Berlin Universities: Sports
Playing Basketball at the TU
University and sports, a couple which goes together with exemplary efficiency in Germany. The variety on offer, the availability and organisation of the activities, are an every day thing in Germany, and vanguard in Europe. Berlin, the capital, is naturally not left behind.
Sport plays an important role in the student life of an undergrad or postgrad in the universities and colleges of Berlin. The list of sports and activities is as long as the disciplines in the Chinese Olympic Games. What's more, all this offer safely lies on a solid base of organisational prowess which comes not just from each of the universities on their own, but from their cooperation. However, in order to move around this galaxy of university sports it is necessary to be able to move around not only the concrete jungle, but the linguistic jungle. The first thing might be to ask for the ZEH, the "Zentraleinrichtung Hochschulsport" at the respective university, which is like the "sports admin" or "sports office".
Apart from the main universities, TU (Technische Univerisität), FU (Freie Universität) and HU (Humboldt Universität), the specialised universities (Fachhochschule) also add to the sports pool. Amongst these are, the Alice Salomon Fachhs. f. Sozialarb. u. Sozialpäd. (ASFH), the Evangelische Fachhochschule (EFB), the Europäische Wirtschaftshochschule (EAP), the Fachhochschule für Wirtschaft (Berlin School of Economic) (FHW), the Fachhochschule f. Technik u. Wirtschaft (FHTW), the Fachhochschule für Verwaltung u. Rechtspflege (FHVR), the Hochschule für Musik, the Hochschule der Schauspielkunst, the Kunsthochschule Berlin, the SRH Hochschule Berlin, the Technische Fachhochschule Berlin (TFH), the Universität der Künste (UdK) and the University of Potsdam.
As you can imagine, the sports umbrella covers the whole city, from Grunewald to Adlershof, via Mitte. Many of the sports halls ("Halle" in German), the tennis courts, football fields, basketball courts, etc, are on the university campuses themselves, as well as other private or neighbourhood sports centres which have been ceded to universities and which are also in the city. The TU, for example, has a "Halle" with three tennis courts under a convertable roof, and the space next to it is a multiplex, where you can play beach volleyball in the summer, have a drink, and enjoy the fresh air. There are many other tennis courts in the area which in the winter are covered and heated. 
Here are some links which may be useful:
TU website: http://www.tu-sport.de/index.php?id=10
and the cooperation with the TU: http://www.tu-sport.de/index.php?id=19&no_cache=1
FU website, all in alphabetical order: http://www.hs-sport.fu-berlin.de/index.aspx?ID=22
HU website: http://zeh2.zeh.hu-berlin.de/cgi/webpage.cgi?sportstaetten
Like we said, the specialised universities also possess their own sports centres. The FHTW's are on the campuses of Treskowalle and Allee der Kosmonauten. The former enjoys a beach volleyball court and a sports centre. The latter a fitness centre. And watch out! This university also offers sports for the handicapped!
Below is a list of other centres which have cooperation with the specialised universities:
ELIXIA Vitalclub Ostkreuz (Hirschgartenstr. 3, 10317 Berlin; tram: 21, bus: 240; S-Bhf. Ostkreuz)
FEZ Schwimmhalle (An der Wuhlheide 197, 12459 Berlin; tram: 27, 63, 67; S-Bhf. Wuhlheide)
ORANGE Fit (Wilhelminenhofstr. 76, 12459 Berlin; tram: 27, 63, 67; S-Bhf. Schöneweide)
Quality Hotel & Suites (Landsberger Allee 203, 13055 Berlin; tram: M5, M6, M13)
Sportanlage Paul-Heyse-Str.(Gymnastikraum, 3. Etage; Paul-Heyse-Straße 29, 10407 Berlin; tram: M5, M6, M8, M10; S-Bhf. Landsberger Allee)
T.U.R.M. ErlebnisCity Oranienburg (André-Pican-Straße 42,16515 Oranienburg; S-Bhf.Oranienburg)
Willi-Sänger-Sportanlage (Köpenicker Landstraße 186-218; 12437 Berlin; bus: 167;S-Bhf. Baumschulenweg)
But there's more to go, for it is not just the number and efficiency of the sports and its organisation which calls our attention. The equipment and installations are the latest. Some of these modern fitness and wellness centres are actually incorporated into the sports activities the universities have to offer. The TU, for example, has its own Fitness Studio which on top of it offers its courses free of cost. For massages and shiatsu treatments there is a separate cost of 10/15€. The subscriptions can be carried out at the desk of the TU from the 29th of october on. For more information just write a little email to martin.kiesler(at)tu-berlin.de, or call: 0 174 64 678 89. 
What do I have to do to participate in sports at the university? What is the subscription process and how is it organised? First of all, it is not necessary to be registered at the university, the only requirement is that you are more than 18 years old. The subscription forms are aimed at students (who can be registered at any of the universities), employees of the universities, or people from outside the university structure.
The sports on offer are organised into four categories: free training, courses, work-shops, and tournaments.
To be able to take advantage of all that is on offer, it is necessary to subscribe and pay a subscription price which varies according to sport and duration of the course or work-shop. The programmes are also organised by semester, after all, the centres are a part of the universities... there is the Semester Sport Programm (SSP) and the Ferien Sport Programm (holiday programme, FSP). To register is easy and can be done online, at the desk, or by mail.
Now, what sports can actually be done? The offer is enormous and goes from the classical sport to individual and team sport, athletics, badminton, squash, yoga or boxing, Nording Walking, dance, swimming, aerobics... whatever you can dream of. Here are the links to the universities and their lists...
Programme at the FU: http://www.hs-sport.fu-berlin.de/index.aspx?ID=18
Programme at the HU: http://zeh2.zeh.hu-berlin.de/sportarten/aktueller_zeitraum/index.html
Programme at the HU Adlershof campus: http://zeh3.hu-berlin.de/events/adlershofsport.html
Programme at the TU: http://www.tu-sport.de/index.php?id=78&no_cache=1&letter=Q&letter=A
But that's not all! Universities usually organise activities to take place sometimes out of Germany, such as skiing and snowboarding in Switzerland... And for the summer semester, the snowboard is replaced by the surf board, and Switzerland with the South of France! Follow these links for more information on this:
Organised holidays and sports at the FU: http://www.hs-sport.fu-berlin.de/index.aspx?ID=20
Skii holidays with the HU: http://zeh3.hu-berlin.de/angebot/kompaktkurse-wintersport.html
Trips and sports at the TU: http://www.tu-sport.de/index.php?id=36&letter=A
And if you would rather evade the organised programmes, or you can't travel or simply would rather stay in the city, then you can always take part in the work-shops which are announced on a semester basis and last one to two days. The HU, for instance, will organise a "Yoga Full Moon Midnight Special" on Thursday the 13th of November from 11pm to 1 am, for beginners, advanced yogis and simply anyone who wants to harmonize their physique with their spirit at this time of the year.
There are many tournaments and competitions, individual as well as in a team, in which you can participate throughout the school year. The intra-university championships (Wettkampfgemeinschaft or WG) are put forward by the TU, FU, HU and the FHW. The winners of these competitions can then move on to national tournaments (Deutsche Hochschule Meisterschaft, DHM), and then even the international tournaments (Internazionale Deutsche Hochschule Meisterschaft, IDHM). For more information about these, get in touch with the respective organisers (Ansprechpartner) of each of the universities.
Ansprechpartner FU Michael Sendzik Tel. +49(0)30 838 5 4591
Ansprechpartner HU Wolfgang Schatz Tel. +49(0)30 2093 4874
Ansprechpartner TU Gerhard Braunsdorf Tel. +49(0)30 314 25 125 Ansprechpartner FHW Werner Kawald Tel. +49(0)30 85789-241
And if its footie that does it for you, the TU has its own league, the TU League, which takes part in real football championships. This link will take you to a list of championships you can take part in:
zeh3.hu-berlin.de/events/wettkampf.html
Professional sport is well represented in the German universities with specific training and programmes for professional athletes. The Humbold University has made sure it is in contact and cooperation with the Olympiastützpunkt Berlin OSP and the Allgemeinen Deutschen Hochschulsportverband (German General Sports University Federation), coming to an agreement that professional athletes can take part in university studies without having to give up their careers in sports. This cooperation, which started in 2002, already counted with 67 professional German athletes in 2007 who were participating regularly in the university courses and 5 of which were welcomed back from the Olympics in China last month.
If you're a bit confused or overwhelmed by all of this information (fruit of the precise and impecable German bureaucratic machine), you can direct yourself to the Sportpartnerbörse. In each of the web pages of the different universities there is the possibility to look for sports partners or teams who you can play with in your free time. All you have to do is put up an ad specifying what sport you want to play, at what level, your age etc...
So, as it should be clear from this, Berlin is certainly not lacking opportunities for you to enjoy your free time to the max! The unis organise themselves so beautifully with regards to sports, it is impossible to get lost, except maybe in the vast amount they have to offer. Here is a personal piece of advice to those of you who are coming to Berlin for a year: enjoy! participate! Not just in sports but socially, integration has never been so easy!
And the best part of it- the parties!!!
On the 29th of November, there will be a sports party at the Kalkscheune: three floors (mainstream, electro and salsa), and two live bands (one from Berlin another from Madrid), drinks at student prices, and the entrance fee: 5 Euros!
