Sports Festival at the DSHS Hockey and Judo Center

On January 30, 2026, student teachers from the German Sport University Cologne organized a sports festival for approximately 60 seventh-grade students from the Heliosschule Cologne. From 9:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., the classes moved through various activity stations in the hall of the Hockey-Judo Center Cologne, which had been developed beforehand by the students.

This was the first time the sports festival was held in a gymnasium. The spatial conditions provided ideal conditions for multiple stations to take place simultaneously. This allowed the students to try out different athletic challenges while also completing cooperative tasks.

The sports festival is part of the bachelor’s seminar “Special Topics in Subject Didactics” in the teacher training program, led by Katrin Strub. In the seminar, the students independently planned differentiated physical activity programs and addressed issues of instruction, individualization, and inclusive design. The goal was to combine subject-specific content with a motivating and fun physical experience.

During the event, the students took charge of organizing, instructing, and adapting the activities. The project gave them the opportunity to apply and reflect on key course content under real-world school conditions. For the students, this created a structured physical education program outside of regular classes that combined physical activity, collaboration, and positive experiences of being active.