30 years of the city magazine “gersthofer” also mean 30 years of badminton in Gersthofen – congratulations! Exactly 30 years ago, a few sports enthusiasts got together who wanted to try out the sport of badminton. As a result of this initial interest, the badminton division was founded within the athletics department of TSV 1909 Gersthofen in 1995 under the leadership of Thomas Friedrich. The badminton division established itself as an integral part of the club over many years. In addition to the training sessions, there were also training days, winter excursions and shared bike rides. After more than 20 years of existence in the athletics department, the founding meeting for the badminton department took place on January 24th, 2016.
The department now consists of more than 110 members and currently has 4 active teams in three different leagues in the Swabian district. In addition to the youth work with students and young people, regular training by licensed trainers is also offered to active participants. Participation in tournaments in the youth or active areas is also included. From a sporting point of view, successes include repeated promotion to Swabia’s top division, the district league, most recently in the 2022/2023 season, various great successes in the youth sector through to participation in southeast German championships or in the active sector. Special moments like these can also be found in old editions of “gersthofer”, which we are very happy about.
Joint non-sporting excursions for both youth and active players, for example to international matches, the Swiss Open in Basel, the annual mountain weekend or the now annual tournament participation at the Ilmenau double tournament in Thuringia over several days or other tournaments, strengthen the bond with the department. The annual program also includes meals together on the return trip, school and youth events or the annual Christmas party for all club members.
Since 2017, the department has also been organizing its own tournament, the “Balloon Cup”, which celebrated its 6th edition in 2024. Participants from various German and European regions take part in the doubles and mixed tournament, which is held over two days of a weekend in spring. At the 6th edition in 2024, more than 160 players were registered, “gersthofer” and “myheimat” reported.
Thomas Friedrich continues to be active on the board as deputy department head and trainer. The department head is Sandro Lobina, another stable pillar for more than 20 years. Robert Nebel as treasurer, currently also Bayern’s referee chairman, Stefan Heß as competition sports director and the current department youth director Anton Sturm form the extended board of the department.
And what makes the badminton department at TSV 1909 Gersthofen so special? Team spirit, cooperation, openness, continuity, willingness to help and fun in the game, at least that’s how the author of this report would briefly summarize it. We are all the more looking forward to the next 30 years, of course accompanied by the “gersthofer” in the print version and online at “myheimat” – all the best!
