There is probably no team sport whose members are tougher than water polo players. That the water at your training facility in the Dante pool is now colder than usual because of the looming gas and energy crisis? With coach Ivan Mikic and his men, that shouldn’t even cause the slightest twitch under the bathing cap. “That doesn’t bother us at all, not at the current temperatures anyway,” calls the coach of the second division SV 1899 Munich into the phone. So far he hasn’t received any negative news, but when indoor training in the Olympic pool is due again from September to April/May, Mikic doesn’t know whether his squad will come to train there regularly either.
The water polo players are also worried about their training times if pools are closed.
(Photo: Claus Schunk)
The club has registered seven or eight teams, from the U10s to the 60-year-olds in the Masters class. The water polo players already have a plan B just in case: the small training pool in Giesing. “It’s just fine for training,” says Mikic, “rather not for the games”. Means: Without the Olympic pool, the season in the 2nd Bundesliga would be canceled again, as with Corona. The situation is similar with the club colleagues in the artistic diving department: They can only practice from the tower in the Olympic pool anyway.
It’s that time again: big politics is making its way to the local level, including in sports. Club life, which had been shaken by the virus, had barely returned to normal when the next hit came for the clubs: the energy crisis as a result of the war in Ukraine. In view of the impending energy shortage, Mayor Dieter Reiter (SPD) has already commissioned the municipal departments to implement effective energy-saving measures in the administration buildings in the short term. According to the city, cuts in sports operations are currently not foreseeable. But it is clear that the costs of maintaining the game and training operations will increase, the only question is how badly.
What is the situation in football, the number one sport? Fabian Frühwirth, spokesman for the Bavarian Football Association (BFV), in which 4,600 clubs are organized, says: “You can’t yet guess the dimensions. Nevertheless, now is the time to specifically point out that energy is of course used more sparingly. On the other hand, the clubs must not be left alone.” The weather is the best at the moment and nobody is thinking about heating, “but that starts with the shower. We warn that at some point the rude awakening will come and the clubs will then get into trouble,” said Frühwirth.
In view of the higher energy costs to be expected, some clubs have no other choice but to increase membership fees, “and that could cost us a few members,” fears Erwin Lösel, head of the soccer team at SV 1880 Munich. 400 kickers are active in the 2000-strong club in the west end. At the moment, training is still going on normally, and Lösel is not afraid that the floodlights will be switched off in the fall: “We switched to LEDs a good year ago and have been using significantly less electricity since then.” He estimates that it could get colder in the indoor sports: “In our club, karate is very big – they can hardly train in anoraks in winter.”
Discussions with politicians about subsidies are already underway
The need to save energy has also been recognized by record-breaking soccer champions FC Bayern, who in future will only be able to light up their stadium, which is illuminated in the club’s colors, three instead of six hours after dark. The turf heating, which was previously operated with gas, will be converted to an air heat pump, the electricity for which will be supplied by the solar panels installed in the stadium. In addition, the air conditioning in the arena and the 106 boxes will be reduced, and only cold water will flow in the toilets.
The German Football Association (DFB) also warns of high additional costs when conducting training and competitions. Many clubs could “get into financial difficulties in the coming months, which would massively threaten their ability to survive,” says a statement. DFB President Bernd Neuendorf will therefore talk to Wolfgang Schmidt, the Federal Minister for Special Tasks, about short-term help in the Federal Chancellery. According to BFV spokesman Frühwirth, the Bavarian association has also long since contacted the Bavarian Ministry of the Interior: “The question now is how to give clubs grants,” says Frühwirth.
However, it is not so easy to regulate this across the board, because the ownership structure is not the same, but extremely different: Sometimes the municipality is the operator and also bears the operating costs, sometimes the system is left to the association, which only takes over the operating costs, sometimes it is The facility is entirely owned by the club. “But a city or municipal council can approve grants of some kind,” suggests Frühwirth, “there must also be solutions via the city and municipality day, and we are actually hopeful about that.”
Most recently, however, the German Association of Cities suggested saving money by suspending the operation of indoor swimming pools in view of rising energy prices. An idea that was rejected by the Bavarian State Sports Association (BLSV): “This is not a suitable measure for us. We cannot take anything from the recommendation of the German Association of Cities,” said BLSV President Jörg Ammon. Sport and exercise are essential for people to stay physically healthy: “The long-term damage that you compare to short-term monetary savings is great.” Of course there could be energy savings, for example with floodlights.
“We can only keep our fingers crossed for each other”
Which brings us back to football. According to BFV spokesman Frühwirth, the topic of energy lockdown is present at the clubs, but has not yet arrived across the board: “I am sure that something will happen quickly in the next few weeks.” At the latest after the time change, training without floodlights is no longer possible. During Corona, many footballers stayed outside for training, did not switch to the hall in winter, but the outdoor players also want to jump under a warm shower.
Even swimming clubs like SV 1899 Munich, with 700 members one of the largest swimming clubs in the city, cannot do without warm water. “In the Michaelibad, the only public utility pool that is heated with gas, the temperature has already been lowered,” says Christina Skrandies from the office, “but you can cope with that. You move, yes. But if emergency plan 3 comes into force , it may be that the baths will be closed again. That would be hard for us, again.” At the SV, the Monday evening training would be canceled: 15 to 20 beginners in the teaching pool, about as many competitive swimmers and as many amateur athletes in the large pool on two lanes, from 6 p.m. to 9.30 p.m., a total of six groups.
“Space is very tight anyway, but there’s no other way,” says Skrandies, “if these occupancy times are eliminated: yes, where will the people go?” There are also occupancies in other school pools, but redistribution to the next district is difficult, especially with children. “And these bathrooms are all occupied! Then it’s time to move together. But we’ll do that anyway. We can only keep our fingers crossed for each other, we’re all in the same bathroom.” I guess that’s called gallows humor.