The winter sports season is in full swing and a club in the Bavarian Forest, FC Chammünster (FCC), is happy about better numbers of participants in ski courses after the Corona years. Before that, interest in alpine sports had declined. In the summer months, another racing sport is practiced in the same club: inline alpine. A dynamic sport in which you also compete in slalom and giant slalom – just on asphalt and on rollers. Apart from additional protective equipment and footwear, there are hardly any differences to winter sports. Inline riders even use ski poles.
The sport is also called inline skiing and is organized in the German Ski Association and the German Roller Sports and Inline Association. Internationally, it is part of the World Skate association with nine other roller sports – for example skateboarding, which has been Olympic since 2020. Inline skiing has developed into an independent sport, especially in the last ten years, but also exists as a summer counterpart to ski racing. The FCC is one of the few clubs in the Bavarian Forest Ski Association that offers inline alpine skiing. Many members take part in major championships such as World Cups and are successful. In 2012 the club even hosted the Inline Alpine World Championships. A few members practice both sports and therefore switch twice a year.
“If you go into the details, when it comes to top-class sport, the gap continues to widen,” says department head Siegfried Zistler
This is what Siegfried Zistler, the head of the FCC’s ski and inline department, does. He has been a member of the club since 1980. When he first tried an inline slalom, the enthusiastic racer thought: “It’s just like skiing.” Despite the different conditions, both sports share a close connection, especially due to the similar movement sequences. Inline alpine is not only an independent discipline, but also serves as a training option for ski racing. According to Zistler, depending on the coach and level, a specialization in one of the two sports is desirable: “If you go into the details, towards top-level sport, the gap becomes wider and wider,” he says.
Especially in the children’s area, but also for adults who cannot train on snow in summer, many training elements can be designed so that the movement sequences correspond exactly to the skiing technique. However, one or two errors in the ski technique can creep in, especially due to the use of ski edges and other forces. Although inline alpine is controversial as a training method for ski racing, it offers a viable alternative – especially in countries where winter sports are less established. Zistler notes that “inline alpine skiing is sometimes frowned upon in Germany and is much more valued in other nations such as Italy, Latvia or Switzerland.”
Inline alpine even had its origins in Germany and Switzerland. And perhaps more people in this country will become interested in sport again. Because there is less and less snow in winter and the associated rising costs, skiing is likely to no longer be suitable for the masses in the long term. The FCC also notices this in the declining number of members: “We had ski courses with 100 participants or club championships with more than 100 participants, now we are happy with 30 to 40.”
The reasons for this are varied: increasing costs, less commitment from parents, more diverse sports offerings in the area, fear of accidents, concerns about sustainability and the pandemic. This year the number of participants in the ski course has improved again, but the club still attaches great importance to strengthening the young talent. According to Zistler, it is particularly important to maintain the club structures and train new trainers for all age groups. This is important “if you want to continue to exist”.
Because of the rising costs of winter sports, the FCC provides club buses, subsidies for training camps, clothing and material: “We already have a lot of options, especially in the children’s area,” says Zistler. Racing skis can be passed on within the club. However, fewer and fewer children take part in glacier training because the costs for accommodation and lifts rise every year.
The declining numbers in ski racing can be observed not only at FC Chammünster, but throughout the entire Bayerwald Ski Association. The FCC fights against such developments by strengthening young talent and providing financial support, which the club finances through sponsorship and the organization of competitions. But it won’t be able to do anything about climate change. Zistler has also observed this for many years: “We had training camps on All Saints Day and Christmas. I’ve actually been there every year since 1985.” He remembers four to five meters of snow in Obertauern, “now you can be happy if you have 80 centimeters or one meter. It has become less every year.”
Zistler believes it is possible that the trend in Germany will also be towards roller sports in the future: “Given the fact that skiing is becoming more and more expensive and climate change can be seen and felt, this could be an incentive for some people look around.”
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