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High performance rowing - for generations

In the field of sport, rowing undeniably occupies a special place in our hearts. At the Dortmund Rowing Performance Centre, the training conditions are improved by our support. In addition, we support U23 young athletes individually by awarding scholarships and planning their careers.

More than in any other funding area, the Wilo-Foundation’s activities in the field of rowing are deeply rooted in the tradition of the Opländer founding family. Dr.-Ing. h.c. Jochen Opländer has been supporting top rowing athletes for decades – like his grandfather Louis and his father Wilhelm before him. The Dortmund-based Hansa rowing club (Ruderclub Hansa e.V.) acknowledged his achievements by making Jochen Opländer an honorary club member. 

In the Olympic Year 2012 the German Eight appointed him as their honorary captain. As part of the 2019 World Championships in Linz, the then President of the German Rowing Association (DRV), Siegfried Kaidel, presented him with the plaque for special merits. This is the highest award of the German Rowing Association, which Ralf Holtmeyer and Karl Adam have previously received, for example.

Dr.-Ing. h.c. Jochen Opländer is appointed honorary captain of the German Eight in 2012. Photo: Deutschland-Achter GmbH, Dortmund

Our focus

In keeping with the tradition of the Opländer family, the Wilo-Foundation has been supporting young rowers at the Dortmund base for generations.

 

Project details

German Eight

Since the mid-1980s, the rowing performance center in Dortmund has been the home of the Team German Eight. About 50 squad athletes from the senior national team and the U23 area train here. Since 2010, WILO SE has been the main sponsor of the German rowing eight, and since 2015 also of the rowing pair and the four.

Since 2012, the Wilo-Foundation has been promoting young talents in top-class rowing here. The athletes find ideal training opportunities here: On the Dortmund-Ems Canal, rowers can ride 12 kilometers in one direction without having to turn around. On land, the athletes train in the weight room of the performance center and in a gym. Other facilities at the rowing performance centre include a laboratory for performance diagnostics, rooms for physiotherapy and doctors, and a kitchen. The annual presentation of the German Eight team takes place in the hall of the RC Hansa of 1898 e.V. (rowing club Hansa Dortmund).

Ambassador of the "Living Lakes" network

From 2020-2024, the Germany Eight team supported the work of the international environmental foundation Global Nature Fund (GNF) and the Living Lakes Germany Network as ambassadors together with the Wilo-Foundation. With the annual "Living Lake of the Year" award, the network highlights the unique character of lakes in Germany and at the same time points out existing deficits in lake protection.

Dr. Thomas Schaefer (Leiter Living Lakes GNF), Lars Mentrup (Samtgemeindebürgermeister Lemförde), Jonas Wiesen (Steuermann Deutschland-Achter), Frank Apffelstaedt (Geschäftsführer Naturschutzring Dümmer e.V.), Evi Hoch (Vorstandsmitglied Wilo-Foundation), Carsten Oberhagemann (Geschäftsführer Deutschland-Achter GmbH)

The sport of rowing is fully dependent on the aquatic environment. That is why we are a committed supporter of the Living Lakes Network and took on the role of ambassador as a matter of conviction."

Carsten Oberhagemann, Managing Director Deutschland-Achter GmbH

Social engagement - at championships

We also want to support the venues of rowing championships and provide funding for local education projects there. The projects are visited by representatives of the Wilo-Foundation, and rowing athletes participate in the projects wherever possible.

German Olympic Youth Camp 2021

For several decades now, German Sports Youth (Deutsche Sportjugend, dsj) and the German Olympic Academy have been hosting the German Olympic Youth Camp during the Olympic Games. In 2021, a binational youth camp took place for the first time, with 50 German and 50 Japanese youth. In this context, the Wilo-Foundation initiated a digital panel discussion on the subject of “sports and sustainability”.

Screenshot einer Zoom-Konferenz des Deutschen Olympischen Jugendlagers

SOS youth support in Belgrade

During the 2018 Rowing World Cup in Serbia, we visited our “Strong Youngsters” youth support project of the organisation SOS Children’s Villages in Belgrade. We invited a group of young people to participate in a workshop next to the regatta course and to attend the World Rowing Cup.

"Rio bewegt.Uns": youth support project

During the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil, the German Eight supported the Alliance “Rio bewegt.Uns” (“Rio Moves.Us”) as an ambassador. The Alliance seeks to promote equality in Brazil and provide opportunities for young people in Rio. We joined the initiative and made a donation to a youth support project, namely the sports and welfare centre Armindo da Fonseca in Rio de Janeiro.

Empowering children in Plovdiv

During the 2018 World Rowing Championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, we provided financial support for an outdoor classroom with a garden, allowing children and youth to learn more about environmental issues and complementing the existing educational offer of the Youth Centre in Plovdiv. We are also supporting a cultural education project of the Goethe-Institut for children in Plovdiv.

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