On saturday, 1. October, state parliament president barbara stamm (CSU) invites around 1000 refugee supporters to munich. The reception is intended as a thank-you to the volunteers. But not all of them will accept the invitation – in protest against the state government’s asylum policy. Florim gashi from bamberg, on the other hand, didn’t throw the invitation in the wastepaper basket: the 41-year-old is going and wants to deliver a message there.

Why do you get so involved with refugees??
Florim gashi: there is a simple reason for this: i myself came to germany as a refugee from kosovo in 1992. I also have contacts with many people in the city. I see myself as a mediator between the refugees, the authorities and the doctors. It was always clear to me that I was helping people. That’s why I’m organizing the soccer tournament "together instead of against each other" together with the city’s migration advisory council, because sport is the best way to integrate people.

You are primarily involved in the reception center in upper franconia as a volunteer helper. How often are you there?
I spend more than 20 hours a week helping the people in the reception center. I am the contact person because I speak several languages. The ombudteam of the city of bamberg meets every friday on the gelande. The team does what should have been the task of the asylum social counseling service, which has only just been established.

You have a deep insight: what do you think is the main problem at the facility in bamberger osten??
The main problem? There are many problems. From the food supply to the beds to the deportation practice in the early morning. I have always said: please make it human. I have already experienced that it works. In the past, we have achieved that all refugees from the balkan states, who were distributed in the city, left voluntarily. This was only possible because I was able to explain it to the people concerned.

Many helpers want to stay away from the reception in the bavarian state parliament. They go despite criticism. Why?
Well, I am first of all happy, because it is a recognition from the side of the free state. So far we have not received any recognition at all. I would like to take this opportunity to convey a message in the form of a wish.

What do you want from politics??
There are so many refugee volunteers, but the government doesn’t take them into consideration. When i help someone who is sick and take them to the doctors, i wish that the state would show that it can also act humanely and rudely in the few humanitarian cases that occur.

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I am confused. And not because I have to hold a one-meter-long plastic pole between my legs as a substitute for a broom. After the first few throws I got used to having only one hand free. And this one just grabs a volleyball.

And now? What do I have to do as a jager? "Beware, drivers", shouts a teammate. Shortly after that a volkerball hits me. I have to stop the attack and run back to my goals, only then am I allowed to actively intervene in the game again. In real life, the harry potter sport quidditch is quite crazy.

"There is so much happening at the same time", says lucia boll of the bamberg kelpies, where i am doing my first quidditch training. "There are actually three games going on at once, which is why it is so fun." Teammate andreas knecht adds: "the team dynamic is unique in this form. From the classic passing game to the running game to the full-contact sport, it’s all there." Or to put it in sports terms: quidditch is a mixture of handball, volkerball and rugby.

Funf balls in the game

And that is what makes it so tricky. There is not just one ball in the game, but five. The quaffel (volleyball), three claps (volkerballe) and the schnatz (tennis ball). In addition, there are four positions per seven-headed team with different tasks: jager, huter, treiber, seeker. The players romp around on a pitch as rough as half a football field. There are three goals – or rather rings – on each of the baselines into which the quaffle has to be thrown.

Thick rulebook

So far so good – if it weren’t for the rulebook, which is 137 PDF pages long on the homepage of the international quidditch association (IQA). "But it’s actually quite simple, says boll. "Whoever collects the most points wins." Ten points are awarded for a quaffle thrown through the rings, 30 for a snitch caught. As soon as the tennis ball wrapped in a sock is torn from the waistband of the impartial snitch runner, the game is over.

The first moment of happiness

In the meantime, about 15 minutes have passed since my first haphazard attack action. I intercept an attack of the opponents, four quick passes and my final throw finds its target. Cheering breaks out – with me also in large part because of the subsequent drink break. The tempo is extremely high. Attack and defense alternate constantly. Even in the scramble for the ball, it is important to assert oneself. In addition, there are the extra spurts to one’s own goal after dropping the ball with the clapper. Although spurts don’t apply to me: it’s more like a trot – the bad condition is noticeable.

Harry potter is a curse and a blessing

"Running is more exhausting than flying", a teammate draws a comparison with quidditch in the harry potter novels. But the books and the book by the author joanne K. Rowling’s fantasy universe is both a curse and a blessing for the real players. On the one hand, most players come to quidditch through harry potter, on the other hand, the fantasy world makes the road to the sport being taken seriously more rocky.

"We are still often laughed at and have to work on clarification", says boll. Except for a few terms and the brooms, the real game was redeveloped by U.S. Students in 2005 as a homage to the literary model. "Almost every high school movie features football. But still, no one thinks of football as a high school movie, says knecht. "I would like it to be similar for quidditch. We still have to establish ourselves." But with the IQA, which is constantly improving the infrastructure, they are on the right track.

I am also on a good way. The next training game helps to understand the sport even better. I am now a driver. My goal: to protect teammates when they have the ball and to temporarily take the opponent out of the game with targeted throws. My success: poor. I actually only run after discarded bales. It quickly becomes clear how much tactics are involved in this sport. A good driver can have a big impact on the game. He must be on the ball, have the entire field in view and make lightning-quick decisions in the interests of his team on every play. This team spirit is another positive aspect of quidditch. The team has to function, an individual fighter will quickly give up.

Totally exhausted, but enthusiastic

And so, after one and a half hours of training, i am not only exhausted, but also enthusiastic. I have not met any harry potter freaks who want to get as close as possible to their fantasy role model and hop around on brooms in wizard uniforms. I have met sports enthusiasts who share a common hobby. And this one has it all: dynamic, complex, run-intensive, team-oriented, tactics-driven – and after a short time, no longer confusing.

European championship in bamberg

The quidditch european championship takes place in bamberg this weekend. 20 national teams battle for the title at fuchs-park stadium.

German team believes it has a chance of winning a medal. Recently it has established itself among the top 5 in europe. 7th place at the 2018 world cup and 5th place at the 2017 european championship speak for themselves. Great britain took the title with a final victory over france – these two nations are also hot contenders for gold in bamberg. Germany competes in group C with belgium, austria, scotland and opening opponent switzerland. The tournament starts on saturday at 9 a.M., up to five parts will be played at the same time. Germany competes for the first time at 10 a.M. The day ends with the 6 p.M. Games. On sunday, the placement matches will also begin at 9 a.M., culminating in the finals at 6 p.M.

"It’s hard to predict the number of spectators", says the EM press officer henriette schreurs. "But we hope that we can match the numbers of the world cup 2016 in frankfurt." Back then, several thousand spectators took the opportunity to watch real quidditch at its highest level. Tens of thousands more followed the tournament on livestream. This time, too, there will be live broadcasts on the internet platform youtube.

These are the bamberg kelpies

The bamberg kelpies were formed in august 2016 and named after a mythical creature from celtic mythology. The rough horse-like water dragon also appears in the harry-potter universe. The bamberg quidditch team is a division of FC eintracht and is mainly made up of students.

The team does not (yet) take part in the league operation. "For this we had to have more players who are regular participants", says kelpie player lucia boll. 14 players are currently registered in the department.

"We are happy about everyone we can inspire for our sport", says boll. "Just come and participate." The kelpies train on mondays (20 to 21.30 o’clock) on the artificial turf in the sports park and wednesday (18.30 to 8 p.M.) on the uni-sportgelande in volkspark. For more info, visit the kelpies facebook page or email [email protected]

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With a win against debutant kosovo at the start of the european championship qualifiers, the german under-21 national team wants to take the first step in its mission to defend its title.

"I wanted to see an increase," said coach stefan kuntz before the match on tuesday (19.00 o’clock) in osnabruck. In the 1:2 test against hungary last week, kuntz still had 14 debutants in the squad. The coach therefore also: "one or the other will still jam."

THE OPPOSITION: kosovo’s u21s compete for the first time in a european championship qualifier. As a debutant, however, the team has already surprised, winning twice against norway – albeit once at the green table – and leading the german group 5. "Basically, it can be anything," said kuntz, who called the opponent "a marvel". Thilo kehrer, who will captain the team, said: "it will be important for us to be wide awake from the first second on."

PERSONNEL: captain jonathan tah leaves injured, and two european under-21 champions are missing in mahmoud dahoud and felix platte. After the many changes and the first U21 appearance for 14 players against hungary, kuntz now wants to find his regular team. "There are already a few changes," said kuntz, looking ahead to his starting lineup against hungary.

BOLZPLATZ: even with 14 newcomers in the squad – according to kuntz, the atmosphere in the team is such that "every player is getting close to his performance limit. For the players, the U21 is a "huge opportunity" to show themselves. "There must be a special kind of euphoria in our team. It’s a bit like playing on a football pitch, in terms of the feeling," said the coach. "The players are all the same age, so you play with more pleasure. And you can try things here."

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From the annunciation to the adoration from the east – many episodes from the christmas story currently adorn the walls of the evangelical nursing home, inviting visitors to linger and contemplate them. With a lot of heart and soul, the seniors portrayed the events of the holy night, gave them a very special glamour and thus brought the story of maria and josef to life.
Many of the artworks are collaborative works created by several residents with the occupational therapy or gerontological psychiatry team. But there are also some pictures of "solo artists" thereby – freehand painted, understands itself. Two of them are johann martin and eugen engelhardt, both of whom have a special connection to painting. "I have always loved to paint. I can still remember my report card from 1937. I had an "A" in drawing, says johann martin with pride. He has retained his passion for painting into old age. "I enjoyed the project very much. Christina ellner read us the christmas story and we chose scenes to paint. It took me some time, especially to get the manner on the camels", says the 90-year-old, who looks extremely fit, with a grin and points to his rough, very colorfully designed picture with lots of details. "These are gold, myrrh and frankincense", he says, pointing to the camels on which the kings transport their precious gifts.

Rustiger senior
Eugen engelhardt is 83 years old and comes from mitwitz. The senior, who is also very rustic, used to be heavily involved in church activities. "I was for many years a member of the church administration and also a sacristan. It was a lot of work, but it was great fun", the mitwitzer looks back. Painting the christmas story gave him a lot of joy, if only because of his deep christian faith. But he is also talented in art. "I used to go to the forest a lot because I love nature. I have painted pictures of wild animals and given them as gifts. I have also designed football posters for the FC mitwitz", he says, not without pride. Both have painted several pictures and were happy to participate again in a new painting project.
"The painting project should not remain a flash in the pan", emphasizes christina ellner from social services, who is mainly responsible for the project. The theme was chosen because the christmas story connects all generations and is known to everyone. "We have listened to what is written in the bible and thought about how we can represent it pictorially. It should be pictures, which one looks gladly at and which inspire to dream", explains it. For this we have taken inspiration from similar images and have implemented many things together. She is sure that all involved have not only had a lot of fun painting, but have grown through the works.
The exhibition now accompanies the residents and employees in a particularly gentle way through the advent season. She as well as home director klier were impressed by the still existing creative power of the seniors. Klier's thanks were extended to the picture frame sponsors and to home council member roland rost, who worked to secure the donations.
Pastor susanne treber was also invited to the vernissage and introduced the small celebration with a spiritual impulse. "Anyone who paints pictures about the christmas story is immersing himself in the story of salvation. He picks up some of this blessing and passes it on.", she was sure. The seniors had put themselves and their life experience into each of their pictures. The exhibition was officially opened with a joint tour of the site. Those who wish to view them will have the opportunity to do so during the opening hours.

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