Future Class of 22 Activation Day in Olympiapark
On Thursday, 24 March, the Olympiapark was transformed into what felt like Munich's largest schoolyard. From morning to night, children and teenagers - from 3rd grade to seniors - were all represented out and about. The action day of the Future Class of 22 had four stations on the programme: Olympiastadium, Werner-von-Linde-Halle, Olympiahalle and Olympiaturm. The participants were able to try out different sports, meet athletes and much more. The sheer joy of the kids and their radiant eyes spoke for themselves: this school trip was a complete success.
OLYMPIASTADION
In the Olympiastadium, including a view of the tent roof, there were workshops with the children and teens on the topic of "Empowering our YOUTH through sport", which was the theme of the entire action day. The participants were given facts about the European Championships Munich 2022 in a playful way, e.g. in the style of 1, 2 or 3, and they also learned how they themselves can become part of the multi-sport event through actions of the Future Class of 22. In addition, the children and teenagers were asked about their wishes for the event and for the future in general. At the workshop, the participants had the chance to get in touch with staff members of the Local Organising Committee and ask questions themselves.
In addition, the Bavarian Athletics Association provided support in the form of materials on the sports project Lauf dich fit!
WERNER-VON-LINDE-HALLE
At the Werner-von-Linde Halle, the Bavarian Volleyball Association (BVV) was represented with net exercises and the LG Stadtwerke München with athletics activities. Even the managing director of the athletics club with the most members in Germany, Julia Riedl, was there in person. On behalf of the BVV, Sven Lehmann (base coach), Florian Schweikart (representative for school sports), Werner Kiermaier (state coach female) and athletes (male) were on site to explain the games to the participants.
The track and field athletes set up four stations:
#1 Counter Movement Jump - How high can you jump? (With digital pressure measuring plate)
#2 Speedometer Ball Throw - How many km/h fast can you throw? (With digital km/h display)
#3 Standing Long Jump - How far can you jump?
#4 Sprint - How fast can you sprint?
U20 European Champion 2019 with the 4x100m relay, Fabian Olbert, helped out with the sprint measurements. Alexander Schaller (discus - junior national squad) and Dominik Idzan (shot - junior national squad) looked after the pressure measuring plate. "This is a cool action," explained 17-year-old Dominik. He said that one could bring the children and other teenagers closer to his sport. In general, the shot-putter is already looking forward to Munich 2022, even if he is still too young to start himself at this European Championship.
Olbert's coach, Michael Ehrenreich was also there: "You see very different types of athletes." The measurements showed that, and this is extremely interesting for him as a coach from the BLV. As a child, he was in the Olympiastadium in pouring rain in 2002 when Dieter Baumann ran to victory. And he is sure the upcoming European Championships will be just as great - hopefully without rain showers.
OLYMPIAHALLE
At the Olympiahalle, the Beweg dich schlau! initiative by the Felix Neureuther Foundation in cooperation with the Bavarian State Sports Association and the Bavarian Sports Youth was represented. The Bavarian Table Tennis Association arrived with a table tennis robot, and the Bavarian Gymnastics Association was also there with movement offers.
The two tenth graders Hanna and Angelina from the Salzachtal Fridolfing secondary school practised table tennis for the first time. "I find it quite exciting," said Hanna. The introduction to table tennis was a complete success. "So I learned how to hold the rackets," she explained, proudly showing off her grip technique. Angelina agreed: "Yes, I didn't know that before either." Interest in the sport skyrocketed straight away, the two girls said, because they could now appreciate table tennis better and were allowed to try it out without pressure. "Before, I had no interest in table tennis at all," continued the tall Hanna. From the programme of the European Championships Munich 2022, she finds beach volleyball particularly interesting. For her classmate Angelina, sport climbing and athletics are high on the list.
Teacher Carry Hofmeister from the Ilse-von-Twardowski primary school was also enthusiastic about the offer: "It's really totally cool!" Above all, she admired that the activities in the different sports were all provided free of charge, which was a relief for the parents of many of her pupils. All the children had such fun that they wished for even more things to do, although the teacher said that she would not have been able to keep up with the schedule with more activities.
OLYMPIATURM
All participants were also allowed to go atop of the Olympiaturm for free! So they all got the full Munich 2022 and Olympic Park experience in a day's time.