German National Turnfest
Frankfurt 2009
May 30 to June 5

The official website for the Turnfest is www.turnfest.de.  In the past there was no English translation of this website.  This time they do have a small section in English which contains some basic information.  If you do a Google search for turnfest+2009, you can get the main section translated automatically into English.  These translations are not always exact, but good enough to give you the basic idea of what the article is about.  With less than a year to go, their website has already grown very large with many topics and photos.

The city of Frankfurt has its own website www.frankfurt.de which is worth visiting and they provide the English translation when you click on the British flag near the top of the page.  Frankfurt is a hub city for many airlines and has a light rail connection to the city.  You can learn all about it and much more at their website. 

Some American Turners have attended the Turnfests in Germany either independently or with an organized group.  Since the Turnfest in Hamburg in 1994, members of the New York District have organized a group to attend and compete in various athletic events.  Unfortunately, this year the number of Turners who wanted to attend the Turnfest was too small to qualify for group rates and the official group trip had to be cancelled.  There are a few individuals still interested in attending, but they must make there own arrangements.

On the encouraging side, we received a 4 page document (PDF) from Annette Hoffman, VP of the German Turners regarding facilities and application forms for the International Youth Camp which is great way for our younger Turners to experience the Turnfest activity in Frankfurt.  If your society has a group of active youngsters between the ages of 14 and 25, please check out the document.  It does however require Adobe Reader or an equivalent to open.   The document describes the accommodations  and costs.  Please do not delay, the applications must be filed by October 30.

If your interest is athletic competition, you can find any level from Olympian on down in the familiar Turner events.  Volleyball, Gymnastics, Track & Field and Swimming are among the events we normally enter, but there are many, many more events that take place all over the city which will interest any Turner.  Most all athletic events are divided into gender and age groups.   Besides competition, there are many other attractions;  Parades, Opening and Closing Ceremonies, Fun Fitness Tests, Exhibitions and parties are all part of the usual things we do as a group.  The Turnfest lasts about a week, so there is still time for individual or collective sightseeing or whatever else you want to do there. 

In the past, it was the custom of the American Turners attending the Turnfest to remain in Europe for an extra week.  In 2005 we took a cruise around the Baltic visiting the coastal cities of Stockholm, Helsinki, St. Petersburg, Tallinn and Visby. 

Check out the other German Turnfests in our Festivals section for a better idea of what to expect.