The 26th general meeting of the General Sports Association of Austria (ASVÖ) took place today, Saturday, in Aigen im Ennstal, Styria. The event was all about a handover of the court: Upper Austrian Peter Reichl, previously vice president and financial officer, will succeed the outgoing president, Styrian Christian Purrer, with immediate effect. The delegates from the nine federal states voted unanimously for the bank manager from Linz. 75 years after its founding, the ASVÖ is by far the largest sports umbrella organization in Austria with 5,480 member clubs. The general meeting takes place in the presence of guests of honor. Among them are the two other sports umbrella organizations, Hermann Krist and Mag.a Michaela Huber, as well as the managing director of Sport Austria, Mag. Gerd Bischofter, who witnessed the celebratory event.
In their greetings, Sports Minister Werner Kogler and Sport Austria President Hans Niessl acknowledged the role of the ASVÖ in the sustainable development of popular sports and thanked them for the good cooperation. During the event, Olympic champion Lukas Mähr was awarded the ASVÖ badge of honor in gold and Christian Purrer was appointed honorary president.
Handover of the farm with a view to the future
“Our house is in better shape than ever. We celebrated our 75th birthday this year,” emphasized outgoing President Christian Purrer in his farewell speech. “An anniversary like this has two sides: on the one hand, we are proud of our history, but on the other hand, this birthday also reminds us to think about the future. A generational change is not only a matter of course in our clubs and associations, but also in the leadership of the ASVÖ.” With these words, Purrer handed over his role to Linz-born Peter Reichl, who will take on responsibility and lead the ASVÖ community into the future .
In his inaugural speech, Peter Reichl addressed the topic of cross-generational collaboration. “We will continue to value and use the knowledge and experience of our older generation,” explains the bank manager. In sport, as well as in club work, it is important to have the right mix of experienced team players and dynamic young people – we are a team like that throughout Austria! And I get to act as captain of this team.”
Focus on promoting women and volunteering
A central concern of Reichl is the promotion of women and young people in sport. “As many women as men took part in this year’s Olympic Games in Paris,” said the passionate outdoor athlete. “That’s exactly what I want for our organization: more women and young people in leadership positions.” Reichl announced that he would focus even more on promoting youth and women.
In his speech, Reichl also emphasized the importance of volunteering, especially in times of crisis. “The current flood disaster shows once again how indispensable voluntary commitment is. In addition to professional emergency services, there are often volunteers who are there immediately to help. I will continue to work hard to strengthen volunteer work.”
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75 eventful years ASVÖ – Austrian General Sports Association
According to the motto 75 years of commitment and passion for our clubs, the ASVÖ is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year. The General Sports Association of Austria was founded in 1949 as a non-partisan and independent sports organization so that people who were active in sports could pursue their enthusiasm outside of party-political affiliations. This basic idea is still pursued today and is also worthwhile during the festival year – this is shown by a look at the membership numbers, which make the ASVÖ the largest umbrella organization with currently 5,480 member clubs in more than 120 sports. In doing so, it secures the foundations for strong popular and health sports as well as successful top-class sports in Austria. The constant focus of the association’s work is supporting the clubs. The social changes are also reflected in club life – from sustainability to digitalization to streamlining administrative processes, the ASVÖ supports its clubs.