sport
Berlin High School Athletes Drive Community Sports Expansion on Tight Budgets
Neighborhood programs tied to local schools are expanding youth track participation without relying on big budgets or professional coaches.
How we reported this
High school athletics enrollment in Berlin rose by 15 percent last season, with 8,200 students registered across district programs as of June 2026.
School officials trace the increase to informal networks that began after the 2024 city youth sports allocation added modest funding for equipment at public Gymnasien. Families in dense inner-city areas have turned to these options because private club fees often exceed €300 a year, while school-led sessions cost €25 for the full term.
The Ernst-Reuter-Schule in Wedding runs twice-weekly sessions on the old airfield section of Tempelhofer Feld, where students from four nearby schools share hurdles and relay batons stored in a shipping container. Three kilometers east, the Heinrich-Hertz-Gymnasium in Friedrichshain uses the Volkspark’s cinder track for Saturday morning meets that parents organize with volunteer timers borrowed from the local Feuerwehr youth group.
School clubs fill the gap left by shrinking club rosters
Berlin’s sports authority reported that traditional clubs lost 1,200 youth members between 2023 and 2025, largely because training times conflict with longer school days under the new timetable. In response, the city’s Bildungsverwaltung allowed Gymnasien to keep athletic fields open until 8 p.m. on weekdays, a change that took effect in January 2025. At the Paulsen-Gymnasium in Steglitz, the extra hours let 120 students train without needing transport to distant club facilities in Charlottenburg.
Equipment remains basic. A recent inventory at Ernst-Reuter-Schule listed 18 starting blocks, two measuring tapes, and a single set of hurdles purchased second-hand from a 2023 Landesmeisterschaft. Coaches are often mathematics or history teachers who completed a free one-week certification course offered by the Landessportbund last autumn.
Next steps for families and schools
Registration for the autumn term opens on 18 August at each school’s main office. Parents can sign up by submitting a one-page form and the €25 fee; no prior club membership is required. District coordinators plan an open practice day on 30 August at Tempelhofer Feld for any student who wants to try the 100-metre dash or shot put before committing.