.
But also in football.
Because the TuS plays at a higher level in the junior division, older children and young people from other clubs often move to Geretsried.
“But that no longer exists.” He hopes, however, that the numbers will normalize when exercise is possible again.
"The urge to move is there, I think that the decline in membership is a dent that grows out quickly."
According to Wittstadt, the wish of the BLSV is that sports clubs should be relaxed if the incidence is correspondingly low.
"The clubs that have developed appropriate hygiene concepts should now also be allowed to implement them."
Also read:
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