District gymnastics festival 2025: Gymnasts show their skills in Halstenbek!

District gymnastics festival 2025: Gymnasts show their skills in Halstenbek!

The annual district gymnastics festival of the Pinneberg district gymnastics association took place on July 19, 2025 in Halstenbek. This event not only offers participants plenty of sporting competition, but also a variety of activities that guarantee fun for the whole family. With disciplines such as sprint, long jump, throwing, horizontal bars, uneven bars, beam, parallel bars, floor and mini trampoline, the festival offered a varied program that put the athletes' talents to the test. A highlight was the welcome by Bärbel Renner, the first chairwoman, as well as by the district president Mr. Ahrens and the mayor of Halstenbek, Ms. Ahrens, who rang in the opening at 9.30 a.m.

Before the competition, things got straight to the point: a joint (dance) warm-up got the participants going. Afterwards, a total of 15 teams rotated between the different disciplines until lunch at 1 p.m. Particularly notable was the relay race, in which participants used ties as batons. While the athletes gave their best, the younger guests were able to take part in a painting competition and various craft activities that took place after the competition.

A colorful supporting program

At 7 p.m. there was a parade with a musical band, which ended with a happy ending on the sports field. The festival hall was then transformed into a disco, where the children had fun with their own (children's) cocktails. On Sunday, July 13, 2025, the spectators enjoyed a gymnastics exhibition in which all clubs presented their elaborate and artistic performances. Under the motto “Gymnastics is colorful!” Halstenbeker gymnastics club was a real eye-catcher. The other clubs were no less creative either: from TSV Ellerbek with its party bus to the Elmshorner MTV with the pommel horse to TV Moorrege, which was able to present a program called “Little Trip Around the World”.

After the performances, the awards ceremony took place, where the proud participants were able to receive their well-deserved medals. At the end of the festival, everyone went home tired but happy and is already looking forward to the 2026 district gymnastics festival.

The importance of gymnastics

The tradition of gymnastics has a long history in Germany. With 4.6 million members, the German Gymnastics Federation (DTB) is one of the largest sports associations and offers a comprehensive program ranging from competitive to recreational sports. It was founded in Tübingen in 1950 and is now the second largest association in the German Olympic Sports Confederation. The roots of gymnastics go back to 1811, when Friedrich Ludwig Jahn, as “gymnastics father,” set up the first public gymnastics area in Berlin and combined gymnastics with patriotic education. This tradition is also being continued at the district gymnastics festival in Halstenbek.

In 2024, around 3.21 million Germans were particularly interested in gymnastics. Today, gymnastics includes 14 Olympic disciplines, and the gymnastics movement not only promotes competition, but also community and cohesion in clubs. Topics such as promoting physical activity in childhood, such as through the DTB's “Bewegte Kita” initiative, are of great importance today.

The district gymnastics festival in Halstenbek not only shows the sporting achievements of the participants, but also the joy, the community and the tradition that have characterized gymnastics in Germany for centuries.