We don't do this as an AG at our school, but really as a sixth form course. With a grade that also counts towards the Abitur. Yes, it's not that exotic in coastal towns, but here it's something very special. Sailing as a graded course simply doesn't exist anywhere else in the region.
No wonder, Osnabrück is located in the deepest inland!
Yes, the nearest body of water for sailing is Lake Dümmer. And that's 45 minutes away by car ...
So how does sailing work as a school sport?
We split it up. I did a theory unit, a double lesson to teach the most important terms and practise knots. This was followed by three double lessons in swimming so that I could make sure that everyone could swim. During the three hours, we also learnt lifeguarding and practised what it's like to swim with full equipment and life jackets.
And when do we sail?
We meet for a one-week course at the Godewind sailing school in Dümmer. The students are then released from lessons. This is treated as an excursion. There are no exams during the excursion or for three days afterwards; this is arranged with the school management. The students have to work on the subject matter from this time on their own. In return, however, they have two fewer lessons per week after the anticipated lessons during the excursion.
How did you get into sailing yourself?
(Laughs) Like a stepmother to a child. A friend from Bensersiel encouraged me, and then I bought a boat, got my sailing licence and got the whole family hooked. That was only seven years ago, but since then we have been North Sea sailors through and through.
And how did the idea of establishing sailing as a school subject come about?
I am responsible for school sports in the area from Osnabrück up to the North Sea coast. From this position, I can of course also do something for sailing. During the coronavirus period, I started writing children's books about sailing. And I turned my experiences with my family into a youth story up on the North Sea. My children and colleagues then started asking if it could be made into something more. So I came up with the idea of a school trip to the sailing school, and during the preparations the idea of setting up a whole sixth form sailing course was born.
Was it that easy?
No, it took me three years to convince everyone, clear all the hurdles and secure the funding. And now we can get started. But my headmistress was very supportive of the project.
How many pupils wanted to take part?
All of them. The complete vintage.
About the person: Leif Bongalski
The 44-year-old passionate North Sea sailor and sports teacher from Osnabrück established sailing as a graded subject at the local Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-Gymnasium - 45 kilometres from the nearest body of water, Lake Dümmer.
Also interesting:
Lasse Johannsen
Deputy Editor in Chief YACHT
