Sports activities in German universities are conducted according to three main rules: free of charge, on a voluntary basis, and with creative flair
Yoga for the General Public
"Between 8,000 and 10,000 people train in our courses," says Lars Ehrlich, head of the sports department of the student committee (ASTA) at the University of Bonn. "About a third of all Bonn students actively attend sports sections." This is a fairly high attendance rate, considering the fact that students do sports of their own free will.
Of course, you can also do sports at home by choosing, for example, a home or semi-professional treadmill on the website http://fitnessport.com.ua. But local universities know how to attract with an extensive program. Here is just a brief list of activities that can be found on a German campus: capoeira, cheerleading, Japanese sword fencing, juggling, horseback riding, diving, underwater rugby, windsurfing, yoga, and zen meditation. You can also sign up for windsurfing and then go conquer the waves in the summer, for example, on the coast of France.
However, it seems that German students prefer conservative sports sections. "The most popular are badminton and basketball, as well as various types of aerobics," says Lars Ehrlich. "We do not train professional athletes; our task is to instill sports in the broad circles of the student body."
Among the "broad circles" is Nadia Riemer, a student of art history from Mainz. Nadia chose Pilates, a popular exercise system for maintaining tone.
Let's Do Pilates
"I found out about the courses from a friend. There was no registration; you could start classes right away," says Nadia. "We met once a week, on Friday evenings. There were 30 people in our group." One class a week, of course, won't make you a Pilates guru, but it will help keep your muscles toned.
A membership in a regular fitness club costs on average between 30 and 50 euros. Therefore, many students prefer to sign up for sports sections at the university. The main thing is the ability to combine. "On Monday you can play football, on Wednesday do fitness, and on Friday Pilates. And that will be quite enough," believes Nadia. However, you can play football or basketball almost every day; you just need to carefully follow the schedule.
Sport and the Brain
Professor Ralph Reinhardt from the University of Ulm invited a group of students to participate in an experiment and measured their performance indicators. Half of the group were prescribed sports activities at the university, while the other half were prohibited from them. After six weeks, a retest was conducted: those who exercised showed improved concentration and a number of other important indicators. Of course, sport did not turn ordinary students into geniuses, but they became better at thinking – that was the conclusion experts made.
And how do students themselves feel about sports? This year, scientists from Marburg published the results of their study. 16% of students do not do sports at all. Meanwhile, a healthy lifestyle that includes vegetables and fruits five times a day, abstaining from alcohol and cigarettes, is followed by only two percent of German students.
The German media immediately raised the alarm: students drink and smoke too much, they have back pain and suffer from nervous disorders. Yet it must be admitted that German youth lead a fairly active lifestyle. Just cycling to university and back keeps young people in shape.
The scientists from Ulm also noted another fact: those who move little not only do not help their brain but also slow down its work. In people who are actively engaged in sports, the process of brain cell death occurs more slowly. The conclusion is clear: if you happen to study in Germany, you should check out the free capoeira courses. What if you like this synthesis of dance and martial arts, or you find strip dance much more attractive?
The Largest Amusement Park
For a long time, physical education as a discipline in Germany was not taken seriously at all. "Name the largest amusement park in Germany. The German Sport University in Cologne!" – this joke can still be heard today. Yet today, 27,000 students already study sports.
By the way, physical education is one of the few faculties in Germany that requires an entrance exam for admission. The largest sports university in Germany is in Cologne – the German Sport University Cologne (Deutsche Sporthochschule).