What, already over?

On Wednesday, June 6, the Rector, Prof. Dr. Friedrich Albrecht, opened the Sports and Summer Festival on the Zittau campus. Three hundred people of all ages had gathered that afternoon. They gathered at the Senfladen stand for a bratwurst or sipped homemade melon cocktails from Mister Bales. Children hopped through the sprinkler system, while staff members came straight from work and, standing in front of Don Pedro’s ice cream truck decked out in the Italian flag, had only one question left to ask: Elderflower-mint or chocolate? And the students from Görlitz and Zittau cooled off their overheated minds after class with a Svijany.

For the first time, the annual sports festival was held together with the summer festival. There were various sports activities to try out, participate in, and win prizes for: volleyball, street soccer, a “reaction wall” by Techniker Krankenkasse, air rifle shooting, table soccer, slacklining, and a climbing tower by the German Alpine Club, as well as e-bike and tandem rentals.

The highlight of the festival was the 8-kilometer University-City-Company Run, consisting of ten laps of an 800-meter campus circuit. The race began with 16 company teams, including Zittauer Stadtwerke and the pasta shop Pasta Fantastica. The focus of the event was on the fun of running together. Top athletic performance wasn’t the main goal. The objectives were to participate, be part of the event, and complete a total of 8 km on the circuit. This allowed companies, institutions, and university members to present themselves as teams and engage in sports together.

After the competitions—whether running, volleyball, or soccer—the day moved on to a more relaxed part: live music set the mood for a lovely afternoon and evening. Franziska Stölzel sang modern pop hits, and when Daniel Hafner took the stage, for a moment it felt as though Bob Dylan were performing live in Zittau. The master’s student in health care management performed well-known songs by Dylan.

Felix Eschrich and Tanja Blencke performed their “Hard Workout,” and shortly afterward, there was saxophone music—ranging from classical to modern—by Saxon Klaxon, as well as “Bossa Nova and More” by Friedrich Wodarczack. Around 8:00 p.m., the sun set behind Building IV, and the last guests left the campus.

Text: Sophie Herwig, Photos: Sophie Herwig and Jens Freudenberg