"Play your game" is the name of the campaign organised by Stadtwerke Giessen to support clubs, schools and institutions. Its aim is to promote organised youth work in the field of sport. On 23 August, the DLRG Waldgirmes, Naunheim, Dorlar benefited from "Spiel' Dein Spiel": the lifeguards received 15 pairs of water wings for swimming training.
According to a forsa survey conducted in 2017, almost 60 per cent of ten-year-old children in Germany are non-swimmers. The DLRG local group Waldgirmes-Naunheim-Dorlar e.V., among others, is resolutely tackling this problem. The lifeguards not only ensure safety at Lake Dutenhofen during the summer months. They also offer swimming courses - especially for children.
"We use the water wings in our beginners' courses," says Laura Schneider, the deputy chairwoman of the organisation. She applied for support from Stadtwerke Gießen (SWG) on the "Spiel' Dein Spiel" website. "Teaching children to swim is a good thing in itself. But the DLRG local group Waldgirmes-Naunheim-Dorlar e.V. doesn't stop at beginners' courses. The children usually stay with it for longer. This makes the association a prime example of "Play your game", says Stephanie Orlik, explaining the decision to support the organisation. She is responsible for sponsorship at SWG.
Predominantly children and young people
The importance of children and young people at the DLRG local group Waldgirmes-Naunheim-Dorlar e.V. can be seen from simple figures: Of the current 450 members, 60 per cent are under 18 years old. The younger ones hone their technique and gradually acquire the corresponding youth swimming badges in bronze, silver and gold following the seahorse. From the age of 12, they can then start training to become lifeguards. To do this, they attend training together once a week in the indoor pool in Waldgirmes. The current 30 or so swimming novices, who are now also practising with the new SWG water wings, even come twice a week.
However, turning non-swimmers into safe swimmers and swimmers into lifeguards is only one motivation for the DLRG local group Waldgirmes-Naunheim-Dorlar e.V. In fact, this is also how the organisation recruits the necessary young people for its important voluntary work. Without volunteer lifeguards, who provide the necessary water rescue service - for example at Dutenhofener See - summer swimming would not be possible in the vast majority of bodies of water and in many swimming pools. Consequently, every local DLRG group needs many young people to become lifeguards or instructors over the years. As Stephanie Orlik put it when handing over the water wings: "The DLRG provides an indispensable service to society. It goes without saying that we support them as much as we can."