Rowing Takes Center Stage at the Steinmühle Fall Festival

The christening of the new GIG eight was one of the highlights of the annual festival

About 900 visitors celebrated the Steinmühle Boarding School’s Fall Festival. Alongside the students, the school and boarding school administration, the teaching staff, and members of the school’s support association—as well as the newly founded Friends of the School Association—made for an eventful day under bright sunshine. Through this annual festival, the active school and boarding school community introduced itself and extended a special invitation to former Steinmühle students to visit the boarding school. According to boarding school director Stefan Lange, the Fall Festival is an event for the whole family. Visitors were treated to many culinary delights, a colorful stage program featuring numerous musical performances, and a wide variety of hands-on activities, such as rowing sessions, sports games, painting workshops, and pony rides. “For the boarding students, the festival means work first and foremost,” Lange noted. They serve as hosts and take on various responsibilities before, during, and after the event.

The highlight of the school festival was the christening of the new GIG eight by Filip Adamski, the 2012 Olympic champion in the German men’s eight. The newly acquired rowing boat is the result of a joint project between the Steinmühle Boarding School and the Institute for the Blind (Blista), supported by the city government and Sparkasse Marburg-Biedenkopf, with the purchase costs shared by both schools. Rowing is firmly established in the curriculum at both Steinmühle and the Blindenstudienanstalt. According to the school association’s president, Dr. Gerhard Pätzold, the new boat is intended to expand the range of activities offered by both schools. Apart from the athletic aspect, the sense of community among peers and the goal of inclusion play a major role. “The inclusion eight will ensure long-term cooperation between the two schools,” said Pätzold. The boat allows four Steinmühle students to row alongside four students from Blista. The new eight gives the students involved in the project the opportunity to participate in competitions and regattas under the guidance of their coach, Martin Strohmenger.

In the presence of numerous representatives from the worlds of business, politics, and sports, the guest of honor from the Rudern und Sport Steinmühle (RuS) club christened the boat “Blind Date,” a name intended to highlight the successful partnership between the two schools.