"It is very important to me that inclusion in sport becomes even more of a matter of course in our district," emphasized District Administrator Dietmar Allgaier in his welcome address.Executive Committee member Christian Riethmüller reported on the diverse activities of VfB Stuttgart. For example, there is PFIFF - a project for inclusive soccer promotion, barrier-free access to the stadium for people with disabilities and an inclusive sports festival every year. Niko Kappel, world and Olympic champion, also emphasized the added value of inclusion. In his presentation "True height is not measured in centimetres", he spoke about his everyday training routine, in which the 1.40 cm tall Kappel naturally trains with his colleagues without disabilities and they also learn from each other. He showed that he has much better leverage due to his short legs and can therefore lift up to 260 kilograms, much more than his long-legged colleagues. The point is that everyone should find a good place in the world and do what they do best.
Other guests included Special Olympics sports officer Martin Metz and Tatjana Raible and Martin Baum from the Athletes' Council, who are campaigning for more inclusive sports opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities. Sports inclusion manager Alexander Fangmann promotes the topic of inclusion in the 6500 clubs of the Württemberg State Sports Association. Gereon Müller, board member of 46PLUS, a parents' initiative of parents with children with Down syndrome who train at SV Salamander in Kornwestheim, reported on the impressive national Special Olympics competitions in Berlin this summer. Sandra Moosbauer from the MHP RIESEN presented the new inclusive project ungehindertRIESIG. On the match days of November 6, 2022 and March 5, 2023, everything at the RIESEN will revolve around the topic of inclusion. Wheelchair dancer Jasmin Brandenstein and her partner Silke Schnaitmann from 1. Tanzclub Ludwigsburg showed how beautiful wheelchair dancing is.
In the concluding round of talks, the mayor of Sachsenheim, Holger Albrich, was not the only one who was enthusiastic about the many impulses: "I'm taking a lot away with me. Inclusion has to start in the municipalities." Mandy Pierer from Tragwerk e.V. described how she came to the Wheelers of MTV Stuttgart as the mother of a sports-loving son with spina bifida and set up the group with her husband because there was no other offer. Today, as inclusion manager at MTV Stuttgart, she takes care of this full-time, as does Jean-Claude Marek, inclusion manager at Sportkreis Ludwigsburg, who wants to make it easier to find a suitable sports program. "Making sport possible for people with disabilities is very important to us," says Sportkreis President Matthias Müller.
The municipal representative for people with disabilities, Claudia Lychacz, was impressed by the diverse commitment and called for inclusion in sport to be taken further and for the pride that comes from playing sport together to be taken home. The event was planned and moderated by Katharina Binder, the district's social planner, and Silke Rapp from the Inclusion Network.
