European Championships trigger a sports boom - also in the district?

Created: 08/26/2022 05:37

By: Dominik Stallein

Sports elite and fans: At the women's road bike race of the European Championships, there was a festive mood in Wolfratshausen - a sporting enthusiasm that raises hopes in the clubs.

© Hans Lippert

The sports clubs are hoping for more after the European Championships.

They enjoy the attention they are given.

Only one event could increase that.

Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen – Cyclists avoided the hustle and bustle at Marienplatz.

"We drove to a hill from which we can watch the race better," says Wolfgang Sacher, head of RSC Wolfratshausen.

Two road races – one for men and one for women – raced through the district at the European Championships, cheered on by thousands of spectators lining the course.

For eleven days, the region around Munich was in a state of emergency because of the competition.

The European Championships in nine sports are over, the clubs hope that the enthusiasm will continue.

European Championships trigger a sports boom - also in the district?

Applauding and celebrating fans along the barrier: "That was really motivating and was incredibly well received," says cyclist Sacher.

He doesn't know whether the championships ensure that the 55-year-old can welcome new members to the club.

"We've had a lot of new registrations over the past few years.

People were interested in cycling.” Above all, athletes around the age of 30 had registered with the RSC.

Sacher is still looking for young people – and is hoping for a positive effect from the championships.

You can read all the news from Wolfratshausen here.

TSV Wolfratshausen: Athletes enjoy the atmosphere - "Surprised how full the stadium was"

Young athletes from TSV Wolfratshausen are immersed in the atmosphere.

Track and field youth director Katja Wietschorke was at the competitions several times – three times she helped as a marshal, once she was a fan in the Olympic Stadium.

Her impression: "I was surprised how full the stadium was every time." She enjoyed the "really good atmosphere".

These dimensions are new territory for athletics competitions.

"The competitions are often far away, but this time they got a lot of attention." Wietschorke "didn't even think about it at first" that the enthusiasm could motivate newcomers.

The 22-year-old is now hoping to welcome new faces to the stadium: "I can imagine something coming."

There could not have been better advertising for the sport, says Anton Böhm, athletics trainer at TV Bad Tölz: "It's great that the competition caused such a stir.

I'm happy when it makes an impression on the children.” It will only become clear after the summer holidays whether more young people will find their way into athletics as a result of the sporting event.

TuS Geretsried hopes for offspring after "terrific EM"

Mirko Naumann, chairman of TuS Geretsried, is optimistic: "Hopefully, such a grandiose European championship at home will make itself felt." Naumann believes "that the spark will fly".

He watched the competitions with an athletics group from Geretsried in the Olympic Stadium and was rooting for the German athletes.

"It's definitely something that the kids get excited about." TuS Geretsried can't complain about the lack of young athletes anyway: "There could be more for those over 14, but on the other hand we're overrun in the children's area."

Read the latest news from Geretsried here.

Eva Stadler, trainer at the Lenggrieser gymnastics club, hopes that more people will become enthusiastic about athletics.

Winning over children over the age of ten is particularly difficult.

“Young people switch to other sports at an early age.

Many also stop altogether by the age of 12 or 14.

Perhaps the European Championships are now an incentive for many to continue after all.”

Olympics in Munich?

There are fans of this idea in the district

Disciplines such as climbing, which otherwise gets little airtime, made it into the limelight.

Is that why the climbing hall in Tölz is full?

"Climbing is becoming more and more popular in general," says employee Caroline Groß.

You don't see that at the moment: "When the weather is good, it's quieter here because you can do a lot outside."

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After the success of the competitions in Munich, there were calls for a renewed application for the Olympics.

Wolfgang Sacher, multiple medal winner at the 2008 Paralympics in Beijing, is a big fan of the idea: "That would be an even bigger spotlight - and it was already gigantic at the European Championships."