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Between wind tunnel and well construction: EMKA supports efforts worldwide

Introducing young talents to speed skydiving: With the support of EMKA, the FSC Remscheid made it possible for ten young skydivers to receive special training with the reigning European champion Lucia Lippold. Inside a wind tunnel in Berlin, an extraordinary way of promoting young talent occurred. But EMKA has also been busy with other projects in recent months. Besides a high attendance at the BayArena and a hard-fought Eurockey Cup appearance by RSC Cronenberg, the main focus was on a new fresh drinking water well in Ghana.

 

For ten young German skydiving talents, a dream has come true. Lucia Lippold, Germany’s fastest woman in speed skydiving, taught the youths and young adults the art of free-flying. The unique training session was made possible by FSC ­Remscheid with the support of EMKA and took place in the “Windo-Bona“ wind tunnel in Berlin. The reigning European champion is a youth advisor at the German Parachuting Association (DFV) and is also involved in youth development at FSC Remscheid. The youth work plays a significant role for the club and is also actively supported by EMKA. This is how the idea for the special event came about. Young talents from all over Germany could apply for the special training.

There were only three requirements: Applicants had to be younger than 24, have completed at least 400 jumps and could not belong to a squad. In the end, ten skydivers were selected who could benefit from the tips of the European champion at a wind speed of 180 km/h. The “tunnel camp” was a great experience for the skydivers. The “Tunnel Camp” was a great success for FSC Remscheid and EMKA.

Football legends visit EMKA Lodge

The EMKA box in the BayArena Leverkusen is well frequented – and prominently so. At Bayer 04’s home game against FC Bayern Munich, two football legends were guests: Rudi Völler, current Managing Director of Sport at Bayer 04 Leverkusen,  and Jean-Marie Pfaff, one of FC Bayern  Munich’s most popular goalkeeper heroes (1982–1988) as well as a long-time Belgian national keeper. Together with EMKA Managing Director Friedhelm Runge, who has maintained a friendly relationship with both of them for decades, World Champion Völler (1990) and World Goalkeeper Pfaff (1987) were looking forward to an entertaining top match against FC Bayern Munich.

Eurockey-Cup: Cronenberg make a good impression despite defeats

Despite the brand new green jerseys with the EMKA emblem on the chest, Lady Luck was not with the U15 youth of the RSC Cronenberg at the Eurockey-­Cup. In Lloret de Mar, Spain, the team of coach Thomas Köhler faced the competition with the best European teams in this age group. In the run-up to the event, EMKA had contributed to the financing of this extraordinary trip. For the young players who have won the German championship title several times in the past, the tournament was an exceptional experience.

After all, the most famous clubs in European roller hockey, such as FC Barcelona or Sporting Lisbon, were in the field of participants. The young talents there will likely knock on the door of the professional sector in the southern European countries in a few years’ time. This year, the RSC U15s shared the same fate as the German clubs in previous years: Here, only a supporting role remained in the concert of the greats.
On the final day, however, the young players from Cronenberg proved their class. Despite their superiority in play, they still could not win against the host CH Lloret with a score of 1:2, and the final match against RS Gujan-Mestras (France) was also lost with a score of 1:3. In the end, the team finished in 16th place. Nevertheless, the Cronenberg delegation had a sense of achievement: Tobias Wilke, Florian Keil and Riccardo Failla scored a total of six goals for their team, and goalkeeper Alessandro Failla, the youngest player of the tournament, earned a lot of praise with his vital saves.
 

EMKA helps with drinking water supply

Fresh water for an African community – to be precise, for the Vodzakpo Community in the rural Volta Region in Ghana. In December 2021, a new village well was drilled here with ­EMKA’s support – Already the 2nd one sponsored by EMKA in Ghana (we reported in issue 1/21). For around 500 people, this means a significant step forward in terms of health, livelihood and security of supply. The wells were built by the YOU Foundation, an initiative of UNESCO Special Ambassador Dr. h. c. Ute-Henriette Ohoven. The foundation is committed to the education of children in need worldwide. This also includes securing the water supply, in which EMKA participates with great commitment. The group takes its responsibility seriously and supports similar individual projects worldwide.