Living Integration: How sports integrate

Hey guys! :)

Finally, we ended our investigations and we received good insights into the world of sport in connection with integration.
Until now every questioned person thinks, that sports can be very suitable for integration, because the love for sports counts and not the origin.
Team spirit leads to integration because mutual support and solidarity are part of it.
Jana and I share the opinion, that sports is one of the best methods to integrate people with a migration background.
Nevertheless, it's important that people also want to integrate themselfes and become part of the team.
Above all, sports is very suitable if you want to integrate refugees, as you can see in our entries and it can be a good start into their new period of life.
It also can make them feel home, because sports is independent of the country and the rules are the same, so that the refugees got something they've mastered, when even communicating doesn't work anymore.
We look forward to collect more information, insights and experiences!

yours Lea :)

Hey guys!

I would like to tell you something about my boxing team BSV-Holzhausen. I intervied my team, because many members were born in different countrys. My boxing team is a big group, which sticks together and believes in team spirit.
Our trainer helps everybody, no matter if we have problems with boxing or we need help for the daily problems of our life. He accepts everyone and is very friendly. His character is an important reason for the solidarity of our team. His name is Bajram Shala and he works as a boxing trainer since 1989. Besides, he trains two teams. One of the team is in Wallenhorst and the other one in Holzhausen.
Both boxing teams have got members with different cultural backgrounds.

I am in the team of the BSV-Holzhausen. The members come from Russia, Kosovo, Turkey, Africa, Portugal and Germany. Further, girls and boys train together.

My trainer said that mixed teams do more team work like teams with members from the same culture. It is more interesting to meet somebody, who have lived in another country. It’s no problem, if there are different cultures in one team. All members can speak german, so if there is a problem, the team discusses it and find a solution. The whole team wants to box in a peaceful atmosphere. You have to concentrate and focus on boxing. Consequently, there is no space for dispute.

In some cultures it’s forbidden that girls do sports together with boys. People from Turkey theoretically follow this rule. But the members of the team do not care about it. The girls are respected like the boys.

Therefore, I asked some girls what they think about our boxing team.
The name of one girl was Pajtesa Shala. She has been doing boxing for 4 years. She said that multiculturalism is an enrichment for the boxing team. The whole team learn something from other cultures. Besides, everyone is welcome in the team and it’s more important that everybody motivates the group and tolerante the other members.
The other girls also said that new members become a part of the group fastly.
Especially, I liked one statement from a girl named Laura. She said, if we wear our team shirts, we are all the same. It reminds me about our team foto. On the foto we are all wearing our team shirts and nobody would ask where we all come from. NO!
The first thought would be that we are all do boxing in Holzhausen and love this sport.

At last I spoke with a man, who works as a policeman. He has been training for a long time in our team. He told me that boxing is the common basis of the team. In the foreground is the sport and not the culture. You can’t prevent problems or dispute, but on a place where many people at, there will ever be conflicts.

For me, my sports club is a good example for integration by sports. We are a harmonious team and you can find real friends.

Now, it’s your turn.
Are you doing sports in a mixed teams?
Tell me your experience.

Yours Lea :)

Hey! :)

Did you guys know the "Redbars"?
They're a group of men doing freestyle sports, for example in gymnastic poles. The sport is called "Calisthenics", it's Greek and stands for nice/good (=calos) and strength (=stenos).
Sounds quite cool right? :)

I talked to a schoolmate about this kind of sport and interviewed him on our subject, because he's a member of the "Redbars".
He told me that the men are between 13 and 42 years old and I think it's very cool that the age difference is that big!
Apperently, it's also possible to integrate groups of different ages by doing sports :)
He told me, that there are mainly members with a migration background, from Kazakhs, Afghan up to Russians and so on.
To my question whether sport can integrate he answered to me, that above all Calisthenics is able to do so, because you have to count on each other and the team spirit is elemantary.
Solidarity, mutual motivation and assistance are part of this sport and age, skin colour and origin doesn't matter at all.

They even trained together with refugees. They have met them in gym and presented their skills, with help of the Redbars members, the refugees tried to copy the exercises.
In spite of the fact, that they couldn't talk to each other, the training worked very well, he said.

But I asked myself if it's possible to integrate when everyone is doing something else.
Freestyle sport distinguishes itself by the fact, that you have no default, which exercises you have to do, so isn't it possible, that everyone starts to train for himself, because "own" exercises feel most effective?

So is there anybody thinking that this sport, or sport in general cannot integrate?
If it's the case, leave a comment with your opinion down below.
A negative opinion about this topic would be interesting to read, don't be shy ;)

yours Jana :)