animiert magazin nummer21 winter

2015 weihte die Sportmittelschule ihr neues Internatsgebäude ein. Hier nächtigen die Schüler aus der- zeit insgesamt 18 Kantonen. Zehn der 104 Schüler sind Engelberger. Die Schule wird zwar dem Sport angepasst, geniesst aber dennoch eine hohe Priorität. Dank der Ausbildung sind die Jugendlichen perfekt auf ein früheres oder späteres Karriereende vorbereitet.

In 2015 the Sportmittelschule opened a new boarding house. It currently houses students from 18 different Swiss cantons. Ten of the 104 students at the school are from Engelberg. Although academic learning has to fit around the students’ sports, it is still a high priority at the Sportmittelschule. A good educa- tion means the young people are well prepared when their sporting careers come to an end.

He is looking to improve the training options of f-snow as well and is championing the construc tion of a large gymnasium, which is bad ly needed. The f reestylers, for instance, now train on a 25 m 2 trampoline, but there is currently no indoor space for it in the v illage. As a prov isiona l solution, for one month it was kept on the indoor ice rink at the Spor t- ingpark while the sur face was f ree of ice. In 2010 the school inaugurated a new training centre ca lled “Kraf twerk ”, where pupils can work on their streng th, stamina and

than available spaces.” Anyone hoping to at tend the school must pass an admission examination at the school as well as a medi- ca l examination. They must a lso f u lf il cer- tain criteria for their spor t such as being a member of a team or presenting a let ter of recommendation f rom a recognised trainer. But success didn’ t a lways come so easy to the school. For severa l years af ter it was founded, the school had to bat tle with a v i- cious circle of limited resources and limited spor ting success. Af ter its reorganisation

in 2006, the Spor tmit tels- chu le found its groove and soon became one of Europe’s leading spor ts institutions. Today it is a cer tif ied “Swiss Olympic Spor t School ” and an ac tive member of ski-

coordination. The school ’s new boarding house opened in 2015. But keeping the in- f rastruc ture up to date takes money. The school charges fees of CHF 13,980 per year and receives public f unding

Sometimes, pupils reach the upper echelons of their sport while they’re still at school – one such current student is freestyler Andri Ragettli.

ing association Swiss-Ski. Referring to that reorganisation back in 2006, Eskil says, “We consistently implemented what the school ’s founders had env isioned. There were no argu- ments about where the school was headed; we a ll had the same objec tives in mind.” Of course, the school can now a lso prof it f rom over 20 years of experience. “We have pooled a great dea l of knowhow under one roof,” says Eskil. The successf u l team of trainers and educa- tors do not rest on their laurels – instead they work hard to become even bet ter. “We have to keep up with what ’s going on in the world,” says Eskil. “Or we’ ll soon be out of the game.” Thank f u lly, the ath letes in Engelberg can rely on good snow conditions on the Titlis. In 2017 the skiers cou ld train there until late May. The glacier even has a specia l train- ing run for cross-countr y skiers and biath- letes. “The bet ter the loca l inf rastruc ture, the fewer absences as a resu lt of training – which resu lts in bet ter academic grades,” says Eskil.

too, but it a lso counts on the suppor t of donors and sponsors. “Each year we need CHF 300,000 – and that doesn’ t even include any additiona l projec ts. We spend a lot of time and energy tr y- ing to ensure adequate f inancing,” says Ulrich. The commitment of staf f, students and benefac tors has paid of f with a series of tre- mendous spor ting successes. Here in Engelberg, we are a ll hoping for more of those at nex t year’s Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang. Ex- pupils like Michelle and Marc Gisin, Denise Fei- erabend, Lena Häcki, Nadine Fähndrich, Fabian Bösch and Wendy Holdener will be competing against some of the world ’s best ath letes – per- haps bringing home some meda ls and cer tain ly doing Spor tmit telschu le Engelberg proud!

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