VIII. Gay Games Cologne 2010

 

“Pilates makes you happy” it says on the orange T-shirt of Frank Feltgen. And when you look at his beaming face, you immediately believe that. Feltgen has been taking Pilates courses for five years, including in Cologne’s gay and lesbian sports club SC Janus, which is organising the Gay Games VIII 2010 in Cologne. Because of this, he is offering a total of four days of Pilates in the schedule of the Games - on the roof of the German Sport and Olympic Museum when the weather permits! “The atmosphere is great there”, he says. “It’s so good to be able to say ‘Please turn to the Cathedral’”.

 

His participants are a diverse mix: “Yesterday there was a Turkish and Swiss man there”, he explained. Today the oldest participant is 72 years old. Two younger sportswomen, Andrea Pfennig and Caro Esser, came because their Pilates teacher at the gym recommended the course, its teacher and the location to them. And the view from the flat-roofed building genuinely impresses all of them: You can see the spires of the Cathedral, the grey Rhine sweeps past, and the din of the road also fits in there somewhere – but can also be blanked out well so that it’s not noticeable.

The museum itself is also pleased about those enjoying the Pilates: “Sporting activities in our building are our favourites”, says Britta Kern, Chief of Communication and Marketing at the museum. “Thematically it just fits really well”. Therefore we were pleased to have been spoken to early-on by the organisers of the Cologne Gay Games. Because of this, also available alongside the Pilates and Yoga courses in the museum is the exhibition “Against the rules”. The chess tournaments of the Games were also played in the museum on the Rhine.
 

More photos can be fount at http://www.qubesport.net/photos