As of: April 8, 2024, 5:04 p.m
By: Patrick Staar
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One of the highlights of the referee's career: Uwe Reichert was allowed to evaluate the athletes' performances at the Olympic Games in Tokyo - although due to the corona, spectators were excluded. © Minkus Images
Kerstin Schilpp and Uwe Reichert from Tölz are judges. Both used to be successful gymnasts. The sport has never let her go since then.
Bad Tölz – Anyone who claims that Kerstin Schilpp and Uwe Reichert are enthusiastic referees is understating. For the Tölzers, being a referee is a life's work. They have traveled to all continents to – on a voluntary basis – assess the performance of athletes in gymnastics. In 2019 they were together at the “African Games” in Morocco and at the World Cup in Japan. Uwe Reichert experienced the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo as a referee. “You meet people everywhere who are crazy about this sport – that’s the beauty,” says Reichert. Schilpp adds: “You come to places where you would never voluntarily go on vacation - and you are usually pleasantly surprised.”
The Tölzers were both successful gymnasts, but not nearly as successful as the athletes whose performances they are now judging. Schilpp comes from Hof in Upper Franconia, studied in Munich and has lived in Bad Tölz for 18 years. As a gymnast, she once made it to the South German Championships.
Evil tongues claim that I can't do anything other than gymnastics.
Kerstin Schilpp
The sport has never let her go since then. Today she works as a sports director at the Bavarian Gymnastics Association: “Evil tongues claim that I can’t do anything other than gymnastics,” the 53-year-old notes with a smile. Reichert was once active for TV Hauenstein, a club in Rhineland-Palatinate. The civil engineer led a training group in his home community for years and stood in the hall three to four times a week. He is happy that this obligation is no longer necessary because, like Schilpp, he is required to compete in gymnastics on a different level: both are responsible for arranging the judges. “I have to take part in around 140 competitions every year,” says Reichert. On average, he works around 200 hours on a voluntary basis.
Schilpp has to take on significantly fewer women's competitions, but has to deal with many more female referees on site. For her efforts, Schilpp was awarded the German Gymnastics League's Honorary Award in 2021, followed by Reichert in 2023.
Working as a referee takes the people of Tölzer to unforgettable places
And then there is her work as a referee, which has taken her to unforgettable places. For example, Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, turned out to be a positive surprise: “A totally exciting city,” says Schilpp. The “African Games” in Morocco’s capital Rabat were also impressive: “In August that would never have been my preferred holiday destination. And then there was no air conditioning in the gyms.” But the athletes were incredibly enthusiastic about what they were doing, and they experienced gratitude and warmth: “Some athletes did gymnastics on real equipment for the first time in their lives. Some of them didn't even have uniform jerseys - you can't imagine that with us." Athletes from Nigeria later recognized him at the World Championships and greeted him exuberantly, says Reichert: "It's the little things that make it so nice."
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The World Cup in Japan during the Corona period was completely different, Reichert remembers: “We weren’t allowed to leave the hotel room for two weeks – that was tough.” Corona had also overshadowed the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. Nevertheless, the positive impressions far outweighed the negative ones: “The moment you see the five Olympic rings, everything is different,” says Reichert. “My colleagues also said that.” The tension among the athletes is even greater: “The Olympics simply have a completely different status than the World Championships and European Championships. It was a very impressive experience how the athletes performed without any external motivation. An Olympic champion is an Olympic champion – even without spectators.”
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Sometimes things get quite emotional at the judges' table
In contrast, the 2019 World Cup in Stuttgart thrived on the emotions of the spectators. The Cannstatter Wasen folk festival was also taking place at the same time, which “extended the way home for some judges,” as Reichert remembers with a smile.
Sometimes things get quite emotional at the judges' table, he says. Especially during Bundesliga competitions or at German championships: “Everyone has more knowledge than the referee – that’s no different in gymnastics than in football.” In such cases, he seeks an exchange with coaches and athletes: “If you take it easy If you look at it, one or the other is even able to say: “I didn’t mean it like that.”
Received the hiking honorary award in 2021 with a certificate from DTL President Michael Götz: Kerstin Schilpp. © Minkus Images
Schilpp emphasizes that agreements between the judges like before are no longer possible. On the one hand, there are partitions, and on the other hand, everything has become “very technical”, all decisions are controlled and evaluated: “There is a certain range. If the referee is not there, he gets a kind of yellow or red card.” Schilpp emphasizes: “Anyone who says that the results are determined beforehand has no idea.”
The glow in the children's eyes fascinates the judges
By the way, if you want to earn riches, you'd better choose another career. As compensation for his two-week work at the World Cup, Reichert received a fee of 15 euros: “7.50 euros so that we can buy something at the airport on the day of arrival, and 7.50 euros for the day of departure.” This included food, accommodation and travel are free. Reichert: “It’s pure hobby, idealism, having fun. And at the competitions you meet people who are on similar journeys.”
The spring is quiet for Schilpp and Reichert, as there are no more Bundesliga competitions until the Olympics. Schlipp is going to Paris to prepare for the Olympic Games, while Reichert is flying to Doha, the capital of Qatar.
The judges at the countless smaller competitions are almost more important than the judges at large competitions: “It is extremely important that the judgments are objective so that the children’s motivation is maintained,” says Reichert. “The light in their eyes is the reason why you do it again and again.”
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