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"Leipzig sportlich": the Sports Gymnasium in the course of time |
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In the beginning was the deed
The conditions were poor but it was a beginning: On 1st September 1952 instruction began at the Children's Sports School Leipzig – one of the first four schools of its kind in the German Democratic Republic. Four sports teachers taught 150 students from the fifth to the seventh grade in the buildings of 8. Polytechnische Oberschule in Dölitz at the southern periphery of the city. They taught gymnastics, swimming and athletics. Nobody would have thought that these simple beginnings would lead to one of the most successful sports schools in the country. |
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Willingness to take risks
The gym at the Dölitz school was damaged and could only be rebuilt very slowly owing to building material shortages. A second gym could only be warmed to a temperature of eight degrees even after coal quota had been increased. The support of the Nationale Aufbauwerk initiative facilitated the creation of a sports ground with dirttrack. Yet, the students only had a restricted use of their new sports ground. The expensive lawn, laid with a lot effort, had to be preserved, and the track, which had not been sufficiently compounded, quickly fell into disuse. The indoor swimming pool of the former ''Bundesschule des Arbeiter Turn- und Sportbundes'' in Fichtestrasse was accessible to the students only after a long tram ride.
But the poor training conditions did not dampen the enthusiasm of instructors or students. Nevertheless, they would be unable to achieve the sportive objectives under such circumstances. And that was why the Dölitz beginnings were only a short prelude.
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Jürgen Evers |
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Excerpted and translated from "Leipzig sportlich"
Publisher: Blickpunkt Buch e.V. Leipzig
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© Leipzig City Council, Office for Sports and Public Sport Facilities,
2010
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