Athletes’ careers in Germany: Research and assistance programs

Abstract

Fact note: Germany is located in Central Europe, covering 357,124 km 2 . As the sixth largest country in Europe, Germany has 81.8 million inhabitants. The of - cial language is German and the main religion is Christianity – Protestantism and Roman Catholicism. The 20th century contains historical German milestones, such as Germany as a Central Power in the First World War (1914-18) and the rst democracy from 1918 to 1933, until the coming into power and establishment of a totalitarian regime by Hitler and the Nazis (1933), which resulted in Germany being the initiator of the Second World War (1939-45). The resulting division of the country into a democratic Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) (since 1949) and a communist German Democratic Republic (GDR; 1949-89) ended in 1990 with the reuni cation of the two German countries. FRG is one of the six founding countries of the European Union and united Germany (FRG), which continues as a democratic parliamentary country, today ranks among the most powerful countries in Europe and even the world. Sport: Since 2006, the Deutsche Olympische Sportbund (DOSB; German Olympic Sports Association) has been the non-governmental umbrella organization of German sports. The DOSB department of competitive sport is responsible for the preparation of German elite athletes for national and international competitions. Germany is in third place in the Olympic medals table and has been the venue for two Olympic Games (1936 in Berlin, 1972 in Munich). The most popular sports are football, handball, track and eld, tennis, swimming, basketball, Formula One, biathlon, horseback riding and ski jumping. Career research and assistance: Research on career development includes longitudinal and follow-up studies with special emphasis on causal in uences for dropout. In addition, a number of studies exist that focus on coping with career termination. Applied sport psychology, devoted to performance enhancement, is gaining increased attention from sport federations and their athletes. In addition, coordinated support systems for Olympic athletes, including psychological skills training, are implemented in the Olympic Training Centers.