The Ried gymnastics club is celebrating two anniversaries in the “House of Movement”.

2023-10-05 12:00:00

REED. There are two anniversaries, but the main focus is on one thing: movement. Next Saturday (from 5 p.m.) the Ried gymnastics club will not only celebrate its 175th anniversary, but also the 100th birthday of the Jahnturnhalle in Ried. On the occasion of this anniversary year, the Turners are presenting an exhibition worth seeing about the club and its development over its decades-long history. Among other things, previously unpublished photo collections from club members and from the club archive will be shown.

The walk-in exhibition provides an exclusive insight into the long club life of the Rieder gymnasts. This will be followed by a panel discussion with members of the association and representatives from politics and the association. Social topics such as volunteering, working with children and young people and the challenges for clubs today are discussed. And of course the sporting aspect is not neglected either: the youth gymnasts will demonstrate their skills with a performance exhibition.

In addition to the TV members, interested visitors are also warmly invited. “We see ourselves as anchored in the middle of Ried society and therefore as an important cornerstone of the sports city of Ried,” says chairman Maximilian Wiesner-Zechmeister. “In our club, everyone, regardless of gender, age or sporting ability, has the opportunity to exercise. And this has been the case for 175 years.”

Gymnastics: “An ideal sport for children and young people,” says TV Ried chairman Maximilian Wiesner-Zechmeister.
Image: TV Ried

Several times a week, the club offers various sporting activities, from toddler gymnastics to gymnastics lessons for children and young people to popular course programs for adults.

The sporting home of TV Ried has been the Jahnturnhalle for a century. The venerable building in the city center is “truly a house of movement,” says Wiesner-Zechmeister. It is filled with life by the numerous volunteer members of TV Ried. “Our range of services, the sporting successes and also our club area with the recently renovated hall – none of this would present itself as it does if our members did not invest hundreds of hours every year in their heart-felt project, the gymnastics club,” explains the TV chairman.

Excellent offer

An investment that pays off: The ÖTB national youth pennant, the association’s highest challenge trophy, has been in the hands of the Rieder gymnasts since 2015. In the recent past, the ÖTB national champion has been represented several times. Most recently, for example, talent Elias Baumgartner became runner-up national champion in the 11th age group. “Gymnastics is popular again,” says Wiesner-Zechmeister. In some gymnastics lessons the capacity limits have already been reached, but for the boys aged six to 14 there is still room for improvement. “Gymnastics as a popular sport is the ideal sport for children and young people. Strength, endurance and coordination are equally required in combination. These three factors are irreplaceable for healthy development in childhood,” explains the chairman.

Evidence of the high quality of Ried’s gymnastics offering is, among other things, the seal of approval for gymnastics clubs, which is awarded annually by the “Turnsport Austria” association and with which TV Ried has been awarded for 23 years in a row. The gymnastics club wants to celebrate this and much more on Saturday in “its” Jahn gymnasium.