Like politicians and other social groups, the Heinsberg district sports association also takes a clear stance against right-wing radical tendencies. The chairman of the district sports association, Jürgen Meuser, made this clear in his opening speech at the district sports association’s twelfth sports gala, to which he was able to welcome people in the Oberbruch festival hall who had made outstanding contributions to volunteer work or who had been successful in sport in the past year.
Successful evening: The audience not only celebrated the athletes, but also enjoyed a colorful stage program and a three-course menu. Photo: Heinz Eschweiler
“Everyone has their place and is welcome here – no matter their origin, native language, religion, skin color or education!” he emphasized. Sport brings everyone together, in the swimming pool, in front of the goal, on the tennis court, while sweating in the park. “Here we are all equal, here we are a team.” The demonstrations in Heinsberg, Erkelenz and Geilenkirchen showed: “We are stronger than hate!” This is shown in commitment, team spirit, sportsmanship and, last but not least, in the “Integration through sport” campaign, explained Meuser. “For us there is no ‘the others’. For us there is only: ‘We’.”
The best example of integration through sport is the inclusive referee project, in which amateur referee Karl-Heinz Speuser forms a team together with Jens Hotze and Benny Sildatke, both people with disabilities. In a conversation with moderator Marc Eschweiler, Karl-Heinz Speuser was able to talk about his experiences at the Special Olympics World Games in Berlin last year and his visit to the German Bundestag. And he found out from Marc Eschweiler that there is also a sponsor who will enable the team to take part in the Special Olympics State Games NRW in Münster from May 22nd to 25th.
In his speech, Jürgen Meuser had already mentioned the project “Otti – emerge instead of disappear”, which he presented in more detail over the course of the evening together with his partners from the Heinsberg district, the Kreissparkasse and the AOK. In this new project, with which the district sports association is active against the high non-swimmer rate, as in the “Math does not protect against drowning” project, new swimming instructors and learning-to-swim assistants are now being trained. 16 participants successfully completed the free course in October 2023. This year there is a second course with 18 participants.
The round of honors also began with volunteers. In the “young volunteering” area, Romy Winzen and Marie Wehrstedt, both sports assistants in athletics and gymnastics at TV Erkelenz 1860, were honored. Another glass cup went to Niklas Borgs from the Judo Sport-Club Erkelenz. He is a coaching assistant and maintains the club’s website.
Here we are all equal, here we are a team.
Jürgen Meuser
Chairman of the KSB
Late at night and as the crowning conclusion of the event, twelve more trophies went to deserving volunteers, three of them for their life’s work. The volunteer awards were given for commitment to the club that has now lasted from more than 20 years to more than 43 years. They went to Siegfried Wagner from HSV Wegberg, to Anja Heinen from KG Sonn Männ 1951, to Karola Zeitner from TV Erkelenz 1860, to Rolf Hermandung from TuS Jahn Hilfarth, to Reinhard Schmidt from VfR Übach-Palenberg Handball, to Reiner Siebel and Rolf Mevißen from DJK Wassenberg and to Manfred and Ulrike Rothärmel from SV Übach-Palenberg.
The three people who were honored for their life’s work to great applause had a total of 167 years of volunteer work on stage: Lieselotte Mainz from SV 1912 Baal, Wilma Hülkenberg from TuS Jahn Hilfarth and Lothar Westemeyer from VfR Übach-Palenberg Handball.
Also read:
Police operation at the tuner scene meeting in Hückelhoven
When the best athletes were honored, the youngsters were also first on stage. Emma Lang from TV Erkelenz 1860, Finn Lasse Schröder from TuS Jahn Hilfarth, Carina Later from Judo Team Erkelenz, Julian Pozimski from SV Übach-Palenberg, Emily Flöcklmüller from TV Erkelenz 1860 and Julia Jansen and Tim Horstmann from SC Myhl were happy to receive a trophy Athletics. They had all been successful at national and state competitions or, like Julian Pozimski, had even returned home with second place in the German youth all-around competition.
Marc Eschweiler was then able to welcome ten guests to the gala on stage as the best individual athletes. In the age group (AK) 65, Lilo Hellenbrand from DJK Gillrath leads the national best list in runs over 1500 meters, 3000 meters, 5000 meters and 10000 meters after her successes last year. The sisters Lena and Jana Grzesiek were successful for the Erkelenz Judo Team, including becoming West German champions in their weight classes. Like Jana Grzesiek about fifth place at the German Championships, Daphne Schuhmachers-Grosch from TV Erkelenz 1860 in AK 50 was happy about fifth place at the European Championships in the middle distance triathlon.
Club colleague Martina Laprell was also successful in triathlon, in AK 45 with a fourth place at the German championship over the sprint distance. Tanja Hütten from TuS Porselen was victorious in gymnastics in AK 40, including first place in the International Senior Team Cup. Finally, four successful track and field athletes from SC Myhl Athletics were on stage. Therese Jäger (AK45) in the triple jump, Björn Simon (AK 40) in the javelin throw and Hubert Ollmanns (AK 60) in the long jump were all celebrated as German runners-up.
Fourth in the group was Frederik Ruppert. He and his team came third in the 3000 meter obstacle at the European Championships and secured sixth place at the German Championships. His current goals are the European Championships in Rome and the norm for the Olympic Games in Paris. In order to achieve this, Ruppert has now moved to LAV Stadtwerke Tübingen and is training with national long-distance trainer Isabelle Baumann, the wife of Olympic champion Dieter Baumann. He thanked SC Myhl and especially Harald Eifert on a big stage. “I know the door is open to me,” he explained.
At the team honor, the focus was initially on the HSV Wegberg women’s handball team, which has now been promoted to the top league four times, when, as later when their coach was honored, the “potato attack” against the goalkeeper was discussed again. Volunteer award winner Reinhard Schmidt, chairman of the Aachen/Düren handball district, promised to work towards a good solution for HSV, which is facing a negative rating because of the arbitrarily canceled game and also fears a penalty, as coach Siegfried Wagner did in his award ceremony explained.
Other teams honored were the gymnasts from TV Erkelenz 1860 (AK 15) as state winners and the SC Myhl Athletics team, which took first place in the German best list in the 5 km road run in 2023.
Finally, there was a special honor for Lutz Meyersieck from SC Erkelenz. He has the Dr. Markus and Sabine Merk Foundation received bronze as young referees. Bundesliga referee Sascha Stegemann not only recognized the team, but also congratulated them. “I think we will soon have a professional referee in the Heinsberg district,” predicted moderator Marc Eschweiler afterwards.
The gala was made entertaining by the musical accompaniment by the band Leergut, but also by two special show elements that thrilled all guests. Jens Ohle from Hamburg started with his acrobatics on ladders and penny farthings, paired with heart-warming comedy. The violinist Stefan Krznaric, who traveled from Mannheim, was also celebrated. The evening was rounded off with a three-course menu.
2024-04-14 17:05:09
#District #sports #association #honors #deserving #athletes #Aachen #newspaper
