Martin standner feared it. From monday, 2. November, he will have to stop training again with his track and field athletes from the TSV stadtsteinach/UAC kulmbach training association. In his premonition, the throwing coach has already written to district administrator klaus peter sollner and kulmbach’s oberburgermeister ingo lehmann. In the letter, standner asks the local politicians for an exemption in the event of a training ban, which then chancellor angela merkel actually announced on wednesday.
Martin standner looks after a number of top athletes, including the 18-year-old hammer thrower merlin hummel, one of germany’s most talented track and field athletes. "Another training ban like the one we had for eight weeks in the spring – while the FC bayern munich soccer players were of course allowed to continue training – cannot be imposed on an 18-year-old top athlete," says standner, says standner. In addition, he could not understand for whom there was a risk of infection when he trained with a hammer thrower at a remote throwing facility such as the one in stadtsteinacher au.
The first corona lockdown in the spring had already caused "serious damage" to his club, reminds standner. Thus, "a newly-raised group of talented beginners" has become a "newcomer" to the sport dissolved again. The 64-year-old athletics coach is particularly annoyed that there were exceptions in other federal states in the spring: "in berlin, saxony, hesse or baden-wurttemberg, federal and state squad athletes were allowed to train under corona conditions – but not us! The same is true in international comparison."
Candidate for world cup gold
Merlin hummel is currently preparing for the 2021 U20 world championship, which was supposed to take place this year. At the moment the young burghaiger is considered the best candidate for the gold medal, as he is in second place in the junior world rankings behind a ukrainian who is one year older and will have to move to the men’s team next year. "That our kulmbach talent is therefore highly motivated should be understood", says standner.
For hummel and his other squad athletes linus liebenwald, max hubner, leonie liebenwald and mia guthlein, the renowned throwing coach is therefore demanding "permission to train on the throwing field in stadtsteinach and at our training times in the gymnasium at the hans-edelmann school".
Spvgg bayreuth: the manager is angry
The manager of the regional soccer team spvgg bayreuth is really pissed off. Marcel rozgonyi (44) has little sympathy for the recent corona inspections: "the whole theater is beyond comprehension", says the 16-time bundesliga player for FC energie cottbus, who has been sporting director of spvgg bayreuth since 2019. Rozgonyi considers the renewed restrictions "excessive, the fact that ten times as many tests are now carried out and the number of really seriously ill people is very low" is not taken into account be. "These decisions are destroying entire industries."
Since the federal government bans amateur sports for the time being until the end of november, spvgg bayreuth will play its last home game for the time being on sunday against vfb eichstatt. And that without spectators, because in the district of bayreuth, too, the corona light is now on dark red. Before at least 400 spectators can be admitted again, the seven-day incidence value had to be below 100 aueisen for six consecutive days. The old town hygiene officer rolf schreiner has more understanding than rozgonyi: "we want and have to make our contribution as a club for the prevention of the pandemic."
Marcel rozgonyi at least understands that there are "age groups that need special protection". But people must also be given more responsibility for their own work.
The spvgg manager now sees the bavarian fubball association as having a duty: "there was a clear agreement with the president rainer koch that we would only continue playing with spectators. Now i expect a solution from the service provider BFV."
For the spvgg bayreuth, every game without spectators means a loss of about 35,000 euros, marcel rozgonyi calculates, not even counting the income from food sales. "We live largely on the spectators in the stadium, on whom advertising and communication services also depend – unlike the 1. And 2. League, where the television broadcasts. " But the 44-year-old manager wonders: "why do you stamp out the whole amateur sport?? Is the professional resistant to corona??"
Marcel rozgonyi is particularly concerned about the 50 or so employees of the spvgg bayreuth: "i have to see that they are paid." The spvgg labor office has refused short-time work because the company is not profit-oriented, explains rozgonyi, who also expects help from the state.
How long can spvgg bayreuth hold out economically in the corona crisis?? The manager cannot name a time. "We have a plan B, of course, and will certainly not be the first club in the regional league to throw in the towel. But without spectators, we too would reach our limits at some point."