- After 20 years, last Watt Olympiad in the Elbe
Adventurous leisure athletes gather on Saturday at the Brunsbüttel Elbdeich to celebrate the last Wattolümpiade. After 20 years, it's time to call it quits, as the organizers announced last fall. "We look back on 20 truly fantastic and successful years," said Michael Behrendt, president of the Wattolümpiade Association at the time. "But we're not getting any younger, and we've decided that the 20-year anniversary is the right time to put an end to it."
Since 2004, athletes have been competing in traditional coastal sports such as mud football, mud handball, wool ball, and the mud sled race. The most important side effect is raising money for cancer patients along the Schleswig-Holstein coast. Under the motto "Dirty sport for a good cause," more than 600,000 euros have been collected so far. The money has been used to fund cancer counseling centers in the region, hospice work, and other projects. The sporting events in the mud are accompanied by a mud church service, music, a magic show, and yoga.
In their free time, participants often engage in social activities besides the sports competitions, such as attending the mud church service or enjoying the music performances. With the announcement of the Wattolümpiade's end, athletes will have to find new ways to spend their free time during Saturdays at the Brunsbüttel Elbdeich.
