German Finals of the Danone Nations Cup 2011

The Danone Nations Cup is world’s greatest soccer tournament for young players, 10 to 12 years old. Out of 700 participating teams in Germany 28 had qualified for the national finals through regional preliminaries. The finals were held in the Brita-Arena in Wiesbaden on June, 5th. In October the winning team from SpVgg Greuther Fuerth will fly to Madrid to take part in the world finals, where they’ll meet kids from 39 other countries from all over the world. What an experience for young sportspeople!

Copyright Heiko Trurnit
– Photos on http://www.jugendsport-foto.de

Crownprincess Victoria visits Buntkicktgut

Together with her mother Her Highness Cronwnprincess Victoria of Sweden supports underprivileged children. That’s why she came to see Buntkicktgut on the occasion of her visit to Munich.
“Buntkicktgut” means “Colourful kicks well”. It’s an initiative – established in 1996 by Ruediger Heid and Memo Arikan – which uses street football (soccer) as means for the integration of immigrant kids. In the meantime its League with 150 teams and more than 1500 participants has become a respected institution that served as example in several countries in Europe. For it’s efforts to promote tolerance, integration, non-violence and self-esteem within the community of young people from different origins and cultures Buntkicktgut has received awards from the German Football Association, from the Lord Mayor of Munich and from the President of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Copyright Heiko Trurnit – More photos on http://www.jugendsport-foto.de

Crownprincess Victoria and her husband were very interested to see for themselves what can be done to improve through sports the integration of immigrant kids. The Princess overwhelmed everybody with her radiant charme, and the Prince showed his soccer skills by perfectly converting a penalty kick.

Olympic Winter Games in Munich

Munich is  ccandidating for the Olympic Winter Games in 2018.  See http://www.muenchen2018.org/en

In the framework of the bidding the city organized for the second time  a wintersports festival in the Olympic Park.  The visitors had the possibility to try out all kinds of wintersports such as icehockey,  iceskating, figureskating, skiing, skeleton, snowboard,  biathlon, curling. Presentation of the sports as well as competitions were also on the program. It was a lot of fun, especially for the kids. See http://www.jugendsport-foto.de/Wintersport.htm

The FIS Alpine World Ski Championships began Tuesday in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, the proposed location for the Munich 2018 Snow Park should the Munich host the 2018 Winter Olympic Games.

The event takes place just three weeks before the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Evaluation Commission visits Munich 2018 March 1 to 4 to inspect the city’s bid.

The fantastic opening ceremony showcased the potential of Munich 2018’s Festival of Friendship concept with live music (including opera, rock and traditional Bavarian folk music), 1,300 volunteers, and a crowd filling the Olympic Ski Snow Park.

The other two candidates for the ganes are Pyeongchang, South Korea, and Annecy, France. The election of the host city will be on July 6 during the 123rd IOC Session in Durban, South Africa.

Experiences in THAILAND

I’ve just spent two and a half months in Thailand. How could I have endured it so long? It was so boring No rain, no snow, no coldness, just warm and sunny all the time.And this monotony on the beach: Everyday a mango and other disgusting fruits and food, everyday a soothing massage. Fortunately there is one diversion: Not just a few of  the most attractive  ladies of pleasure are  no ladies at all, but of the third gender. One has to be extremely careful not to commit a possibly regrettable error.

Two of the most important festivals I had the opportunity to experience  were Loy Krathong, the traditional festival in honour of the water spirits, and the celebration of the king’s birthday.

Videos: http://www.youtube.com/user/hejot3

Donane Nations Cup 2010 World Final

In the six years since it was created in 2000, the Danone Nations Cup has become the world’s top football tournament for children in the 10-12 age group, and has already made 10 million kids’ dreams come true.

The World Final is the culmination of a year of competition, over five continents. The winners of the national tournaments in the 32 participating countries come together in a prestigious stadium, filled with bigger and bigger crowds, to play their favourite sport under the proud gaze of some of the greatest stars of the international game, and in particular the event’s sponsor: Zinedine Zidane.

Endorsed by FIFA and the FFF (the French Football Association), the World Final of the Danone Nations Cup is a true festival of sport, which brings together 500 children from different countries and cultures. The event is based on four fundamental values: openness, pleasure of the game, fair-play and accessibility.

More than just a football tournament, every year the Danone Nations Cup gives thousands of kids the chance to “believe in their dreams”, taking part in a unique experience where the emphasis is firmly on openness and fraternity.

The Danone Nations Cup also gives hope to hundreds of children affected by illness, donating all revenues from ticket sales to the association ELA, which is sponsored by Zinedine Zidane.  This year’s world final , held in South Africa from Oct. 1st to 3rd,  was spectacular, especially the last day in the Orlando Stadium in Soweto. What an atmosphere!  Tens of thousands of enthusiastic spectators, many as young as the players, celebrated the victory of their team exuberantly. The kids  from all over the world who were able to particpate in this wonderful event will probably never forget it and they will always remember the charming people of that extremely beautiful country. Photos: http://www.jugendsport-foto.de Videos: http://www.youtube.com/user/hejot2

Upcoming talents in photography

Last week two boys aged 14 accompanied me to a youth tournament in tennis. The idea was  to practise sports photography. The same day we shot pics of a group of boys having fun with their BMX-bikes and boards. And we went to a nearby lake to  do some nature photographs.

The outcome was phantastic. I was amazed how much talent these young guys had, how creative they were. Have a look at their sites:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/moritz-momo

http://www.timspirationonline.blogspot.com

Soccer Worldcup 2010

It’s a tradition: During the Worldcup there is a Mini Worldcup being played in Munich/ Germany. 11 years old boys from local football clubs represent the participants of the real one. For the kids it’s a great experience they won’t forget. Maybe they don’t feel like being in Southafrica, but they revel in the role of the greatest players of all continents. And they might become a great one in the future. One, who took part in the Mini Worldcup in 1994 is PHILIPP LAHM, just now in Southafrica as the captain of the German team. Many photos of this event on http://www.jugendsport-foto.de

Video: http://www.youtube.com/user/hejot2

German Finals of the Danone Nations Cup 2010

The Danone Nations Cup is world’s greatest soccer tournament for  young  players, 10 to 12 years old. Out of 700 participating teams in Germany 32 had qualified for the national finals through regional preliminaries. The finals were held in the Commerzbank Arena in Frankfurt/Main  on June, 5th. The winning team from MSV Duisburg will fly to Johannesbourg in SouthAfrica to take part in the world finals, where they’ll meet kids from 39 other countries from all over the world. What an experience for young sportspeople! Many photos to be found on http://www.jugendsport-foto.de

Video: http://www.youtube.com/user/hejot2

Buntkicktgut Open

“Buntkicktgut” means “Colourful kicks well”. It’s an initiative – established in 1996 by Ruediger Heid and Memo Arikan – which uses street football (soccer) as means for the integration of immigrant kids.  In the meantime its League with 150 teams and more than 1500 participants  has become a respected institution that served as example in several  countries in Europe.  For it’s efforts to promote tolerance, integration, non-violence and self-esteem within the community of young people from different origins and cultures Buntkicktgut has received awards from the German Football Association, from the Lord Mayor of Munich and from the President of the Federal Republic of Germany.

The annual highlight is the “International Buntkicktgut Open”. This year it took place in the Olympic Park from May, 21st to 24th . Thirty-six teams from Germany, England, Poland,  Serbia,  Austria, Switzerland and even two from as far away as China competed for the trophies in four categories.  Important was not the victory, but fairplay and the cross-cultural  encounter of juveniles from diverse backgrounds.

Many more photos on http://www.jugendsport-foto.de

Peter Heller wins Rudi-Berger-Cup

In memory of Rudi Berger, the former popular tournament director, a junior competition carrying his name is being played in the frame of the prestigious BMW Open in Munich. The aim is to give up-and-coming tennis talents the opportunity to experience an ATP tour event at first hand. On sunday 18 years old Peter Heller hailing from Cham in Bavaria won the  final of the cup against Albert Wagner from Amberg 6:4, 7:5 in a dramatic game, in which both opponents showed sparkling abilities.

For his victory Peter Heller received a wild card for next year’s BMW Open. This very year – if everything goes well – the young man, who is on position 37 in the world junior rankings U18  – is going to play the Junior Championships of Roland Garros, Wimbledon and New York.  Gifted and determined as he is,  in a couple of years he might go far in professional tennis. Watch out for him! I’ve been admiring his dynamic body language, his pugnacious dedication since he was 12.

See more photos on http://www.jugendsport-foto.de