Matthias Kanther has been involved in sport since childhood.
Haldensleben l For five years he has been chairman of the sports youth within the district sports association (KSB) Börde. Volksstimme author Stefan Rühling spoke to the 52-year-old about his relationship to sport, his functions and current challenges.
People’s Voice: You have been chairman of Sportjugend Börde for five years and were previously treasurer. Where did your interest in sports youth come from?
Matthias Kanther: Sport has always played an important role in my life. At Volksbank I was responsible for our branch network for many years and was therefore in public. At some point the sports youth approached me and the collaboration, initially as treasurer, was born.
How do you define the tasks of the Sportjugend Börde?
Our task is open youth work. We also take care of the training of the trainers and offer JuLeiCa training courses to support them. We are the contact person for the clubs and their youth representatives. The promotion of young volunteers is one of the highest goals. We hold events in different age groups. From kindergarten to young adults. We are on the road with projects in the area of prevention and support clubs and other organizations when it comes to holding celebrations and making our play mobile available. We actively work on concepts within the youth welfare committee in an advisory capacity. The connection to the state sports federation exists through our full-time employees and here we are in constant exchange. This all only works if you have good employees. That’s how it is in the Börde youth sports club.
In 2015 you succeeded Jens Ackermann as Chairman, how did that come about?
Until then, I was responsible for the finances and when Jens wanted to quit, the other board members asked me, following a suggestion from Jens Ackermann, whether I would like to become chairman of the sports youth. On the main committee in 2015, I was elected chairman by the representatives of the associations.
What did you plan to do in your new role and how much of it were you able to implement?
Sportjugend Börde has had an excellent reputation at the state level for years, long before my term in office. We owe this to our team Ralf and Susanne Sacher together with Thomas Keitel. The latter is unfortunately no longer with the sports youth and has looked for another professional challenge. There are an incredible number of very good measures and projects by the Börde Sports Youth. This had to be maintained and expanded. One of our concerns was to promote young people. We want to organize this through a junior team within the sports youth. Up until the Corona crisis, we managed to carry out our projects over long distances.
What challenges are you currently facing?
In my second term in office, the topic of digitization should play an important role. Unfortunately, even against the background of an overall strategy, we are not yet sufficiently implementing it with KSB.
Another major challenge is that our offer for children and young people must take place within the framework of open youth work. That presents us with new challenges, because it has to take place outside of school hours. Where in the past the students came to our events during school time as a class, this now has to take place outside of school time. Various reasons mean that the children and young people cannot attend the afternoons and weekends.
How do you basically define your duties as chairman?
The operational area is for full-time employees. In an honorary position, as chairman, I take care of the strategic goals. These tasks fall into my area as well as the cooperation with the executive committee of the district sports association, participation in meetings of the state sports association or also representing our managing director in the youth welfare committee.
Again and again one hears of disagreements between the district sports association and sports youth. How do you perceive this?
As an organ of the district sports association, the Sportjugend Börde belongs to the KSB sports family. As in other families, there are different opinions within the sports family on some issues. It is important that you talk to each other and find solutions together in the spirit of sport.
What is the cause of the disaffection?
In my opinion, this is due to internal and external influences as well as a lack of willingness to find compromises. The corona crisis doesn’t make it any easier. The cooperation with the office of the regional sports association, the president and the managing director is excellent for me personally.
How and when did you even find access to sport?
Personally, I started swimming and water polo when I was seven and did so until I was 16. Then I started playing pool.
What is the importance of sport in your life?
I do sports every day. Either I play myself or I am doing one of my voluntary work and organizing sport.
In addition to your role in sports youth, are you also involved in a club?
Yes, I am on the board of the 1st Billiard Club Magdeburg 1950 eV and am deputy chairman of the German Billiard Youth.
What are they doing there?
Essentially, I develop concepts in the area of young engagement and try to implement this through interesting projects in Magdeburg. But I also take care of the finances and budget planning within the Deutsche Billard Jugend. I am deputy chairman there.
Is there a connection between club work and sports youth?
Yes, there are always those. Knowledge and experience can be conveyed and sometimes there are also projects that interlink. For example, next year there is likely to be a DBJ Academy in the Magdeburger Börde, to which athletes from all over Germany will travel if the conditions permit. Here, too, young engagement in cooperation with sports youth is a major challenge at the application level, as is the operational design. 1. BC Magdeburg and the billiard friends from Altenweddingen will be among the first to remove the newly developed billiard badge. For this purpose, schools / school classes are still being sought.
As mentioned, you work for a financial institution. How do you manage to combine family life, job and involvement in sport?
With a lot of support and patience from my family and my employer, who is happy to support projects in the region for the region. These are, for example, the stars of sport and the freedom to take care of sport.
Can you benefit from your profession in your honorary positions?
I definitely think so. My strengths lie in the organization, the conceptual work and I also have a very good eye for finances.
And vice versa?
My bank is happy when we can do something good for sport with our commitment in the region. This also benefits the bank.
Is there something you would like to do but don’t have the time?
Together with my wife, my three daughters and their partners, I would like to fly to London and have a few nice days together. That was planned for 2020 and has been canceled for known reasons.
What positive things do you remember from this year?
The opportunity and the need to reposition ourselves within sport. Especially in the field of sports youth, the expectations of us are high to transfer our work in a very structured and targeted manner into open youth work without completely giving up our projects.
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