Eliteschulen des Sports – Eliteschulen des Fußballs – Sportbetonte Schulen

The education system and schools in the German-speaking world have traditionally emphasized academics over athletics or sports. Although all German secondary schools include physical education as part of the curriculum, interscholastic sporting events are rare. So what can students do if they want to have more emphasis on sports in their education? Enter the sports school, or Sportschule.

The Olympic Stadium in Berlin stands in the center of the Olympic training center (Olympiastützpunkt Berlin). On the left, part of the Olympic Swimming Stadium is visible. (See a closer view below.) Not visible is another swimming pool and training facilities. Germany’s Olympic organization, the DOSB, supports these centers as part of sports schools or complexes known as “elite sports schools” (Eliteschulen des Sports). PHOTO © Hyde Flippo

Although the term “elite” often has a negative association in Germany, since the early 2000s, a new kind of special school has developed in Germany: the so-called “elite schools of sports” (Eliteschulen des Sports) and “elite schools of soccer/football” (Eliteschulen des Fußballs). These schools, found in most areas of Germany, specialize in developing a student’s talent in a sport, while also providing a strong academic program. Sports schools come in several varities: public or private, boarding school or day school (often both). They specialize in various sports (soccer, swimming, handball, rowing, boxing, skiing, field and track, etc.).

Depending on the sport, pupils might enter a sports school as young as 5th grade. The final year in a Gymnasium/Oberschule is the 13th grade. Some places have what is known as a “Sportbetonte Schule” (school with an emphasis on sports), in which one school or several schools are associated with a sports training center in what is known as a Schulverbund, or school association. They may or may not be certified as “elite.” Schools or associated schools that offer above-average facilities, high academic standards, and expert coaching may be certified as “elite schools.” More about that below.

Germany’s sports schools have evolved in part out of the former German Democratic Republic’s (East German) model of state-run schools designed to train athletes for the Olympics and other competitive events – which explains why Germany’s eastern states now have a high proportion of sports schools. Like those former eastern schools, today’s Sportschulen have a vigorous athletic training program that runs in tandem with an academic curriculum. Admission requirements are set high, and in the end not every student will cross the finish line.

The German word for an academic secondary school is Gymnasium, a word that has Greek and Latin roots. In English, a gymnasium is associated with physical training. In ancient Greece, the Greek noun γυμνάσιον (gymnasion) referred to a place where men trained both the body and the mind. They physically trained and engaged in sports naked (gymnos). So there is irony in the recent rise of the Sportschule in Germany, an institution that harkens back to the Greek orgins of the gymnasium by combining academics and athletics – without the nudity, of course.

Only some Eliteschulen des Fußballs accept females, even though Germany’s women soccer athletes have done well on the European and world stage. Some sports schools accept only girls, while a few others accept both boys and girls.
PHOTO: Hyde Flippo

Certification as an “Elite” Sports School in Germany
There are two national German sports organizations that certify elite sports schools. For schools concentrating on soccer (Fußball<.em>), the German Football Association (Deutscher Fußball-Bund, DFB), the governing body of football in Germany, certifies a school as an Eliteschule des Fußballs, an “elite school of soccer.” For schools offering programs for other sports, including winter sports, certification as an Eliteschule des Sports comes from the German Olympic Sports Confederation (Deutscher Olympischer Sportbund, DOSB), Germany’s national Olympic organization. “Elite” certification is valid for four years. If a school continues to meet the standards of the DSB or the DOSB, it is recertified for another four years. Disqualified schools receive a warning or provisional certification for only two years.

Some elite schools have dual certification, both for soccer (by the DFB) and for other sports (by the DOSB). Currently, there are approximately 40 certified “Eliteschulen des Sports” with about 11,500 enrollees, and just under 30 certified “Eliteschulen des Fußballs” in Germany – with some overlap caused by some schools having both types of elite certification. The first institution to be certified by the DFB as an elite soccer school was the Lausitzer Sportschule in Cottbus in September 2006.

The Berlin Olympic Swimming Stadium (Schwimmstadion) was constructed for the 1936 Olympic Games. Located next to the Olympic Stadium in Berlin’s Olympia Park, the 50-meter pool and 20×20-meter diving basin are open to the public in the summer season. PHOTO: Hyde Flippo

Olympiastützpunkte (OSP)
There are 18 Olympic Training Centers (Olympiastützpunkte, OSP) located all across Germany, from Hamburg in the north to Munich in the south. In most cases, an OSP is partnered with a sports school or several sports schools in the local area. They are under the supervision of the DOSB, the German Olympic Sports Confederation. Two of the OSPs are located at the sites of former Olympic Summer Games: Berlin (1936) and Munich (1972, then in West Germany). The 1936 Winter Olympic Games were held in Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Bavaria. There are four DOSB-certified Eliteschulen des Sports in Bavaria: the CJD Christophorusschulen in Berchtesgaden, the Gertrud-von-le-Fort-Gymnasium in Oberstdorf, the Gymnasium München Nord (Munich), and the Bertolt-Brecht-Schule Nürnberg. (Each school also has boarding facilities for some students. See below.)

Boarding Schools for Sports
Because competitive sports training requires access to special facilities not found everywhere, many sports schools have boarding facilities, even some public schools. (Certified elite schools are required to offer room and board for students who don’t live in the local community.) As with normal boarding schools (Internate), some sports schools are operated by private organizations that charge tuition. But many sports schools in Germany are public, charging no tuition at all. Although it is not an “elite” sports school, the coeducational public (state-supported) Gymnasium Hohenschwangau in Schwangau, Bavaria has about 700 students, including about 100 boarders in its Internat. In addition to the normal academic subjects Hohenschwangau offers IT courses, music, theatre, and special sports programs, including Alpine and cross-country skiing, and ice hockey. Since it is a public school, there are no tuition fees, but room and board costs 400 euros per month (€4800.00 annually).

Success Rate
The goal of every elite sports school is a high one: Developing top talent that can win medals at the Olympic Games every four years, or earn a place in Germany’s top soccer leagues. Competition is brutal. Burnout is always a risk. But most elite schools can lay claim to students who have made good – or even better. About 30 to 60 percent of German medal winners and participants (winter sports have the highest percentage) at recent Olympic Games have been current or former students of German elite sports schools. The SLZB in Berlin, for instance, can claim several Olympic champions: Robert Harting (gold in London for men’s discus, Britta Steffen (gold in the 50m women’s freestyle in Beijing), and Claudia Pechstein (five speed-skating golds). Other SLZB alums include Franziska van Almsick, Germany’s greatest ever female swimmer, and Sabine Lisicki, a Wimbledon finalist in 2013.

Sports School Locations in Germany
Both the DOSB (Olympic sports) and the DFB (soccer) list the locations of their elite sports schools online. (See our links below.) If you want to find other sports schools in Germany, including boarding schools (Internate), do a German-language search for “Sportschule” (or “Sportinternat”) + “town name” or “Bundesland” – or a more general search if you want. Be aware that there is very little information available in English, which is why I have written this blog post.

– HF

More | The German School System

Related Pages
AT THE GERMAN WAY

• Sports in Germany – Yes, soccer is the king of sports in Germany, but there’s a lot more.
• The German School System – How things work in public education, with school types
• Education in Germany – A general overview

ON THE WEB

• Eliteschulen – Standorte – Locations of all German elite sports schools, by Bundesland/city from the DOSB (in German)
• DFB – Eliteschulen des Fußballs – DFB German sports schools for soccer (in German)
• Sportinternate – Sports boarding schools info from internate.org (in German)

SELECTED SPORTS SCHOOL WEBSITES
NOTE: Listing here implies no endorsement by the author or The German Way. Links are provided only as a courtesy.

• Das Schul- und Leistungssportzentrum Berlin (SLZB) – “DIE Eliteschule des Sports” is a sports center partnered with two Berlin elite sports schools. See below.
• Sportschule im Olympiapark – Poelchau-Schule – Berlin (an SLZB partner)
• Flatow-Oberschule – Berlin-Köpenick – Elite fördern in Schule und Sport (an SLZB partner)
• Eliteschule des Fußballs – Hamburg – Soccer – Stadtteilschule Am Heidberg und Gymnasium Heidberg im Verbundsystem
• Landessportschule Ruit – in the Stuttgart area
• Sportschule Oberhaiching – A sports school in the Munich area – some English info available
• Sportschule Potsdam Friedrich Ludwig Jahn – This sports school is in Potsdam near Berlin.
• Gymnasium mit Internat Hohenschwangau – This public Bavarian school offers a winter sports program, and has boarding facilities.
• Deutsche Sporthochschule Köln (DSHS) – The German Sport University Cologne, founded in 1947, is Germany’s only sports university, with over 6,000 students (35% female).

Legal Notice: We are not responsible for the content of external links.