The 4th CISM World Winter Games are postponed to the 2021/2022 winter season

 

BERCHTESGADEN (GER) - To meet the very high expectations associated with the preparation and staging of the 4th CISM World Winter Games for the 140 CISM Member Nations from four continents, the Bundeswehr has decided to postpone this major sports event, which is to be held in Germany for the first time, to the 2021/2022 winter season. The present worldwide coronavirus pandemic, whose consequences are at present unforeseeable, does not permit the 4th CISM (Conseil International du Sport Militaire) World Winter Games to be held as originally planned from 23 to 28 March 2021 .

 

 

Lieutenant General Weigt announces the Bundeswehr’s decision to postpone the 4th CISM WWG (Image Source: 4th CISM WWG Organizing Staff, Döhring)

 

 

“A postponement is not a cancellation,” said Lieutenant General Jürgen Weigt, Vice Chief of the Joint Support and Enabling Service, in his capacity as the President of the Organizing Committee for the 4th CISM World Winter Games (WWG) in his speech to the numerous guests attending the most recent information meeting on the state of affairs concerning the 4th CISM WWG at Jäger Barracks in Bischofswiesen on 25 August 2020. His objective was to personally inform the mayors of all the municipalities cooperating with the Bundeswehr in the conduct of the 4th CISM World Winter Games and the representatives of all the participating sports federations on the Federal Ministry of Defense’s decision on the staging of the event. “This decision to postpone the military World Winter Games was not an easy one for us,” said General Weigt and gave details of the months-long process that had led to it. “Our assessment of the situation and possible courses of action and our consideration of these options together with the continuous and intensive account we give to the development of the pandemic throughout the world have prompted us to make this decision, which we consider the only appropriate option to meet the expectations associated with this major winter sports event and take account of its significance,” explained President Weigt.

He expressed his thanks to the cooperation partners for the hitherto three-year constructive cooperation, which he said had above all been characterized by mutual trust, high reliability and exceptional cordiality. As a visible expression of this, the guests were given gingerbread hearts in white and blue, which are also the colors of the 4th CISM WWG, with the inscription “...bitte bleiben Sie gesund” (“…please keep well”). General Weigt concluded his speech by stressing that he was still tremendously looking forward to the first military World Winter Games to be held in Germany, in Bavaria, in the Berchtesgaden and Ruhpolding region, and that the event was in a sense a home game at the home ground, with affine and great spectators and interested guests. He appealed to the guests to remain with his team and work to achieve the joint objective - that of staging interesting and well-organized games in the snow, in keeping with the region’s spirit of hospitality and the 4th CISM WWG’s slogan “United in friendship”.

 

 

A guest is delighted with the small gift (Image Source: 4th CISM WWG Organizing Staff, Döhring)

 

 

“Let us regather our momentum and take our next steps”

 

 

Lieutenant Colonel Dr. Dobmeier gives details of the further steps on the road to the 4th CISM WWG (Image Source: 4th CISM WWG Organizing Staff, Döhring)

 

 

Lieutenant Colonel Dr. Harald Dobmeier is the chief of the Organizing Staff for the 4th CISM WWG. He is the man responsible for coordinating the preparations for the games. “It is always a great pleasure to visit Bischofswiesen,” he said as he explained the reasons for the municipality being chosen as a venue for the event. He expressed his thanks to the hosts, the mayor of the municipality of Bischofswiesen and the commander at Jäger Barracks in the district of Strub. By giving a brief review of the results of the preparations that had been jointly achieved in the period from January 2017 to February 2020, he brought all the attendees up to date. He used this as the basis for a restart of the preparations, even under the present COVID-19 conditions.

As milestones in the forthcoming months, he cited the adjustment of the cooperation agreements between the Bundeswehr and the municipalities and sports federations, the finalization of the pending contract negotiations in a wide range of fields as well as the design of a WWG mascot and another application video for the 4th CISM WWG. It is now up to the Conseil International du Sport Militaire to set the new timeframe for the 4th CISM WWG in 2021/2022 winter season in coordination with the international winter sports federations.

 

Sports promotion in the Bundeswehr - chances of success

 

 

Sergeant Carolin Langenhorst, a Bundeswehr athlete, during an interview (Image Source: 4th CISM WWG Organizing Staff, Döhring)

 

 

The interview with Sergeant Carolin Langenhorst from the Bischofswiesen sports promotion section was proof of the wide variety of careers offered by the Bundeswehr. “Without the Bundeswehr’s promotion of sports, world cup level performances would not be possible,” said the 24-year-old snowboarder. A member of the Bischofswiesen Winter Sports Club (WSV), the top athlete already has a remarkable record of international successes in her specialty events, the giant slalom and parallel slalom, for example, having won the bronze medal at the Snowboard Junior World Championships in Rogla in Slovenia in 2016.

“I deliberately opted for a career in the Bundeswehr, I am proud to be part of the Bundeswehr, and it would be a great experience to be able to compete in the 4th CISM WWG in Bavaria, my home region,” said Langenhorst. She demonstrated her versatility and her social commitment, beyond the normal scope of her duties and training, by actively supporting the public health authority of the rural district of the Berchtesgadener Land in the handling of the administrative work associated with coronavirus-related issues. She answered the question about her objectives for the near future quickly, clearly and unequivocally, saying that they were to claim a spot on the podium at the World Cup, to participate in the Winter Olympic Games in Beijing in February 2020 and to represent the Bundeswehr at the 4th CISM WWG at the ski resort of Götschen in Bischofswiesen - many chances of success.

 

 

An information event during the coronavirus pandemic - perfectly handled by the 4th CISM WWG Organizing Staff

 

 

An information event during the coronavirus pandemic - the Bundeswehr sets an example (Image Source: 4th CISM WWG Organizing Staff, Döhring)

 

The preparation and staging of an information event during the current pandemic - certainly not a challenge that the organizers should underestimate. “”You set a perfect example by organizing your event in this form,” said one guest in a few words of praise. The organizers succeeded in complying with all the constraints and regulations; the minimum permissible distances were more than kept, disinfectants were provided on the seats and every guest received a mask with the logo of the 4th CISM World Winter Games.

 

(Source: Jürgen Ammann, 4th CISM WWG Organizing Staff)

 

Additional images:

 

Deputy Mayor Resch conveying the greetings from the municipality of Bischofswiesen (4th CISM WWG Organizing Staff, Döhring)

 

Winsome and full of optimism - snowboarder Carolin Langenhorst (4th CISM WWG Organizing Staff, Döhring)

 

Still with masks on today, Lieutenant General Weigt, Sergeant Langenhorst and Lieutenant Colonel Dr. Dobmeier highly optimistic about the future (Image Source: 4th CISM WWG Organizing Staff, Döhring)