Leipzig. The restrictions caused by the current corona lockdown also affect disabled and rehabilitation sports. Sports stoppage can have a major impact on rehab patients in particular, says Uwe Jahn. in the SPORTThe President of the Saxon Disabled and Rehabilitation Sports Association explains these consequences to a BUZZER interview and looks ahead to the Paralympics in Tokyo.
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SPORTBUZZER: What is the current situation in Saxon disabled and rehab sports?
Uwe Jahn: The training of senior athletes in disabled sports is currently on a narrow level. As with the non-disabled, national and regional cadres are allowed to train. The rehab sport is currently officially set to 0 and thus also a victim of the restrictive lockdown measures. Individual clubs have different online offers. These are a solution for patients for whom movement is particularly important. This is primarily about therapeutic help. However, there are many older people who do not have the technical requirements or understanding of the technology at all. This is why the online offers cannot be used across the board. In addition, rehabilitation sports are not just about offering exercise. It is also about the individual control of the execution and the social exchange. This is difficult to do on the Internet.
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What does the lockdown actually do to the patient?
Many people are insecure and, above all, have a dramatic fear of the corona virus. This is of course counterproductive for rehab sport. Here the associations have to take the patients by the hand – if they want to. The clubs offer a lot of support here.
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How is the mood in the association and in the clubs?
The clubs complain like any other business. Especially the clubs with their own premises and full-time employees naturally have a big problem at the moment, as do clubs that explicitly rely on rehab sport. They currently have much less income, but they are urgently dependent on it. Since the first easing began, I have been concerned about the fact that the Saxon health authorities alone have different interpretations of restrictions. Of course, that doesn’t make it any easier for us. It would be great if the politicians simply deal with our reality before making their decisions and simply call the associations and clubs to find out more.
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Are there any differences between the first and second lockdown?
First of all, the second lockdown has already lasted significantly longer than the first. The dramatic thing is that the number of infections is currently increasing despite the lockdown. I think we needed the second lockdown to even realize the seriousness of the situation. In my opinion, calm will only return when everyone has the opportunity to vaccinate.
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How are the preparations for the Paralympics in Tokyo going under the current corona conditions?
All federal cadres have the opportunity to train. The same rules apply here as for non-disabled athletes. I am well networked with Martin Schulz, among others. My impression is that he is doing well in training. I am convinced that the Paralympics and the Olympic Games will take place in Tokyo this summer. But I am very curious about the conditions. I think there will be an extreme hygiene concept. If the games were canceled, it would be a huge disaster not only for the sport but also for Japan. The hardest thing for coaches and athletes is to preserve the top performance originally planned for summer 2020 for a year. This has never happened before.
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How has the association actually developed in recent years?
We currently have almost 35,000 members, including around 5,000 disabled athletes. The majority of our members are rehab athletes. Here our clubs play an important role in making people fit again after illnesses and in bringing them back to everyday fitness. Before the corona pandemic, the number of members in our clubs increased continuously over the years. Last year, due to the numerous restrictions, a total of 5,408 members left their associations or died, 13 percent of the total members. Of course that affects us. But I am optimistic that normality will return the more people are vaccinated. Then people will return to their virtues and come back to the clubs.
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The topic of “inclusion” boils up again and again in various media. In your opinion, is “inclusion” actually practiced in society?
First of all, a lot has happened in recent years. But I hope that we can get all sports associations to ensure that people with disabilities actually find themselves in all of the statutes. I also hope that we at the clubs develop the courage that disabled and non-disabled athletes can simply do sports together and that the clubs lose their fear of disabled athletes. Even the athletes with disabilities often live in their own world. I would like people with disabilities to think about how they can improve their quality of life through sport. We need more inclusion – on the one hand, with regard to the range of sporting offers and, on the other hand, that people with disabilities are part of our society and should have the same opportunities as people without disabilities.
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