More cooperation partners than ever, a larger area than before and around 3.000 young participants: Olympic Day 2016 in Cologne was record-breaking in many ways. The German Olympic Academy (DOA) and its more than 35 partners gave their young guests unforgettable moments - whether at sports activity stations, with information and educational offers or in exchanges with sports stars from Olympic and Paralympic disciplines.
Bright sunshine, blue sky, view of the Rhine: Under summery conditions, thousands of children and young people started a day full of Olympic moments and enriching experiences around sport at 10 a.m. yesterday. On the grounds of the German Sport & Olympic Museum and the Chocolate Museum in Cologne's Rheinauhafen there were over 35 stations where they could try out new sports, find out about topics such as doping and alcohol prevention and experience the fascination of the Olympics.
After the official welcome by Prof. Dr. Gudrun Doll-Tepper, chairwoman of the DOA, Walter Schneeloch, president of the state sports association Nordrhein-Westfalen, and Andreas Wolter, Mayor of the City of Cologne, started the students in an exciting, sporty program lasting several hours. An extraordinary variety of sports awaited them - from golf and handball to wheelchair basketball and curling - as well as, among other things, stands on healthy eating and social projects, an Olympic quiz and a photo shoot with the Olympic torch.
The varied offering was made possible by the DOA and numerous cooperation partners - from sports associations to regional sports clubs and nationwide health and social policy initiatives to official partners of the Olympic team. “It is a great success for us to see how well Olympic Day is accepted by the schools, but also by our cooperation partners,” said Tobias Knoch, director of the DOA. “Thanks to our committed collaboration, we can offer more stations to even more young people interested in sports every year – and we look forward to continuing to grow in the future.”
A special highlight were the active talks with stars from Olympic and Paralympic disciplines. In three talk rounds, the young guests listened to the reports of fencer Britta Heidemann (Olympic champion 2008, Olympic runner-up 2012), table tennis player Holger Nikelis (ParaOlympic champion in 2004 and 2012), javelin thrower Katharina Molitor (world champion in 2015), hockey player Franziska Löwe (Olympic champion in 2004), track and field athlete Vanessa Low (world champion in long jump in 2015), badminton player Karin Schnaase (European team champion in 2013) and trampoline gymnast Henrik Stehlik ( Bronze medal at the 2004 Olympic Games).
It wasn't just the students who showed joy in trying out new sports in midsummer temperatures. In addition to the DOSB mascot Trimmy, Britta Heidemann and Henrik Stehlik also ventured onto the EDEKA surfing simulator and tested their balance on moving surfaces.
At the end of the day it was clear: the many organizers, volunteers and guests of honor were able to ignite the Olympic spark among the around 3.000 young visitors and at the same time create anticipation for the Olympics and events in Cologne, Rio de Janeiro's twin city ParaOlympic Games awaken. Rio can come – and so can the next Olympic Day!
Source: http://www.doa-info.de/veranstaltungen/olympicday/391-tag-der-superlative-olympic-day-in-koeln