What do the rhythmic gymnastics department of the STV and Traktor Biel, a football team in the Alternative Football League Bern, have in common? Both can rent a hall in Magglingen for their training if there is still space available.
In the National Performance Center high above Lake Biel, where elite athletes from all kinds of sports from all over Switzerland train, rhythmic gymnasts (RG) are actually no longer wanted: On February 28, 2019, the Federal Office of Sport (Baspo) acted as the landlady deprived the STG’s RG department of visiting rights due to ethical misconduct.
If you ask the STV, it was not much more than a misunderstanding. “The Baspo was of the opinion that the STV violated the RG article of the ethics charter,” writes performance sports chief Felix Stingelin on Wednesday evening. “However, they did not explain this to us in detail and there was no concrete trigger either.”
Stingelin is crabbing back
The STV then raised an objection. “This has resulted in the STV being granted guest rights for training with the RG again.” STV representatives say something similar when asked about it.
Problem solved? It would be nice. All of that is not true. The Federal Office vehemently disagrees. “The Baspo has repeatedly and specifically alerted the STV to incidents and training methods at RG that contradict the principles of the ethics charter,” spokesman Christoph Lauener told SonntagsBlick. “This is also out of concern for the health of young, sometimes underage athletes.”
The STV had made a statement and asked the Baspo to come back to the decision. Without success: On May 1, 2019, the office confirmed its decision. “Cooperation with the STV and services in favor of the RG will be discontinued,” says Lauener. The athletes of the RG must not benefit from the sports science and sports medicine services in the performance center.
And Stingelin? The crab back and invokes an incorrect choice of words. The head of competitive sports corrected his statement, which then sounds like this on Friday evening: «The baspo had withdrawn guest rights from rhythmic gymnastics due to different views in athlete care and training methodology. The STV was able to resume training in Magglingen with rhythmic gymnastics. »
What does that mean in plain text? That the rhythmic gymnasts like the after-work football players from Traktor Biel can rent the Baspo infrastructure. The Biel soccer players would probably be observed less critically during their flying visit to the «end of the world».
Lauener explains the conditions for the RG comeback on Biel’s local mountain: «Only under the explicit condition that the STV takes immediate measures in the RG area that enable compliance with the ethical principles. This development is ongoing; the Baspo keeps an eye on them. »
