The winter is coming. But instead of anticipation, popular sport is afraid of the energy crisis. How the clubs still want to get through the season.
Politicians were guests in Oberhof last weekend – for the celebration of the completion of the winter sports center in Thuringia, which was modernized at a cost of over 80 million euros. In this way, Oberhof should not only defy climate change, but also survive the energy crisis better. The 80 million euros was a high and forward-looking investment, without which one of the most important winter sports centers in Germany would have had difficulty surviving in the medium term.
There was still no snow when Thuringia’s Prime Minister Bodo Ramelow (Die Linke) handed over the symbolic key to the ice arena. At least not visible. Because over 40,000 cubic meters of the small ice crystals are already stored, which may be more valuable this winter than ever before. Underneath the sawdust lies snow, which was used on the cross-country ski runs and slopes in the previous season and is now intended to serve as the bottom layer for the sports facilities.
Recycled snow all over Germany
“We don’t just want to use the snow for one season, but rather, as far as possible, for several seasons in a row“said Sebastian Lenk, who is responsible for the media coordination of the Biathlon and Bobsleigh World Cup 2023 for the Thuringian Ministry of Finance and is jointly responsible for location communication in Oberhof, to sportschau.de.
Snow storage is now standard at many winter sports resorts in Germany to compensate for the lack of snow caused by global warming. But the energy concept in Oberhof is much more complex.
Oberhof: From 2026 only energy from our own production
The layer of ice in the ice channel is particularly thin thanks to a special profiling, sections of the track can be cooled individually. The buildings on the site are heated with the waste heat generated during cooling.
In the long term, the sports high school and hotels in the vicinity of the site are also to be connected to the system. And thanks to the photovoltaic systems, the additional energy costs caused by the crisis can be offset this year, at least for the ski hall, according to Lenk.
Lenk: No cuts in popular sport
At the moment, however, you still have to buy additional energy. According to Lenk, he cannot currently estimate how high the additional costs will be for the rest of the system. However, one thing is certain: “We will do everything that is possible to make competitive sports, young people’s sports and popular sports possible this winter. There are no cuts up for debate“, says Lenk and adds: “We owe it to the children, the young people and the clubs.”
Oberhof is currently often referred to as a showcase project – for how winter sports can become more sustainable, how it can use less energy, how it can survive in the future. Lift systems, cooling systems, floodlights, artificial snow, which no professional competition can do without, all of this costs a lot of energy – and therefore a lot of money. Especially in the current crisis.
Friday: “play with the fire“
But such a modernization also requires a lot of money, which Oberhof would not have had without funding from the federal government and the state of Thuringia. The winter sports center is also a competitive sports location, but should also promote popular and young sports. More than half of the training hours go to the youngsters.
But such measures only help in the long term. Many winter sports clubs in Germany are not looking forward to anticipation, but to anxious views of the coming winter. “What worries me most of all is predictability“says Christian Freitag, Managing Director of the Oberwiesenthal Winter Sports Club (WSC). He feels left alone by politicians and associations in the current phase of the crisis. “What is happening right now is playing with fire. There is a risk that smaller sports clubs in particular will no longer be able to pay the costs and will eventually give up“So Friday.
Electricity and gas price brakes on for sports clubs
At the federal level, the conference of sports ministers on November 4 decided that both the electricity and gas price brakes should apply to sports clubs. However, it is unclear whether the federal government, as requested by the conference, will also include the clubs in a hardship regulation if clubs can no longer pay the electricity and heating costs. Further measures are currently a matter for the federal states and municipalities.
While the Bavarian state government is providing a hardship fund of 1.5 billion euros and has doubled the club allowance for the coming year, clubs in other federal states are still waiting for further concrete measures. On the other hand, the German Olympic Sports Confederation and the Conference of Sports Ministers called on clubs to save 20 percent of their energy.
Terrible look into the future
In Oberwiesenthal, the WSC reacts to this request with more effective training times: groups are merged, the training-free weekends – and thus opportunities for regeneration – are no longer available, the floodlights are only switched on on certain days. A complete renunciation of the expensive lighting is not possible, so Freitag: “During the week we train after school, from 4.30 p.m. If we then leave the children in the dark, that means: no training.”
Even with the energy and electricity price brake, he fears that the costs for the WSC Oberwiesenthal could increase tenfold. A sum that the club can cushion with the help of sponsors, as he says. “But how will that look in the year after, or in 2024? I cannot rely on our private-sector partners stepping into the breach again“So Friday.
Costs for amateur skiers are increasing
But even so, the club has to scrape together its reserves. Sponsorship money that would otherwise be earmarked for young athletes now has to cover energy costs. “From the sponsorship money, the children only get artificial snow at the moment“says Freitag, who is concerned about the children’s development: “This is about the well-being of future generations, who should build something here. Sport contributes immensely to social coexistence. It would be bad if clubs had to give up and children could no longer play sports.“
And mass sport is also suffering from the energy crisis. It is true that this winter there will also be a lot of activity on the Zugspitze in Upper Bavaria. But the already very expensive hobby of skiing will cost a whole lot more and for some people in a tense economic situation it will hardly be possible to finance it. The day pass will increase there by 14 percent to 57 euros. At the same time, visitors have to do without comfort.
Zugspitze: slower lifts, unheated outdoor areas
The pistes on the Zugspitze are not supposed to be snowed at all, in the Garmisch Classic ski area only three of the four descents are offered this season – and these with a significantly narrower and thinner snow cover. Making snow on the slopes cost the operators 2.5 million euros last year, around 20 percent of the company’s electricity costs, which assumes that energy costs could quadruple.
To compensate for this, it will also be colder for the guests: no heated seats in the cable cars, no patio heaters in the restaurants, throttled lift speeds outside of peak times. Many small measures should lead to a big result, according to the strategy of the operators.
Lenk: “This region breathes winter sports”
Despite all the difficulties, winter sports will probably still take place in most places this winter – albeit with a lot of savings and fears. “We are all fighting to ensure that everything is preserved for the children and popular sports this winter and beyond. Winter sports are simply too deeply anchored in our region for that“, says Oberwiesenthaler Freitag.
And Lenk also emphasizes the importance of winter sports for southern Thuringia: “This region breathes winter sports. It is very important for the cohesion in our society. It’s about the children and young people who love their sport and the thousands of volunteers who make everything possible so that events can continue to take place here.“
Just like the biathlon and toboggan world championships this winter – Oberhof is looking forward to two major events and the winter sports guests. “The hotels in the region are well booked“, says Ariane Sturm, Managing Director of the Thuringian Forest Regional Association. “Sure, the war in Ukraine is curbing the international desire to travel. Many guests are reluctant due to the still pandemic situation. These challenges also create new opportunities for the Thuringian Forest.” By that she means: near nature experiences instead of crowded big cities, safe travel. The region has always scored with this.
Winter sports in transition
How long the energy crisis will last and when the situation for the clubs will improve again, nobody can estimate at the moment. The current challenges are likely to remain an issue in one form or another in the future.
Because climate change is already reducing the number of days with snow, frost and ice in all German winter sports regions. A number of innovations and modernizations will be required in the future in order to continue to offer winter sports across the board. The clubs and operators hope for support.