More than 80 children do gymnastics at TSV Launsbach. This requires various pieces of equipment, such as boxes, benches, horizontal bars and springboards. The club received one of these as part of the SWG "Play your game" campaign.
Tuesdays and Thursdays are always busy days at the Wettenberg-Launsbach community centre. On these days, children between the ages of two and ten meet for gymnastics. Rolling forwards and backwards on the floor, jumping over the trestle, pulling themselves up on benches suspended from wall bars or swinging on the rings - the little ones really have fun. And they also lay the foundations for many other sports. "Children's gymnastics is an ideal foundation," says Volker Cloos, 1st Chairman of TSV Launsbach. In fact, gymnastics promotes many skills that are needed in other disciplines - such as coordination, strength and agility. "This was an important criterion for the jury in deciding to make a donation to TSV Launsbach as part of our 'Spiel' Dein Spiel' campaign," explains Stephanie Orlik, who is responsible for sponsorship at SWG's Marketing Service. "Apart from that, the trainers do a really great job here," she adds.
As the old springboard had clearly passed its prime, Volker Cloos turned to the "Spiel' Dein Spiel" campaign. With the request for a new one, especially for children. It provides the young athletes with additional energy and therefore height, even with a comparatively slow run-up. To jump over a trestle or onto a box. "I'm sure that the children will now have a completely new jumping experience," says a delighted Volker Cloos.
Five different groups
At TSV Launsbach, the more than 80 gymnastics children are divided into five groups. Because it's not about performance, but about the fun of exercise, age determines who joins where. For the youngest children up to the age of three and from three to five, mum, dad or even fit grandparents always come along to the class. The pre-school children start off on Thursdays. After them come the first and second graders, and the children from the third and fourth school years round off the programme. A total of three trained instructors and two assistant instructors organise exciting gymnastics lessons for their protégés under the direction of Johanna Holzapfel, the head of the division, and ensure that no one gets hurt by providing the appropriate assistance. Or that the children outgrow themselves. After all, gymnastics always means taking on a challenge, summoning up your courage and daring to try something new. Especially with the exercises where the new springboard is used. Or balancing on an inverted bench. "We are very happy that so many, mainly young women, are involved in our children's gymnastics programme," explains Volker Cloos. This is particularly appreciated by the parents and obviously also the children. After all, the vast majority of children who start the parent-child gymnastics programme at the age of two or three stay with it until the end of primary school. "The work of TSV Launsbach is extremely valuable for the children," Stephanie Orlik is certain. After all, doing gymnastics together prepares them for life in more ways than one: They learn that exercise is fun, challenge their muscles, train their coordination skills and also learn how to integrate into a group.