That was the WIRO sports day: sport in many facets
Stefan “Paule” Beinlich took part in the WIRO sports day in his role as head of the youth department at Hansa Rostock and reported on his work with young soccer players. The former German athlete Christian Schenk, who won the gold medal in the decathlon for the GDR at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, presented the Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Association for Disabled and Rehabilitation Sports (VBRS MV) together with other representatives. Schenk has been the state trainer for para athletics for Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania for around ten months. “I never wanted to be a coach, but now it’s the best job I can do,” he summed up. The former high-performance athlete presented an athletic throwing discipline with a gymnastics club that was created specifically for athletes with disabilities.
Lars Pickardt, managing director of VBRS MV and former national coach for wheelchair fencing, demonstrated inclusion the other way around at the WIRO Sports Day by inviting a spectator to try out wheelchair fencing. “Not doing sport because of a disability is not an excuse for us,” said Pickardt, the association’s motto. Eight to ten athletes from the VBRS MV are expected to compete at the Paralympics in Tokyo, two of which belong to the goalball division. Athletes from the association demonstrated on stage how the game works with the ball filled with bells and opaque dark glasses. “Half of our players in the association actually have no visual impairment. In this case, inclusion happens the other way around,” said Plickardt about the Goalballers, who are currently playing in the 2nd Bundesliga.
As the sporting event continued on the stage in the Kurhausgarten, spectators were able to row on an ergometer with the rowing athletes from the Rostock Olympic Rowing Club and take a closer look at one of the rowers. The PSV Rostock judo youth team and the Rostock Coatis with inline hockey, along with other clubs, also provided sporting action on stage. The spectators were able to practice throwing baskets next to the stage with the Rostock Seawolves, who came along with their mascot Wolfi Seewolf.
Further information about the organizer of the WIRO Sports Day can be found at:
