Soby Winter Games 2023: Bad Tölz hoists the Olympic flag

Created: 07/31/2022, 19:00

By: Andreas Steppan

The flag of the "Special Olympics Bavaria" (Soby) has arrived in Bad Tölz.

They unrolled (from left) Mayor Ingo Mehner, Dirk Raeder and Herbert Kütter from the Lions Club, Angelika Schlesmerl, member of the Soby presidium, and Karsten Bauer, sports officer of the Tölz city council.

© Andreas Steppan

A few days after the end of the Bavarian "Special Olympics" in Regensburg, the flag of the games was received in the next venue, Bad Tölz.

Bad Tölz

– The flag of the “Special Olympics Bavaria” (Soby) was hoisted at the Winzerer monument on Sunday morning.

The Tölz town band, mayor Ingo Mehner and Karsten Bauer, sports officer of the city council, gave the flag a worthy reception at the venue of the Soby Winter Games 2023.

Flag of the "Special Olympics" arrived in Bad Tölz

Just as the Olympic flame is traditionally carried from one venue to another, in the case of the Soby Games for people with intellectual disabilities, the flag began its journey.

Their tour started on Monday in Regensburg, where the Soby Summer Games ended with a closing ceremony on Haidplatz.

There, a Tölz delegation symbolically received the flag, including a group of active Tölz athletes who had taken part.

"They then started chanting: 'We have the flag, the flag is in Tölz,'" reports Bauer, who was there.

"That was really nice."

Special Olympics: flag brought on foot from Regensburg to Bad Tölz

Dirk Raeder and Herbert Kütter from the Lions Club took care of transporting the flag to Bad Tölz – on foot.

Your organization supports the "Special Olympics".

Raeder and Kütter were repeatedly there as helpers at games - and are also a well-rehearsed team that has already undertaken several long-distance hikes together, including from Sylt to Berlin, as they reported in an interview with our newspaper.

They therefore managed the march of around 165 kilometers from Regensburg to Tölz without any problems.

On the way, the only thing that bothered them was the great heat, they said.

"We knocked on a farm and asked for water," Raeder said.

"When we told the farmer's wife what we were doing, she just said: 'Yes, are you crazy!'

That hits the spot.”

Soby Presidium member Angelika Schlesmerl accepted the flag in Marktstraße and expressed her anticipation of the opening of the Winter Games "in five months and 23 days".

As reported, athletes with intellectual disabilities will compete in ten disciplines in Bad Tölz from January 23 to 26, 2023.

These include not only the classic winter sports such as figure skating, cross-country skiing or alpine skiing, but also some indoor disciplines such as dance or climbing.

Up to 700 athletes are expected.

You can find more current news from the region around Bad Tölz at Merkur.de/Bad Tölz.