WSC Erzgebirge Oberwiesenthal selects new president

OBERWIESENTHAL – On Friday, December 12, 2014, the WSC Erzgebirge Oberwiesenthal elected a new president for its current ca. 300 members. The evening vote chose the candidate proposed by the board, Peter Riedel.  

Since 2012 Kurt Rehahn held the position of president of the successful winter sports club. In these years Rehahn did outstanding work for the club, but at his own request he wanted to step down from this role in the future. 

Peter Riedel actually comes from the business world, but with his globally used ski jumping take-off technology he is also no stranger to sport. Precisely because of his experience in sport, it is important to him that a president represents all disciplines. 'My father Eberhard was a successful Alpine skier, and my sporting roots are also in Alpine skiing. At the same time, through my work I am often in the Nordic area. I know that between disciplines, no matter where in the world, there are always ranking battles and that is fine and motivates everyone to give their best. But to keep the WSC as successful as it has been, it is important that we all pull together, true to the motto 'We for the Ore Mountains'.'

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Therefore Riedel had already met before the election with representatives of the various sports and gathered valuable input. 'The most important goal for the future is youth development, which has been somewhat neglected so far. We have great successes to show, most recently with the medals at the Sochi Olympics, but we must not rest on them.'

Riedel expects there will be an initial phase that will also bring some structural changes to shape the club anew and toward the future together with all departments. Based on feedback from the discipline representatives, Riedel sees these adjustments as absolutely necessary to keep WSC Erzgebirge Oberwiesenthal as a stable club in the future. 

Also the sport in Oberwiesenthal sometimes faces political headwinds, which Riedel wants to question: 'We’re talking about concepts and ideas, and that may all be correct. But the results that the club's athletes and coaches have achieved for years are neglected. We bring medals to Oberwiesenthal, we bring media presence for the town and largely shape the image. This value of external representation, which our athletes achieve through their success on TV or at international venues, is often ignored. Such an image boost could hardly be financed or conceived with conventional means. The WSC brings all these positive factors for Oberwiesenthal and the Ore Mountains in the most natural way—the sport!'

Despite this confident image of the club, Riedel knows it cannot stand still to continue to carry the name Oberwiesenthal successfully into the world: 'I’m simply looking forward to the task ahead. I can only thank the members for their trust – now it’s time to roll up our sleeves and move forward together!'