Münster – A city in motion

How does a typical Münster triathlon go? Bike it to the baths, have a swim, go home on foot… That’s one possibility, but not the whole truth by any means.

To stick to the facts: Münster’s triathletes are actually among the best in Germany, with two teams in the National League. And the Sparda Münster City Triathlon – with over 1,000 participants – is a fixed point and high point in the sport’s annual calendar. The same applies to two other major sporting events that attract thousands of amateur athletes and hundreds of thousands of spectators every year: the Volksbank-Münster-Marathon, which has become firmly established in every runner’s annual schedule in Germany, and the Sparkassen Münsterland Giro, which within only a few years has become Germany’s third biggest cycling event, with over 4,000 participants.

That the people of Münster love their sport is demonstrated by the broad spectrum of events, ranging from the sailing and rowing competitions on the Aasee Lake, through the track and field competitions of LG Brillux Münster, to the highly popular “Skatenights” that are held from May to September and see young and old together rolling through Münster as dusk starts to fall. A more exotic happening is the annual Polo-Picnic – which is as much a social occasion as a sporting contest. And the Münster sport scene can even go romantic: the “Balloon Glow” event, put on by the balloonists participating in the Montgolfiade competition, presents some wonderful light effects as night falls on the Aasee in the background.

The enthusiasm for sport naturally also finds its noisy expression during the matches of “Preussen Münster”, the long-standing local football club which was one of the founding members of today’s German Football League, is currently playing in the 3rd division, and is now driving forward plans to build a new stadium.

Münster’s most successful team in the field of ball sports are, however, the women of USC Münster: Nine times, already, they have been German Women’s Volleyball Champions. The fan support they receive at their national league home games in Berg Fidel is legendary, with samba drums and original chants creating an atmosphere in the hall that is famed throughout the league. This enthusiasm is also starting to spread to other indoor sports. So, for example, the second league basketball players of WWU Baskets Münster, can always be sure of lots of fan support.

And last but not least: The Münsterland is horse country – with Münster right at its centre. So it will probably come as no surprise to learn that there are tracks and trails within the city boundaries that are designated specifically for horse riding: What will perhaps come as a surprise, though, is the overall length of these tracks, which adds up to more than 100 km! The absolute high point of the riding year in Münster is the traditional “Turnier der Sieger”, which is held every autumn against the breathtaking backdrop of the Schloss and attracts the very top competitors in equestrian sport.

Some interesting facts & figures (perhaps worth following up further)

• Münster has 195 sports clubs, the best-known among them being USC Münster (women’s volleyball, several-times German champions), SC Preussen Münster (football, runners-up in the 1951 German championships, founding member of the German Football League (Bundesliga)
• Major sports events: Turnier der Sieger (horse riding), Volksbank Münster Marathon, Sparkassen Münsterland Giro (cycling), Sparda Münster City Triathlon

www.stadt-muenster.de/en/tourismus/sports-in-muenster.html
www.sparda-muenster-city-triathlon.de
www.volksbank-muenster-marathon.de/en
muensterland-giro.de
www.turnierdersieger.de