With the SWG into the top flight
The Wettenberg Skittles Club (Kegelsportverein Wettenberg e.V.) and SWG have extended their partnership three years early.
The men’s first team of the Wettenberg Skittles Club has done it: following a commanding victory on the final home match day of the 2025/2026 season, the team secured promotion to the 1st Bundesliga as runners-up. Qualifying for Germany’s top division marks the greatest sporting success to date for the Wettenberg skittles players. “As one of the main sponsors, we are delighted to share in the team’s joy at this extraordinary achievement,” explains Ulli Boos, company spokesperson for Stadtwerke Gießen (SWG). And it doesn’t stop at the congratulations. SWG is honouring the promotion with an early extension of the existing partnership agreement for a further three years.
Planning certainty for the Bundesliga
The continuation of this tried-and-tested partnership comes at just the right time for the club. This is because promotion involves significantly greater expenditure – particularly of a financial nature. “The fact that SWG continues to stand by us gives us the planning certainty we need. This makes many things easier and increases our chances of achieving our goal – namely, to compete in the 1st Bundesliga on a long-term basis,” says Mike Heese, vice-chairman of KSV Wettenberg.
Reaching the very top with young talent
Anyone familiar with the regional skittles scene knows that promotion is the result of carefully coordinated, long-term youth development. Indeed, players from the club’s own youth ranks are now among the key performers in the Bundesliga squad. Regardless of this, the young talents have already made their mark in various age groups. This is evident from their numerous successes: in 2019, a mixed U14 team secured KSV Wettenberg’s first German championship title. The brothers Jan and Tino Anders – both established players in the Bundesliga team – are outstanding examples of just how well the youth development programme at KSV works. Trained in Wettenberg, they most recently won four gold medals for Germany in the U24 age group at the 2025 Junior World Championships in Herne. As a result, Jan Anders was voted DKB Sportsman of the Year 2025 by the German Skittles Federation (DKB). “Supporting regional clubs such as KSV Wettenberg is a key priority for us. The combination of top-class sport and exemplary youth work makes KSV Wettenberg the ideal partner for us,” explains Ulli Boos.
The sport in brief
There are four variants of skittles: Classic, Bohle, Bowling and Schere – the variant practised so successfully in Wettenberg. Even laypeople can recognise this form of skittles by the lane. Starting at just 35 centimetres wide at the release point, the distance between the side rails gradually increases to 1.25 metres, reminiscent of the open scissors that give the game its name. The lane rises by ten centimetres towards the pins. An important detail: A slight curve in the lane affects the ball’s trajectory. This curve varies from lane to lane and requires the players to adapt quickly. This is because they each play 30 throws across four different lanes – 15 for striking a full house and 15 for clearing the pins.