The youth team of the Kegel-Sport-Club Heuchelheim will be competing in new hoodies in future - donated by Stadtwerke Gießen.
Stylish hoodies instead of a colourful jumble: the youth team of the Kegel-Sport-Club Heuchelheim will also be sporting a new, uniform look outside of competitions in future. Stadtwerke Gießen (SWG) has equipped the 14 young bowlers with modern, light green hoodies. "This way, our team not only shows team unity on the bowling alley, but also on the way there or at the photo shoot. This promotes the team spirit," explains Stefan Dittrich, the club's 1st youth manager.
The jumpers were handed over during a training session in the Heuchelheim sports hall. The youth group trains on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6 pm at the local bowling alley. "In view of the team's recent successes, it is a very special pleasure for us to support KSC Heuchelheim," emphasises Stephanie Orlik. At SWG, she is responsible for everything related to the "Spiel' Dein Spiel" ("Play your game") campaign, among other things.
KSC Heuchelheim has dedicated itself to scissor bowling. This variant is played on an 18-metre-long lane, which gradually widens after 9.50 metres - to 1.25 metres at the cones - and rises by around ten centimetres from the run-up to the finish. Its surface is slightly concave. And that is exactly what makes it so challenging. The competition involves 120 throws spread over four different lanes, on which the balls roll differently. What's more, the athletes have to throw into the full 15 times per lane - in other words, they have to hit all nine skittles every time - and clear them 15 times. The skittles are only put back in place completely when all nine have fallen or only the centre one is still standing. The total number of skittles knocked down equals the score. "If you want to be successful in this sport, you have to constantly readjust to the course," explains Marco Wiegand, the club's 2nd youth manager.
Mostly at the front
In recent years, KSC Heuchelheim has made a name for itself, particularly when it comes to youth development. The associated commitment is now paying off: The KSC currently has around 80 members - with an average age of just 33. However, the youth team is not only strong in terms of numbers, but also in sporting terms. In the typical season from September to March, the youngsters play in the Verbandsliga and the Bezirksliga. In the remaining time, the team bowls for titles at district, Hesse and German championships. The German Youth Championships in Oberthal, Saarland, in June brought the club its most recent successes - a third place in the U14 mixed pair competition, a fifth place in both the U18 mixed and male pair competitions, seventh place in the U18 female single competition and even a national title: Silja Wiegandt became German champion in the U14 age group by a large margin. This means that after exactly 30 years, a representative of the KSC is once again at the top in this discipline. In addition, 14-year-old Silja was called up to the national team squad. And 17-year-old Katharina Mann won two world championship titles at the beginning of August as a member of a mixed team and in a tandem mixed. "We put a lot of energy and passion into our youth work - with positive results for the whole club," explains Lars Wiegandt, 1st Chairman of KSC Heuchelheim.
More sport for young people
"Through our initiative, we want to play our part in ensuring that children and young people regularly take part in sport and exercise. In KSC Heuchelheim, we have found an ideal partner in this respect," summarises Stephanie Orlik. However, such exceptional sporting successes are not a decisive criterion for awarding a donation as part of the "Spiel' Dein Spiel" campaign. In fact, Stadtwerke Gießen not only supports clubs, but also schools and other institutions that offer meaningful exercise programmes for children and young people. The idea of performance only plays a subordinate role.
Further information on the SWG "Spiel' Dein Spiel" campaign and applications can be found at
www.swg-spieldeinspiel.de