Like young people in the United States, many young Germans are involved in athletics. The same sports are offered in both countries, but the levels of popularity vary.
For example, many people enjoy Handball in Germany, but few people in the United States. American-style football, baseball, and basketball are known throughout Germany, but are less popular there than in the United States.
One big difference is that schools have almost nothing to do with sports in Germany. Schools offer physical education (or ‘gym’) classes, but do not organize teams.
Instead, students go to sports clubs after school. These clubs are privately organized and have nothing to do with the educational system. They offer scholarships so that anyone can have a chance to play.
Even the smallest German towns will have several athletic clubs. The Deutscher Sportbund coordinates and oversees the clubs.
In addition to team and individual sports, there are Wandervereine (hiking clubs) and Turnvereine (gymnastics clubs). If you want something more aggressive than Wandern, you can go in for Klettern (rock climbing) or Bergsteigen (mountain climbing).
In addition to Wanderwege (hiking paths), there are Trimm-Dich-Pfade (fitness paths), on which there are periodic stations to stop and do exercises before running or walking further.
Athletic clubs usually have the words Verein, Klub, or Gemeinde in their names. You’ll find many organizations with names like Turn- und Sportgemeinde or Turn- und Sportverein, indicating that they offer a wide range of sports and gymnastics.
Clubs which specialize in only one activity will often feature that in the club’s name: a Schützenverein is a shooting club for rifles and pistols. Jagen and Angeln (hunting and fishing) tend to be hobbies of the wealthy in Germany, while in the United States, people from all income levels enjoy those activities.
Naturally, Fußball is the major sport in Germany, and there are Fußballklubs and Fußballvereine for children, teenagers, and adults. They are coordinated by the Deutscher Fußball-Bund.
The highest level of soccer play is found in the three tiers of the Bundesliga. At the end of the year, one team emerges as the Deutscher Fußballmeister.
Of course, there are many other kinds of sports. People enjoy Tennis, Tischtennis, Segeln, Windsurfen, Segelfliegen, Ballonfahren, Eishockey, and Drachenfliegen.
Golf is not as common in Germany as it is in the United States.
Skilaufen or Skilanglauf is Nordic cross-country skiing, while Skifahren or Abfahrtsski is Alpine downhill skiing.
