The students from Rodenbach are looking forward to their first swimming lesson on Saturday morning in front of the Heinrich-Fischer-Bad. Many have never been to an indoor pool. “They’re all here. That’s just great. Two Ukrainian girls who have only been attending my class for three weeks have also registered and are looking forward to this course,” says teacher Antonia Kappe enthusiastically.
Rodenbach – The summer holidays are just around the corner and by then at the latest the students from the Kappe class will be at the lake and in the swimming pools. The teacher teaches a so-called intensive class in Rodenbach, i.e. students who have lived in Germany for less than two years. Six girls and eight boys between the ages of eleven and 16 are first taught German, their second language, to ensure a successful start at school.
Many students cannot swim yet
“The time with Corona, a lack of contacts, no working groups and closed clubs gave my students a lot of trouble. Now they are very happy about open swimming pools and lakes. But most of them can’t swim at all or are still very insecure, which worries me a lot,” reports Kappe, who is not only a teacher but also takes on responsibility for society beyond the school. As a member of the Inner Wheel Club Offenbach-Hanau-Maintal, she feels committed to its goals, including social commitment and international understanding.
Swimming course as annual motto
The historical roots lie with the Rotary Club. During World War I in England, Rotarian wives continued their husbands’ social activities. The first Inner Wheel Club was founded in Manchester in 1924 and refers to the Rotarian symbol: the women are the “inner wheel”. With around 108,000 members, Inner Wheel International is one of the largest women’s service organizations in the world. The Inner Wheel Club Offenbach-Hanau-Maintal handed over the offices for the current year very recently, on June 20th. Claudia Rollmann is the new president, Antonia Kappe is the club champion. At Rollmann, who is currently preparing for her post, Kappe asked for support for a “swimming course for all ages – and immediately found open ears. “Each president sets her term of office under an annual motto. She is promoting a project that is particularly close to her heart. In fact, my focus is particularly on children and young people learning to swim, under the motto ‘Inner Wheel don’t let you go under’,” explains Rollmann, who herself was active at the DLRG in Nidderau for many years and who intensifies cooperation with local groups and want to support the organization.
Practically with the transfer of office and even before the year’s motto was formulated, the President was able to get down to work on a first project. “That was a jump in at the deep end,” admits Rollmann honestly.
DLRG fully utilized
In Ellen Tzounakis, she found a swimming instructor from the DLRG Hanau, who did everything in her power to make the additional course possible. The DLRG is at full capacity, so that no courses could take place for a long time. In addition, there is a lack of lanes in Hanau due to the renovation of the Lindenau baths.
The situation is somewhat alleviated because the city keeps the indoor pool in the Heinrich-Fischer-Bad open for clubs and swimming schools. This was the only way to fit in ten teaching units for the youngsters from Rodenbach.
–“A course had just ended, no new swimming course starts before the holidays, why should we leave the hall unused?”, the swimming teacher is pragmatic and flexible. “It’s also a new experience for us and we’ll definitely benefit from it.” With Lisa Pfriem, Stella Horn and Ben Schindler from the DLRG Hanau, the students first went to the non-swimmer pool. Tzounakis gave the first instructions from the edge of the pool and after a short time drew a positive interim conclusion: “Especially the boys, but also the girls are not afraid of the water. That’s very good.”
So the chances are good that the young people will know the most important bathing rules in time for summer and maybe be able to get their first swimming badge. To do this, they don’t have to literally but actually dare to jump into the “cold water”. (By Ulrike Pongratz)
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