“They’re all here too early again!” Fynn Naumann stands at the upper end of the parkour area, from here he has a good overview of what usually happens here every Friday evening: The children’s training is not yet complete when the group of young people storms into the hall. Some of them climb up the path to their trainer. “Can we already do something?” “No, you have to wait until the others are done,” Naumann replies patiently.
Euphoria and anticipation can be clearly seen in the children and young people here in the adventure power plant, the reasons for this are not closed to adults either: A playground full of modern gymnastics equipment extends over several levels across the spacious hall in the Werksviertel. Jumping, climbing, throwing down – all cushioned by butter-soft mattresses. What does a child’s heart desire more? While the group of six to ten-year-olds is still joking around on the trampolines, the slightly older ones have to be reined in by Fynn Naumann – they are only allowed on at 6:30 p.m.
Every Friday, the “Free Arts of Movement” association offers open training for children and young people in its hall. They can let off steam here for three hours, divided into two groups. The special thing about it: the offer is free for everyone. This is made possible by the “Open Sports Program” of the city of Munich.
From the beginning of February to the end of April, the city, together with partners, is offering a diverse exercise and sports program for young people for the first time, especially indoors. The aim is for them to be able to keep fit even in the colder months of the year – without having to become a member of a club.
The focus is on trend and action sports: air track, basketball and skateboarding are some of the things on offer. Parkour and trampoline are on the program at the adventure power plant. The concept of open training is to be taken literally.
“The children do what they feel like doing,” says Naumann. The coaches are there to support them. So he and his colleagues don’t dictate what the boys and girls have to do; rather they come to the trainers and tell them what they would like to try. Then they teach them the correct technique and try appropriate exercises. “We don’t drill the kids,” says Naumann, who himself started at the club when he was eleven.
The evening begins with an adrenaline rush
However, the obligatory warm-up should not be missed at the beginning of each training session. After the youngsters have systematically stretched their limbs, they can go straight to their “absolute favourite”, as the trainer says: jumping onto the airbag, a huge, air-filled mattress. From a height of around four meters, the boys and girls throw themselves fearlessly and acrobatically into the depths, so the evening begins with an adrenaline rush. Then they swarm out and conquer the hall.
Also among the jumpers are Henry, eleven, and Elia, twelve. Both have been in training for over a year. For them, the Open Sports offer is the opportunity for another training session, which they eagerly take advantage of. “It’s just so much fun,” says Elia. “We can be free, but we also have coaches who can really show us something.” Henry also appreciates the freedom of this sport, the “adrenaline when you’re in the air,” as he says. For him it is clear: “Later on I want to be a coach too.”
There are usually 15 to 20 participants in each group on Friday evening, both club members such as Henry and Elia and children who only became aware of the training through the Open Sports program. He sees a few new faces every week, says Fynn Naumann: “The response is definitely very high.”
The city of Munich is also happy with the two-month pilot project. “The project team is currently very satisfied with how the courses are being accepted by children and young people,” says Thomas Groß from the Department for Education and Sport. The ice skating courses, for example, were very well attended, as was the basketball training. An interesting development could also be observed in skateboarding: “The demand for the only girls courses was enormously high,” says Groß. Therefore, adjustments were made here and another course was offered only for girls.
In the large hall in the Werksviertel, participants can learn another sport that has made its breakthrough in recent years: Ninja Warrior. This modern obstacle course is characterized by short indoor parkour routes that require climbing and hand-hanging skills. The TV show for children of the same name also caused a boom in Germany. “Many here aim to be part of the show,” says Fynn Naumann.
One thing is clear: the offer is well received, and the special action sports that the city promotes with it have been chosen wisely. However, the program expires at the end of April. Will there be a repeat next winter? “As of today, we assume that the second Open Sports season can start in November 2022,” says Thomas Groß. Henry and Elijah will be happy. They confirm that they want to continue jumping, climbing, hand-hanging – and landing softly in the adventure power plant for a long time to come.