Action programme reaches around 1500 children and young people
Federal programme realises offers for children and young people in sport and natural history
The "Catching up after Corona" action programme launched by the federal government provided many children and young people in Chemnitz with numerous experiences during the summer holidays. Around 1,200 girls and boys took part in the holiday activities offered by the city sports association. In addition, almost 300 interested people took advantage of the programmes offered by the Museum of Natural History. A total of 80,000 euros was made available by the federal government for these programmes.
In the field of sport, these included taster courses, one-day offers, sporting adventure and holiday camps in various sports such as basketball, volleyball, beach volleyball, handball, floorball, tennis, hockey and ice hockey, as well as general sports activities in after-school clubs and on public playgrounds. Many sports clubs volunteered their time to get children and young people interested in sport and possibly to encourage them to join a club.
With the support of swimming clubs, the ISB sports centre and the DLRG, children also learned to swim in several courses and were able to acquire the "seahorse" certificate.
The Museum of Natural History also worked with other stakeholders, including Ute Spindler, the Children and Youth Officer, and Eva Tiepmar, a student at Leipzig University, to develop ideas, some of which have already been realised. During the summer holidays, children and young people had the opportunity to discover the fossilised treasures from Chemnitz at the "Window into the Earth's History" excavation site.
The Museum of Natural History and several sports clubs, particularly in the sports of basketball, hockey and football, are planning further activities during the autumn holidays.
Among other things, the Museum of Natural History will be focussing on wood as a material. Children can build raised beds with the Holzkombinat and test their craft skills in a creative workshop with Therese Lakatos.
Janette Füseler, Managing Director of Stadtsportbund Chemnitz: "We are very grateful for this catch-up programme from the federal government. As a result, many children were able to take part in numerous interesting sporting activities during the holidays. Now it's time to keep at it, because the gaps left by the pandemic, especially when it comes to learning to swim or joining a sports club for the first time, cannot be closed so quickly, let alone with a holiday programme."
Ute Spindler, Children and Youth Officer for the City of Chemnitz: "I am very pleased about these additional activities for our children and young people. In these times, it is extremely important to support exercise, play and leisure activities in the community with offers centred around sport, nature and health."