| Deutsches Sportabzeichen | |
|---|---|
German Sports Badge in gold, civilian version before 2007 |
|
| Awarded by the Federal Republic of Germany | |
| Type | Badge and Ribbon |
| Eligibility | Civilians, Soldiers of the German armed forces and Allied nations (military version) |
| Awarded for | physical fitness |
| Status | Currently awarded |
| Description | Comes in three classes: gold, silver and bronze |
| Statistics | |
| Established | November 10, 1912 (civil version) |
German Sports Badge ribbon in Bronze |
|
The German Sports Badge (German: Deutsches Sportabzeichen (DSA)) is a decoration of the German Olympic Sports Federation DOSB, of the Federal Republic of Germany. The German Sports Badge test is carried out primarily in Germany, and in other 39 countries abroad. In 1993 the DOSB opened an international office called Ausland which allows non-Germans to organize, participate and obtain the DSA outside Germany, but only under supervision of an authorized Verein (sport organisation) and authorized Pruefer (judge); the decoration can be awarded to any person participating in the test.
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The German Sports Badge, also known as the "German National Sports Badge" was first created in the year 1913 and is one of the oldest awards of Germany still in active circulation. The Pour le Mérite is another older award which is still issued in Germany, although the criteria for that decoration has changed since its original issuance as a military order.
Between 1914 and 1933, the German Sports Badge was issued for the completion of various physical tests by the young male population. As a military award, during the inter-war years of the 1920s and prior to 1933, the German National Sports Badge was one of the few military awards bestowed to the peacetime Reichswehr.
Between 1933 and 1939, the German Sports Badge was overshadowed by an almost identical decoration, the SA Sports Badge which was a sports badge issued by the Nazi Party. Even so, the German Sports Badge was still regarded as an important qualification badge, and both the SA Sports Badge and German Sports Badge could both be earned and displayed simultaneously.[1]
Sports and fitness were given great emphasis in the every day training programs of The SS. The SS considered the German Sports Badge of particular importance[2] and the decoration was one of nine awards which were listed on the front of all SS service records with spaces for qualification dates.[N 1][3] Regulations of the Allgemeine-SS required a prospective SS candidate to qualify for both the German Sports Badge and the SA Sports Badge during a six month probationary period upon joining the SS. Notable SS recipients of the German Sports Badge include Reinhard Heydrich, Joseph Mengele, Hermann Fegelein and Amon Göth.
After World War II, the German Sports Badge was continued as a federal decoration in West Germany and continued in this status after the German reunification. Today, the German Sports Badge is a civilian decoration but it can be worn as an official award of the Bundeswehr, as well as law enforcement and emergency services.
The German Armed Forces Sports Badge is a requirement in order to earn the German Armed Forces Badge for Military Proficiency, but the test must not be older than one year (1 January-31 December). Allied soldiers may also be awarded the badge and wear the badge as a ribbon.
The German Sports Badge is also an entry requirement for certain German Police services.[4]
To earn the award one must complete the following requirements (Requirements vary according to age category and gender):[5]
| Group | Section | Disciplines | Substitutes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Swimming | 50 or 200 meters swim | none |
| 2 | Jumping power | High-jump or Long-jump | Pommel horse or leap frogging |
| 3 | Speed | 50/75/100/400/1000 meter run, 300/500 bicycling or 300/500 meters inline-skating | Ice-skating |
| 4 | Physical strength | Stone- or shot-put, 100 meter swim | Shooting sports, Bench press or weightlifting, Canoeing or rowing |
| 5 | Endurance | 800/1000/2000/3000/5000 meters run, 5000/10000 meters inline-skating, 10 kilometers walk, 7 kilometers Walking/Nordic Walking, 20 kilometers bicycling, 600/1.000 meters swim cross-country skiing | Canoeing, rowing, bowling or ice-skating |
The workgroup Projektgruppe Deutsches Sportabzeichen of the German Olympic Sports Association announced various changes for the German Sports Badge. The following changes and various further changes are planned to be implemented by 2012:[6]
Prospective judges (Prüfer) have to fulfill certain requirements in order to obtain judging qualifications and licence (Prüfausweis):
A license for a judge is valid for a period of four years.The licence can be obtained from DOSB only via German sports club (Vereine).
German school physical education instructors and Bundeswehr instructors underlie different requirements.
German citizenship for a judge is not required, however, the judge has to be holding the tests for a German sports association (Vereine), a German school or the German military. However, exceptions can be made in special cases. In general the non German Prüfer are foreign citizens around the world with German origin or family; execptions are known in Denmark, as a Danish National who was made judge for the Danish Emergency Management Agency, due to the fact that Denmark had no Sportsabzeichen-judges; another significative exception are in Italy where within the Italian Armed Forces the German Sport Badge become popular since 2003 and now there are 5 Italian holding the Prüfausweis (licence to be a judge).
The badge for a judge (Prüferabzeichen) is similar in shape as a regular sports badge, however, the color is green and it features a banner with the inscription Prüfer.
The Prüferabzeichen is no longer awarded, instead a t-shirt with the text "Sportsabzeichen team" is awarded. [7][8]
Judges (Prüfer) for the German Sports Badge may also judge the following badges:
The Bavarian Sports Badge (German Bayerisches Sport-Leistungs Abzeichen or BSLA) is a sports badge awarded by the Bavarian Athletes Organization (Bayrischer Landes-Sportverband).
The Bavarian Sports Badge is comparable to the German Sports Badge, however, differences exists:
The decoration has three grades:
Special awards:
Design: