Sport instead of violence: seven clubs for exemplary commitment!

Sport instead of violence: seven clubs for exemplary commitment!

Penkun, Deutschland - On July 14, 2025, a special day for the sports landscape in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. On this day, the special "Sport instead of violence" was awarded for the fifth time. The prize, which is awarded by the State Council for Crime Prevention in Cooperation with the State Sports Association Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, emphasizes the important role of sports clubs that are committed beyond their sporting activities to prevent violence and crime. A total of 16 clubs had applied, from which seven winners were selected, which now received a certificate and prize money of 700 euros.

The State Secretary in the Interior Ministry, Wolfgang Schmülling, underlines the importance of sports clubs: "Sport is an integration factor and plays a crucial role in the strengthening of the personality and the reduction of youth violence." The award winners show how violence prevention and integration work can go hand in hand. This also applies to the context that sports helps young people to overcome social, ethnic and economic barriers. As the Institute for Prevention of Violence determines, Sport helps to reduce aggression and promote a positive identity, which is crucial for the strengthening of communities.

The excellent clubs

• Handball sports club Insel Usedom/Seebad Ahlbeck e.V. : The largest sports club in the region with over 600 members promotes youth and prevention work and relies on German-Polish communication.
• HSG Uni Rostock e.v. : The club has been committed to peace and international understanding for over 75 years and has launched a youth protection concept.
• TSV Friedland 1814 e.V. : As the oldest sports club in Germany, TSV is committed to tolerance and non -violence.
• FC Pio Torgelow e.v. : Integration is very important here. The association has players from different countries of origin and is actively involved in the youth counseling center.
• SV "Rot-Weiß" Penkun e.v. : focused on fairness in the children's and youth area, the association conducts relief campaigns for Ukrainian refugees.
• fanatic d! Ance e.v. : The dance club promotes teamwork and tolerance with projects in favor of child protection.
• martial art association Jion e.v. : With a clear focus on non -violent conflict resolution, this association offers projects for violence prevention.

commitment to better cooperation

The commitment of these clubs impressively shows how sport can be a basis for social interaction. Sports activities not only offer a framework for leisure activities, but are also an important instrument for violence prevention. Open sports offers make it possible to dismantle thresholds, especially among social marginalized groups and migrants. This is underlined by the findings that sport not only contributes to physical fitness, but also plays to strengthen social ties and identities. A healthy sporting environment promotes the acceptance of rules and enables personal achievements, which reduces the likelihood of violence.

Andreas Bluhm, President of the State Sports Association MV, also emphasizes the valuable voluntary work that is done in the clubs and emphasizes how important it is to establish a culture of sport that is based on values such as fairness, solidarity and tolerance. In order for every young person to be able to access positive body experiences and valuable social interactions, a digital portal was also set up to support the application for funding from the MV volunteering foundation.