NDR visits Rostock diving club: A club is fighting for the future!

NDR visits Rostock diving club: A club is fighting for the future!

On June 19th, the presenters Julia Westlake and Philipp Schmid will visit the Rostock diving club as part of the program campaign “UNITED in the North” by Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR). The club applied for this campaign and was selected to honor voluntary commitment to sport. This shows how important the club is in the local sports landscape. The Rostock Water Jumping Club e.V., which has existed for 25 years, has around 600 members, including 200 competitive jumpers. Training intensity is high in the club: younger members train four times a week, while squad athletes invest more than 20 hours a week. About half of the training time is spent on dry training with acrobatics, stretching and strength exercises. The athletes' successes are impressive: Jette Müller took part in the 2024 Olympic Games, and the young athlete Finn Awe won two gold medals at the Junior World Championships in Rio. The club is the most successful German club in this competition category, which shows that something really special is happening here.

But the diving club is currently facing a major challenge. The Rostock Neptun swimming hall, which serves as a training facility, will be renovated and the 25-meter pool will remain closed from summer 2025 to April 2026. This forces the club to move to Berlin, Dresden, Halle or Leipzig for its training sessions. This situation is anything but easy for the club members who are passionate about diving. Under the motto of the NDR, the association not only wants to draw attention to itself with this participation, but also to gain support for overcoming this difficult time.

Renovation projects and funding in the region

The swimming pool in Halle is also undergoing extensive renovation at the same time. Minister Tamara Zieschang recently handed over a funding notice of 546,250 euros for the modernization, which is expected to cost a total of around 1.4 million euros. Almost two thirds of this sum is financed through Bäder Halle GmbH's own resources. The aim of the measure is to create optimal training conditions for divers. The renovation work on the Neustädter diving hall began in the summer of 2023 and is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2024. Among other things, the bathing water technology is being renewed here and the filter systems are being checked.

At the same time, the state government of Brandenburg is supporting various sports facilities with a total of 25 million euros under the “Golden Plan Brandenburg” funding program. This responds to the urgent investment needs of sports clubs. Sports Minister Britta Ernst particularly emphasizes the voluntary commitment of sports clubs, which contributes to the quality of life in cities and villages. The current financial support amounts to around 6.25 million euros annually and is aimed at modernizing and building new sports facilities.

These developments show how important support is for sports clubs in the region, especially at a time when many institutions are faced with renovation work and financial challenges. The efforts to promote and maintain sports facilities are a clear indicator that sport in Germany is not just a question of competition, but also of community and commitment.