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Streetball with atmosphere: Basketball in Darmstadt’s Bürgerpark

Dhat was a big party. A Sunday dedicated to basketball. Not in the hall, but in the sun. No club sport, no league, instead basketball in its original form. street ball As a meeting place in the park to gamble, to talk, to celebrate. Basketball is special. There is hardly any other place where you just go to a pitch and play with others, no matter with whom. But that is anchored in this sport. Streetball and basketball belong together. There is still something like the soccer field here, which is sorely missed in football.

So it was a fun get-together in Darmstadt’s Bürgerpark, where the free scene, where basketball fans have had their home and meeting place for decades. When the American soldiers still lived in the city in their barracks, the hottest matches were played here. In addition, there were students and streetball players from the city and the region, there was often a higher level than where the local clubs competed. Even after the Americans left, the two open spaces in the Bürgerpark remained a basketball hotspot and a sporty cultural center with players from all over the world. Old, young, black, white – a colorful mixture.

Top and many hobby players

After it had also become quieter in the Bürgerpark during Corona, life has long since returned, especially on the basketball court. This time, the independent scene presented itself with a tournament in the new Olympic high-speed format three-on-three, which was a success with DJ music, a barbecue station and high spirits. Sixteen teams were at the start, the usual colorful mixture. A few top players and many hobby players. good level More than 200 people played and celebrated, and many a club official who stopped by will have been amazed at how much joie de vivre and sense of community sport can convey on such a day. The tournament was won by the Young Guns, the team of Darmstadt junior national player Leon Ready.

The memorable basketball day was organized by the SKA Basketball initiative, which stands for streetball, culture and activism. It describes itself “as the basketball community of the Bürgerpark in Darmstadt, which as a non-organized streetball initiative – regardless of origin, language, age, sexuality, social or cultural background – subculture, structural peace, basketball and the expansion of high-quality public promotes sports areas.”

initiative and petition

The specific goal of the initiative is the thorough renovation of the basketball facility. Since the city of Darmstadt has not yet gotten beyond talks about this issue, the event on Sunday was also intended as a sign to show those responsible and the authorities how large, peaceful and creative the free basketball community in Darmstadt is. City officials, including the mayor responsible for sports, Barbara Akdeniz, were invited to see for themselves, but unfortunately they were unable to attend.

The SKA initiative started in Corona times in 2021. When the rules permitted, it organized an indoor basketball tournament via the socially critical working group. This resulted in the initiative and a petition for a thorough renovation of the facility in the Bürgerpark, inspired by the Frankfurt facility at the ECB, which now also has floodlights thanks to the help of the city.

The Darmstadt team sought contact with the responsible sports facilities GmbH. “For many, many years, almost nothing has been done,” says Adam Rami Rieble, spokesman for the initiative. “There are broken floors and baskets that have been repaired and maintained by the community itself for more than ten years.” Then there were talks with Sportstätten GmbH, also with Akdeniz. The initiative presented a 14-page restructuring plan. Cost around 200,000 euros.

As a non-club sport, it’s difficult. “You notice an asymmetry in the conversation,” says Rieble, who studies chemical technology in Darmstadt. Sometimes you get the feeling that it’s just a few young people who are annoying. “On the other hand,” says Rieble, “I have the feeling that the authorities would be interested in implementing something for basketball in the Bürgerpark.” The prioritization, however, apparently lies elsewhere. As an independent scene in sports, you tend to be at the end of the queue.

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