When, after years of thinking, planning and rejecting, they dared to take the step to a new building at TSV München-Ost, Corona was only known as a beer brand at the sports club in Haidhausen. The club with its 16 departments had almost 4,000 members two and a half years ago when construction work began on the new hall. And it could not be overlooked, because the new triple gym was built on top of the old one, so that on Sieboldstrasse and the corner of Auerfeldstrasse there was a lot of hype.
Due to the inconvenience of the construction site, the membership dropped from 4,000 to 3,800. Then came Corona, and soon the club had fewer than 3,000 paying members. “The goal when construction began was 6,000,” says Andreas Hesse, who runs the association as a deputy with his father, Hans Ulrich Hesse.
In the past six months, the number of members has risen again to 3700, but the contributions are missing everywhere. It’s good that the Beisheim Foundation decided this summer to support the Munich sports clubs plagued by the pandemic. At TSV, the funding flowed into digitization and public relations: fresh website, new club newspaper. Somehow you have to recruit new members.
TSV München-Ost is one of 31 non-profit clubs that benefit from the Beisheim Foundation’s “strong club” program. Its aim is to maintain the diverse sports club landscape in the city and in the district of Munich and to make the clubs future-proof. To this end, the foundation has distributed around 400,000 euros, 5,000 to 20,000 euros per club.
Digitalization? “There’s never any money in the club’s coffers for something like that.”
The associations were able to apply from July to September to finance investments in their infrastructure, to support employees through measures such as further training or to implement innovative concepts, for example to support members in need.
Annette Heuser, Managing Director of the Beisheim Foundation, says: “We don’t just walk through Munich with the foundation watering can, but take a close look at who really needs it and where there are bottlenecks.” For some clubs these are “existential situations”.
The effects of the pandemic on sport are serious. Sport in particular has the potential to strengthen health and the community in the pandemic, says Heuser. A lot of voluntary work has broken down, “because nothing more happened and many have looked for other fields of activity. You have to bring them back now and make them offers”.
Another finding: the digital infrastructure is not in good shape. “We are very badly positioned in Germany,” complains Heuser, “but there is never any money in the club’s coffers for something like that.” A good website is “important to attract children and young people”.
It is especially difficult for children from households that are not involved in sports
The projects now funded are diverse: FC Wacker München will support children who have fled from financially weak families through free memberships or reduced membership fees as well as free club clothing, tickets or participation in holiday camps.
Regatta Munich uses the investment for the complete digitization of the club and event management. The table tennis club TTC Perlach is renewing its indoor equipment, wants to hire more staff and train coaches. In addition, new training units for children and young people as well as a training camp are to be offered.
Because there is consensus that the pandemic has just shaken the offspring. At ESV Munich, the city’s largest popular sports club, they came up with the following idea: elementary school children should be offered free sport twice a week for a year, all sports except tennis.
“These children can be in need for financial or social reasons,” explains managing director Pia Kraske. In addition, there are many children from households that are not involved in sports. The ESV near the Laim S-Bahn station operates a children’s sports school that cooperates with primary schools. “They suggest children, and we then give advice on which sport could be considered,” says Kraske.
A prime example of low-threshold access to sport – “and a great idea from them,” she says to the Beisheim Foundation. The ESV has also lost members, around 1,300 according to Kraske. “But we’re slowly catching up again.”
There is now a video tower at HC Wacker
It looks a little different in Sendling at HC Wacker, where hockey and tennis are played. “We welcomed the thousandth member in October,” says First Chairman Björn-Alexander Schmidt. “We got through Corona very well, but only with a lot of effort, especially in implementing the rules. There have already been many individual coaching hours.”
Thanks to the “Christmas present” from the foundation, the coaches of the 28 hockey teams will in future be able to rely on a new training tool: a video tower. Situations from training or the game can be analyzed afterwards without the physical, mental and emotional strain on the field.
The raised position of the camera allows the tactical view: Scenes can be viewed in isolation and individual actions can be understood. A festival for every trainer.
They could also be given a training booster in the form of workshops with the former national hockey coach and Olympic champion Stefan Kermas. And then there was actually also funding for the urgently needed renovation of the changing rooms from the 1970s. Somewhere you have to finally get this pandemic out of your clothes.