YOUR FORUM FOR PLAY, SPORTS UND LEISURE AREAS
Originally created as a venue for the 2013 International Garden Show in Hamburg, the Wilhelmsburger Island Park now represents a new recreational facility for the residents of Hamburg. A large section of the park is devoted to the provision of sport and exercise opportunities. Within the larger structure of the Island Park Hall is an indoor swimming pool that is open to the public and also houses the state water polo training centre. The neighbouring InselAkademie sports hall, which was formerly used for flower shows during the 2013 International Garden Show, is additionally home to the basketball teams Hamburg Towers and Pirates together with the sport association Verein Sport ohne Grenzen e.V.
In the section of the park dedicated to sport and exercise, emphasis is also placed on providing amenities for climbers who can choose to climb either indoors or outdoors in the Nordwandhalle centre and the HanseRock high rope course ‒ everything is provided for ‒ from rock face route climbing and bouldering to climbing in free nature.
There are other exercise venues that are available for use by the general public: there are 2- and 3-km running tracks that are illuminated when darkness falls and that will soon have a permanent RFID timing system. There is a canoe trail that weaves its way through the whole park and that has various moorings where users can go ashore to take breaks.
In the east section can be found a multifunctional games field, a 1800 m² skateboard park with bowl and street setups and a series of gardens that offer, among other things, opportunities for play and exercise. For example, provided as an alternative to a 'pensioner playground' is a 'garden' that contains various low-level balancing equipment that is frequently used by older visitors and even small children whose sense of balance is still in the process of development. As a more challenging balancing option there is a dedicated slackline station that allows slacklines to be installed without damaging the existing trees.
Visitors are actively encouraged to take part in sport and exercise in the Wilhelmsburger Island Park. Many of the attractions of the park have been designed in cooperation with the Hamburg-based associations that represent the interests of disabled persons. Extensive sections of the park are disabled-friendly, as are the public transport connections. The skateboard park is also suitable for disabled persons and is an attractive facility particularly for wheelchair users.
The various stakeholder groups were continuously consulted during the planning and construction phase. The skateboard park was designed in collaboration with Hamburg's skateboarders over a period of 16 months and it was constructed by a company that included skateboard fans among its employees. The park thus meets the needs of advanced skateboarders as well as those of beginners. It has become a magnet for skateboarders throughout Germany. Other areas were planned and partly constructed with the help of school classes while a young persons' workshop was held during which various wall surfaces were covered with street art.
A sport cooperative
To ensure the continuing use of the park for sport and exercise purposes, the 'ParkSportInsel' association was formed in spring 2014. The official name of this sport cooperative is 'ParkSport Wilhelmsburger Sportinsel eG'.
Its aims:
The following stakeholders are members of the cooperative:
The InselAkademie manages the Island Park Hall. The InselAkademie provides the association Sport ohne Grenzen e.V. with the framework for the implementation of educational sport projects in collaboration with the various popular, high-performance and wheelchair sport associations. In addition, the Island Park Hall is home to the professional basketball team Hamburg Towers and its youth team Piraten Hamburg.
Bäderland operates the park swimming pool that also houses the state water polo training centre.
The Nordwandhalle provides rope and boulder wall climbing under qualified coaching. Climbing can also be enjoyed outdoors in the natural environment in the HanseRock high rope course.
BMS – this running association organises competitions for runners such as the Wilhelmsburger Island Run, the Elbinsel Cup and the Island Park Run every August.
Among its founder members are the two football clubs SV Wilhelmsburg and 1st FFC Wilhelmsburg together with the water sport association Süderelbe, all of which offer a wide range of sport options for all age groups as part of their activities.
SportJobs Hamburg offers training to disadvantaged adolescents and young adults (both with and without migrant backgrounds) to enable them to obtain qualifications to work in various sport-related capacities.
Skateboard e.V. is a non-profit making organisation that represents the interests of Hamburg's skateboarding community and is involved in the planning and realisation of skateboard facilities.
Although the Wälderhaus in the Island Park with its modern hotel and science centre is not directly involved in sport, it does provide visitors with an attractive learning and exhibition venue.
Thanks to its experience as a cooperative bank, the Sparda-Bank Hamburg acts as an enabler for the project and makes its considerable project-related experience available.
Additionally incorporated in the cooperative are various other institutions with differing operating and organisational structures that have a vested interest in ensuring the positive development of urban spaces and their continued use. The ParkSportInsel is itself a non-profit organisation. The cooperative is financed through the investments provided by its members and through donations. One of the main enablers was and is the Sparda-Bank Hamburg.
Currently ongoing are a series of negotiations with sport-related organisations that wish to join the cooperative or act as collaborating partners.
ParkSport attractions and events
The first season for ParkSportInsel was in 2015 and to September of the year it organised a wide range of sports events and attractions in the park. Included were the opening event in spring and the autumn-themed windup event at the end of the season on 26 September. During the summer holidays, the summer sport and family festival proved particularly popular under blue skies. Similarly well-attended were the days themed for various sports, such as water sports, climbing and new sports. There was and still is a regularly recurring weekly programme of events while a special holiday programme was developed for the summer holidays. All events were free for participants. The Dratelnstrasse reception and transit centre is in the immediate neighbourhood of the park. As a result, ParkSportInsel is currently running a long term project to provide sport opportunities for refugees.
For more information on ParkSportInsel and its programmes, please visit www.parksportinsel.de and www.facebook.com/parksportinsel. Queries concerning guided tours can be sent to info@parksportinsel.de.
The ParkSport cooperative has recently put in place a full-time post for a project coordinator. As a whole, the Island Park and its 'Exercise World' are maintained and operated, together with all other public spaces, by the local authority, Hamburg-Mitte. The local authority is represented on the advisory board of the cooperative and there is an active work-related exchange of information between the authority and the project coordinator of the ParkSport cooperative. All other interested parties who wish to use the park for sports events and attractions are coordinated through consultation. The 'Exercise World' is that section of the park that has proved to be most popular with visitors. It is to be extended next season.
Image: Beate Wagner-Hauthal, Alexander Jamil, Andreas Bock
