2023-10-23 09:42:06
LH Deputy Landbauer: Make sports facilities easier to access
St. Pölten (OTS) – LH deputy Udo Landbauer presented findings and derived measures from the Lower Austria sports report 2022 this Monday at a press conference in the sports center in St. Pölten. The focus was on great successes such as snowboarder Benjamin Karl’s historic Olympic gold medal and on the numerous challenges of the last year.
“Many people across all age groups don’t move enough,” said the LH deputy. “It is undisputed that the bans on exercise and sports during the pandemic resulted in massive restrictions on movement and, unfortunately, this also resulted in negative health consequences for our compatriots,” said Landbauer, who pointed out that only a minority of adolescents met the minimum activity time of 60 minutes of exercise a day and a general lack of exercise among children and young people is now becoming increasingly apparent.
As a further measure to counteract this negative trend, the funding call for “digital booking and access systems” was recently extended until the end of the year. Digital technology should enable higher utilization, efficient administration and generally easier access to sports facilities. “It still happens far too often that gymnasiums or sports halls remain empty, while non-profit sports clubs in particular are looking for possible exercise space. We have a great responsibility to ensure that the existing sports facilities, which were also financed by taxpayers’ money, are better utilized and, above all, made accessible to our citizens,” said Landbauer, explaining the extension “as a duty towards the countless volunteers who work for the project every day get involved in local sports. You can’t stand in front of closed doors.”
Overall, the state of Lower Austria supported the implementation of all funding campaigns in sport last year with a total of more than 22 million euros. Around 2.5 million of these were invested in 299 sports infrastructure projects for the new construction, renovation or expansion of local sports facilities. These include around 30 trend sports facilities that are freely accessible to the public and are intended to offer easy and playful access to a variety of exercise options for children and young people.
Lower Austria’s sports landscape currently includes more than 60 sports associations with around 3,500 sports clubs and around 6,600 sports facilities that offer a wide range of sports and exercise options for young and old. Together with almost 215,000 active members and over 140,000 competitive athletes as well as around 90 competitive athletes in the general class and 160 junior squad athletes, our federal state is number one in Austria. “The backbone of this diverse sports landscape is the 250,000 volunteers. They are the engine and heart of every club. Without this width we wouldn’t have a peak. With tireless commitment, they help to keep organized sport going every day and to get new talent interested in the sport at an early stage and even bring them up to the top in the world,” said Landbauer, addressing another aspect.
Particular attention is paid to the topic of swimming: In the future, every child in Lower Austria should be able to swim once more or be given the opportunity to learn. “The clear aim is to reduce the proportion of non-swimmers – the sooner, the better,” says Landbauer.
Further information: SPORTLAND Lower Austria, Patrick Pfaller, MA, telephone 02742 9000 19870, cell phone 0676 812 19870, email patrick.pfaller@noe.co.at, or office LHStv. Udo Landbauer, Alexander Murlasits, press and public relations, cell phone number +43 676 812 13742, email alexander.murlasits@noel.gv.at
Questions & Contact:
Office of the Lower Austrian State Government
State Office Directorate/Public Relations
Ing. Mag. John Seiter
02742/9005-12174
presse@noel.gv.at
www.noe.gv.at/presse
1698054223
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