Countries of the World/COUNTRYS.BIN/dp/0026/00269.txt

Text File | 1991-06-24 | 20KB | 453 lines

$Unique_ID{COW00269}
$Pretitle{376}
$Title{Austria
Sport in Austria}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Federal Press Service}
$Affiliation{Embassy of Austria, Washington DC}
$Subject{skiing
sports
alpine
austria
austrian
world
medals
federal
ski
olympic}
$Date{1989}
$Log{Opening Ceremony*0026901.scf
}
Country:     Austria
Book:        Austria Culture and Society 1945-1955-2000
Author:      Federal Press Service
Affiliation: Embassy of Austria, Washington DC
Date:        1989

Sport in Austria

[See Opening Ceremony: Bergisel, the site of the 1976 olympic winter games'
ski jumping events. Courtesy Embassy of Austria, Washington DC.]

The early days of Austrian sport

     As early as 1746 sports activities featured prominently on the syllabus
of the Theresian Military Academy in Vienna. By 1820 the Jahn gymnastics
movements had spread to Austria. In 1848 the first university gymnastics
institutions began to exert a significant influence. And in 1892, with the
founding of the country's first sports clubs, sport started to enjoy a
broad-based popularity in Austria.

     In 1912 Austria joined the international community of sporting nations
with the establishment of the Austrian Olympic Committee (OOC). At the first
modern Olympic Games in Athens in 1896 Austria had garnered two gold medals:
in swimming (Paul Neumann, 500 metres freestyle) and in cycling (Adolf Schmal,
12-hours cycling).

Organisation

     Up to the year 1934 the various specialized sports federations in Austria
were affiliated to the Hauptverband fur Korpersport (Main Federation for
Physical Sports). In the years 1934-1938 a Turn- und Sportfront (Gymnastics
and Sports Front), organised on the lines of a government ministry of sports,
fulfilled the role of an umbrella organisation. From 1938 to 1945 Austria was
occupied by nazi Germany. After the end of the second world war in 1945
Austrian sports re-emerged as an independent national entity.

     The Ministry of Education, Art and Sport is responsible for Austrian
sports at the national level. A special ministerial department is devoted to
the important field of school sports. Several departments have responsibility
for sports promotion, sports teaching, the federal sports schools, federal
sports colleges, federal institutes for physical education and the federal
sports centres.

     The Federal Sports Promotion Act of 1969 made a decisive contribution to
laying the groundwork for Austrian sports.

     By the terms of Austria's federal structure, sports belong to those
aspects of life which come under the purview of the nine federal provinces.
These have in their turn established federal sports organisations.

     In organisational terms, there are three umbrella organisations and 46
specialized sports federations which run the Austrian sporting scene. ASKO
(Arbeitsgemeinschaft fur Sport und Korperkultur in Osterreich) was
originally founded in 1892 and re-established after the second world war. It
has 3,575 affiliated clubs and a total of 1,048,185 members. UNION
(Osterreichische Turn-und Sport-Union) was set up in 1945 and has 3,627
affiliated clubs and 941,995 members. And ASVO (Allgemeiner Sportverband
Osterreichs), dating from 1949, has 2,400 affiliated clubs and 621,549
members. These three umbrella organisations, run on association lines, are
responsible for representing the interests of Austria's active sportswomen and
sportsmen at every level, from popular to competitive sports.

     The Osterreichische Bundessport-Organisation (BSO), the Austrian federal
sports organisation, was constituted as an association in 1969 and acts as a
central clearing house for all sports activities in Austria (see table "The
Organisation of Sports in Austria"). The BSO is made up of the Austrian
Federal Sports Expert Committee (whose members represent the 46 specialist
sports associations) and the Austrian Federal Sports Committee, made up of
representatives of the federal and provincial bodies within the three umbrella
organisations ASKO, ASVO and UNION. The BSO runs annual nationwide sports
events promoting the keep-fit concept like the National Cross-Country Ski Day,
the National Cycle Touring Day, and the Keep-Fit March and Keep-Fit Run on
Austrian National Day (October 26th).

     The Austrian Olympic Committee (OOC) is affiliated to the International
Olympic Committee and represents Austria on the top international sports
bodies. In 1987 OOC president Kurt Heller was elected president of the
European Committee and vice president of the Association of National Olympic
Committees.

     Sports activities under the auspices of the armed forces are playing an
increasingly significant role within Austrian sports as a whole. The
Osterreichischer Heeressportverband (OHSV), the armed forces sports
association, recruits sportsmen in the best age range for sporting
achievements and, by allowing a great deal of flexibility in the allocation of
their duties, provides support for top performers. Many outstanding Austrian
sportsmen owe their sports careers to the OHSV.

     Founded in 1967, the OHSV is comprised of 75 armed forces sports
associations with a total of some 26,500 members. At the military world
championships Austrian teams have often performed very creditably. Ten sports
centres and close combat schools are run by the armed forces to train
sportsmen.

     In 1988 alone the OHSV accounted for 106 national championship titles
and won 5 gold medals, 4 silver medals and 13 bronze medals in international
competitions.

Financing

     Sport in Austria exists primarily on an amateur basis, but financing
nevertheless poses a perennial problem. The Sporttoto pools system was
introduced in Austria in 1948 to provide a financial grounding for the
country's sports. It has become one of the principal sources of sports
financing, together with federal and provincial subsidies, private industrial
sponsors, club and federation advertising revenue, and fees from television
and radio broadcasts.

     In 1986 the lottery organisation took over the pools system. It
guarantees a minimum grant of 310 million schillings for Austria's sports.
These funds are administered and audited by the BSO and constitute the
financial foundation of all sports activities within the context of the sports
organisations.

     The Osterreichische Sporthilfe (Austrian Sports Funding Body) was set up
with the help of Austria's industrial and commercial sector on the lines of
comparable organisations in other countries. Its purpose is to provide
financial support for top Austrian sportswomen and sportsmen. Depending on
their assessment category, they receive financial support totalling up to
5,000 schillings monthly.

     The major sports association have begun to establish "pools" - joint
bodies which cover some of the related expenditure. They are counting on the
continued support of those industrial sectors which have an interest in
sports.

Austria as a sporting nation

     Approximately 2 1/2 million Austrians actively pursue sports under the
auspices of 14,000 sports clubs. Over and above this figure, there are about
one million Austrians who are active in the sports field without belonging to
a club or sports association. The principal factors here are enjoyment of
physical exercise, concern for physical wellbeing, and the social contacts
which sports encourage.

     National championship titles are awarded annually in 704 separate
disciplines within 66 sports. The championships are held at more than 25,000
sports facilities. These figures are growing steadily and keeping pace with
international trends.

     Austria may be a small country (its surface area is just over 32,000
square miles), it has only one city of over a million inhabitants (Vienna),
and it has to contend with considerable communications problems. Yet it is one
of Europe's foremost sporting nations. It has more than 800 Olympic, world and
European championship titles to its credit.

     In some sporting disciplines like Alpine skii