The sports associations in Rhineland-Palatinate, with the state sports association at the top as the political interest representative, have now turned to state politics with a concrete proposal for a step-by-step return to sports. Under the term “Corona Sportampel RLP”, the sports federations show in a key issues paper how a sports business adapted to the respective infection process could look like.
“Organized sport in Rhineland-Palatinate supports the restrictions associated with the lockdown in solidarity,” says LSB President Wolfgang Bärnwick. “The state sports association, the sports associations and our sports clubs will continue to support efforts to control the corona pandemic in the future. We are not making unrealistic demands on the timing of the easing. However, we are convinced that with a view to the next round of the Chancellor and the Prime Ministers, long-term planning and medium-term perspectives are required, on which the approximately 6,000 Rhineland-Palatinate associations can orient themselves. “Bärnwick criticizes that the positive social and The health-promoting effects of sport in the club have not yet been adequately recognized in the political corona discussions at the federal level. “Sport needs to be brought back into the focus of politics at the federal and then also at the state level. It needs to be shown an open perspective as soon as possible, because we are still convinced that sport is a special way of coping with the health – mental and physical – and can contribute to the social consequences of the pandemic and is therefore part of the solution and will serve to cope with the consequences of the corona pandemic “, it says in the preliminary remark to the step-by-step plan of the LSB. This will be discussed in a working group with representatives of organized sport (LSB, sports federations, professional associations and clubs) and the Ministry of the Interior and then published in the coming week – also taking into account the resolution of the Conference of Sports Ministers, which is currently chaired by the Rhineland-Palatinate Sports Minister Lewentz .
In addition to the currently necessary opening perspective, the lack of exercise among children and adolescents and the decline in membership are major concerns for the LSB. This is particularly the case in the children and youth sector. “Children are particularly suffering from the pandemic and the associated lack of exercise. In order to mitigate the long-term consequences, politicians should therefore consider opening up children’s and youth sport as a priority, ”said Bärnwick.
Throughout Rhineland-Palatinate, the decline in membership will be around 3.5 percent compared to a year ago (for more details see the press release), for children and young people it is up to 15 percent in some cases, depending on the age group (e.g. under six-year-olds) even more serious. “The lack of exercise, especially among children and adolescents, has increased again due to the increased screen time due to the corona-related digital distance teaching. That is why it is immensely important, especially for children and young people, that the sporting business starts up again as quickly as possible with a sense of proportion in order to get them excited again for sport and exercise, ”explains Bärnwick.
In its paper, the LSB and the sports federations suggest a uniform approach in sports clubs, schools and daycare centers – in the same way as daycare centers and schools are reopened, this should also be done for children and youth sports in the club. Otherwise, the LSB’s Corona sports traffic light provides four levels. Starting from the current level red (sport only alone, in pairs or with your own household), the path could lead to training in smaller groups and sport in larger groups to training and competition without contact and group size restrictions.
“Club sports take place under supervision, with fixed rules and in defined groups. Complemented by extensive hygiene concepts that they worked out, tested and meanwhile further developed in 2020, our clubs act very responsibly, ”explains Bärnwick. The LSB requests politicians to take the experiences of sports clubs and organizations from 2020 seriously and to take them into account when updating the Rhineland-Palatinate Corona Control Ordinance. It is also important to avoid inequalities between the club’s own and municipal sports facilities. In its key issues paper, the LSB recommends, for example, a “coordinated approach between the state government, the state sports federation and central municipal associations” for the uniform opening of sports facilities.
The first figures on the membership statistics show some worrying developments
“Even if the surveys of around 6,000 sports clubs are not yet complete – the response rate is currently a good 90 percent – we are assuming a drop in membership of around 3.5 percent nationwide,” said Christof Palm, acting chief executive of the LSB. “In view of the fact that club sports have not been possible or only to a limited extent for a long time in the past few months, we would like to thank an overwhelming majority of those involved in sports in Rhineland-Palatinate for remaining loyal to their clubs,” said Palm. In concrete terms, this means that at the end of 2020 there were around 45,000 to 50,000 fewer members in sports clubs in Rhineland-Palatinate than a year earlier. A good 60 percent of the clubs lose, 10 percent stay the same and almost 30 percent gain members. The size of the club plays a decisive role: While smaller clubs (up to 100 members) lose an average of 0.5 percent (which roughly corresponds to the development in previous years), one can say: the larger the club, the greater the percentage loss. The large clubs (over 1000 members) are there with an average of 6 percent, and in individual cases up to 15 percent loss.
The clubs with the highest declines also include those that are very intensively involved in youth work. They usually benefit greatly from having teens following up. This does not currently work because the club is not operating. This interrupts the normal flow of the association – exits and entries roughly equalize each other. The same applies to associations which in the past were able to gain members on a large scale through course systems. If there are no offers, there will be no admissions or they will leave more quickly than in clubs that are mainly defined by team sports (here the member loyalty is significantly higher).
It can be clearly seen that the professional associations or sports that were also possible for a long time during the lockdown – since they can be carried out mainly outdoors and as individual sports – have developed the most positively or least poorly. Sports such as tennis, golf, cycling or air sports should be mentioned here. It looks significantly worse for skiing, DRLG, swimming, soccer and handball (in each case in the very young age groups) or also in athletics.
It is noticeable that the majority of the decline in membership is in the age range from 0 to 18 years. “Here we assume a share of around 50 percent of the total loss of members,” emphasizes Christof Palm. “The figures are already showing a worrying picture. We have to start with a member recruitment campaign here, support clubs and families so that children and young people can quickly find their way back to the sports clubs.” The low numbers result in particular from fewer new entries, for example for 0-6 year olds. This shows the largest percentage decline with around -15 percent. In addition to the 0-6 year olds, the greatest declines were found in the 7-14 year olds (approx. -5 percent) and the 41-60 year olds (approx. -4 percent). The development of the number of members in the group of over 60s differs significantly from the general trend: “Here it could end up being a ‘zero number’, so entries and exits are balanced,” says Palm.
There are also regional differences: regions that are more rural and have a lower degree of organization lose less percentage than larger cities, true to the motto: whoever has less does not have so much to lose …
Source text / image:
Sportbund Pfalz e. V.
Paul-Ehrlich-Strasse 28 a
67663 Kaiserslautern
www.sportbund-pfalz.de
Kaiserslautern, 19.02.2021
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