Saarland celebrates: Special Olympics wins big silver star!

Saarland celebrates: Special Olympics wins big silver star!

In Saarland, the Special Olympics Saarland Sportverein e.V. was awarded the “Big Star in Silver 2024” as part of the important “Stars of Sports” competition. This honor was presented on October 10th at the Saarland State Chancellery and recognizes the club's valuable voluntary commitment, particularly in the areas of inclusion and diversity in sport.

The “Stars of Sports” competition, which has been organized by the Volksbanken and Raiffeisenbanken in collaboration with the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) since 2004, aims to honor sports clubs that go beyond their regular sports activities. Topics such as integration, equality and climate protection are addressed. In addition to the big winner of the evening, the Special Olympics Saarland sports club, SV Saar 05 Tanzsport e.V. and LTF Theeltal also received second and third place with the “Little Star in Silver”.

Special significance of the award

In his speech, Sports Minister Reinhold Jost praised the club's outstanding commitment and made it clear how important inclusion is in sport. “It is important that every person – regardless of their abilities – can be part of the community,” explained Jost. This award gives Special Olympics Saarland the opportunity to qualify at the federal level and win the “Great Star of Sports in Gold” in Berlin in January 2025.

Various sponsorship prizes were also awarded at the event. The prizes, each worth 500 euros, were awarded to associations that implemented innovative projects to promote integration and community. These include the project “Integration through sport for all new citizens and socially disadvantaged people” by the football club 08 Püttlingen e.V. and the “Integrative football tournament” by FC 1910 Niederlinxweiler e.V.

The jury, consisting of representatives of sports and society, recognized the important role of volunteer work, as Joachim Tesche, Finance Director of the State Sports Association for Saarland, emphasized. “Without the commitment of volunteers, such initiatives could never be implemented so successfully,” he said.

The winners at a glance show the impressive commitment of the clubs:

• 1. Platz/Großer Stern in Silber (2.500 Euro): Special Olympics Saarland Sportverein e.V. für das Projekt „Special Run für Tagesförderstätten 2024“
• 2. Platz/Kleiner Stern in Silber (1.500 Euro): SV Saar 05 Tanzsport e.V. für das Projekt „MRIJa – Traum“
• 3. Platz/Kleiner Stern in Silber (1.000 Euro): LTF Theeltal e.V. für das Projekt „Tag des Sports“

This year's award is particularly significant as the Stars of Sports competition celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. The special atmosphere of the event and the celebration of shared successes in the Saarland sports landscape were clearly noticeable.

The jury was composed of a wide range of experts from different areas of sport and society, which ensures diversity and fair assessment of the submitted projects. This collaboration underlines the importance of civic engagement and the role of sports clubs as the backbone of the community.