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On your marks, get s.t. go!
Do Sport! Keep fit! Make new friends!The University Sports Centre is the first place to contact: Before coming to Germany, our scout Mai didn't care too much for sport. "I saw sporting activity as a pure waste of time and didn't enjoy it either," reports our Vietnamese student. Thanks to her German university friend Nina, Mai's opinion has seen a complete turnaround. Because Nina simply took Mai along to the University Sports Centre. "We tried out various courses, first volleyball, then badminton and finally some Pilates courses. That's where I noticed how much fun and how relaxing sport can be." Since then, Mai and Nina have been going twice a week to play volleyball. Besides the health and fitness aspects, what she really likes about university sport is that it is a good place to meet other students. And, what's more, many of the courses are free of charge or only cost a minimal amount. That's why scout Tomás immediately registered for a tennis course and is still a little astonished. "Back home in the Czech Republic I would never have been able to afford this. Tennis is one of the elite sports there, for people with plenty of cash." That used to be the same in Germany. However, the spectacular victories by Boris Becker and Steffi Graf changed all this at a stroke. The German "tennis geniuses" helped the "white" sport gain great popularity, including among students. Because demand is so high, Tomás had to enter his name into a waiting list. This is why his tip is: Get the university sports programme as soon as possible from the student council or the student registration office and then put your name down immediately for the course(s) you have chosen.
Football - or putting the round thing into the rectangular hole: Tomás is meanwhile pursuing another of the Germans' passions: Football. A sport that occasionally sends Germans crazy, no matter what their age or social background. And that not only happens when the World Cup comes to make friends in Germany, like in 2006. It actually happens every weekend. Besides the top clubs in the first and second Bundesliga, like Bayern München and Werder Bremen in the former, or Hansa Rostock and Karlsruhe SC in the latter, Germany has loads of regional and district leagues. Not to forget the countless pub, works and uni teams where players try to prove how well they can "artistically" out-dribble the others. Still, the days when football was exclusively a man's game are long gone. Whether women go along every Saturday to watch a match, or play football themselves as a hobby, or as a member of the German national women's football team. Football stadiums can no longer be imagined without Germany's women.
Lively club life: A glance at the statistics proves how popular football is in Beckenbauer country. The German Football Association (Deutscher Fußball-Bund – www.dfb.de) counts some 6.26m members, of which more than 850,000 are women. But other sports, too, enjoy great popularity among Germans, like cycling, swimming, riding, skiing, handball, and, more recently, nordic walking as well. Most of those doing sport adhere to the principle: It's best done in clubs. The 89,000 and more sports clubs associated within the German Olympic Sports Federation (Deutscher Olympischer Sportbund – www.dosb.de) count 27m members. However, the fact that so many Germans are organised in sports clubs is not only an expression of their enthusiasm for sport. Sports clubs also offer a lively social life. This is why Mai and Tomás recommend students from abroad to join a sports club soon after they arrive. "That is an excellent opportunity for making contacts with Germans and for developing friendships."
Free-of-charge sports facilities in public parks: But those who would rather do their sport on their own can also choose from various options besides the sports clubs. For example, almost every town has public indoor and outdoor pools in which you can go swimming for little money (individual tickets cost between just two and three euros on average). Frequent swimmers can also opt for the value-for-money season ticket. Often, pools will also offer special reductions for students. And sports facilities in public parks can be used completely free of charge, for example, basketball courts, skating areas, football pitches or even sometimes tennis courts. Just set off and take a look at what's available.
All about University Sport: Top-level competitive sport for students
More than 160 higher education institutions with around 1.6m students in total are members of the German University Sports Federation (Allgemeiner Deutscher Hochschulsportverband – adh).
The adh (www.adh.de) organises sporting competitions and nominates athletes for the World University Championships and for the World Student Games (Universiade). The Summer World Student Games (Sommer Universiade) are a sporting highlight. They are held once every two years and are the world's largest multi-sport event, after the Summer Olympic Games. Further highlights are provided by the European University Championships, and the Winter World Student Games (Winter Universiade). To find out about the latest competitions and dates, check the Internet at: www.adh.de/aktuelles_gesamtkalender.htm.
In addition, the adh supports top-level student athletes with its project "Partner University of High Performance Sports." The participating universities help top-level competitive athletes complete their studies parallel to their sporting career by making special arrangements to facilitate the compatibility of high-performance sport and studies. Everything you need to know about the adh-project can be found on the Internet at: www.partnerhochschule-des-spitzensports.de.
Photo: DOSBFitness Initiative: The German Olympic Sports Federation has plenty of tips and information for anybody wishing to keep fit for their studies by doing sport. Simply click on the homepage www.richtigfit.de.
Photo: DOSBA new sporting trend: Don't be surprised to see people walking through town or in the woods with a pair of ski poles in their hands, even in midsummer months. They are not alpinists who have "lost their way", but rather advocates of nordic walking. The endurance sport comes from Finland and has become a real hit among people in Germany and in other countries.
Notepad: Check your accident insurance
Those who actively pursue sport can sometimes injure themselves by accident. That's why it is important that you find out exactly what your insurance covers. Essentially, the following applies: Students who engage in university sport are insured against accidents by the university. So, it's important that you register before you start and that you keep the registration note. Much the same applies if you are a member of a sports club. As a rule, you will be insured via the club. But it's better to be safe than sorry, so just ask when you register. However, things may be quite different if you train in a health club or fitness studio. Generally, you will be personally responsible for your accident insurance. Which means that if you injure yourself, you personally or your private accident insurance will have to pay for any costs. Such additional insurance cover is recommended if you do a lot of sport or even extreme sports. Ask at the consumer advice centre (www.verbraucherzentrale.info/index.php) about what you have to look out for when taking out such insurance.
© 2009 Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst e.V. (DAAD), Kennedyallee 50, D-53175 Bonn
Source: http://www.daad.de/deutschland/deutschland/leben-in-deutschland/06467.en.html
Date: 2009-01-09