April, April, we are going mobile: This month Graz should get on the bike even more often!

The population of Graz has a great desire to exercise. We saw that clearly in the first month of the Graz Sports Year. The Schloßberg Challenge is extremely fun for the people of Graz, numerous selfies with a clock tower background are taken at the photo point every day. The collective pass of the “7 Summits” has become a must-have and the StepsApp has also been very well received by companies, associations, schools and districts. Since April 1st there are new features in the StepsApp so that the top 3 are regularly recalculated.

The sporty Easter egg hunt at the weekend also caused a lot of enthusiasm - hundreds of families did not miss this opportunity and were diligently looking for the answer. The project, which was implemented together with the OLC Graz, turned out to be a complete success, which also has a lasting effect: The orientation boards will in fact continue to be set up in the Graz city park. Especially for students from Graz there is now an orienteering track in the inner city area.

Individual movement and "Active Friday"

March had been proclaimed the “month of everyday movement”. The first events (children's gymnastics at LUV-Platz or “pandas outdoors”) have already taken place for children, larger events or gatherings are still not permitted by the COVID19 regulations. Therefore, April will also be characterized by the individual movement. “But we are expanding our offer: From now on we will add the bike and implement great projects and ideas for everyone. I also want to make a point of emphasizing Active Friday. We want to ensure that people come to work, school or university with more muscle power on Friday - regardless of whether on foot or by bike, we want to see dynamism here and look forward to a great response, ”explains City Councilor for Sports Kurt Hohensinner. As soon as possible, there should of course be many different hands-on activities on Fridays.

In any case, there are three exciting activities that are supposed to make moving in April even more palatable to the people of Graz:

• 7 Summits Extreme

"Because the run to the highest peaks in Graz and the surrounding area is still going on, we have thought of an event of our own", explains the program coordinator Markus Pichler. From April 23 to May 16, the Extreme version is available in two ratings: all seven peaks at once only on foot or by bike to the mountain and the last few meters to the summit on foot. To do this, the participants log in using the “MapRun” app and drive / walk the route. (Info: The orienteering app used around the world was specially adapted by OLC Graz for the Graz Sports Year and translated into German.) Once you have reached the summit, a signal sounds or the mobile phone vibrates. The start and finish is in Graz main square, from there you have to reach all seven peaks. "The competition is for the extreme athletes among us who are actually just waiting until they finally have another competition," says Pichler, "the good thing about the extreme version is the independence, because everything is controlled via the app. Everyone can choose their day on which they will compete in this competition. ”From next week, all the essential information will be available www.letsgograz.at.

• Tour Around Graz - experience the city differently

The “Tour Around Graz” is intended for everyone. It is a cycle route that runs along or near the Graz city limits. On www.letsgograz.at/touraroundgraz there is the approximately 80-kilometer route as a Google Maps graphic. Experience Graz from a different perspective - that is the great attraction of this tour. For example, it leads in the west to Gratwein-Straßengel, Thal and Mantscha, in the south it goes through Seiersberg and Feldkirchen, in the east over Hart bei Graz to Ries and the Stiftingtal and in the north you get to Weinitzen and up to the Rannach. Cyclist Sarah Baernthaler (Team Cookina Graz) was the test person for this route and has already taken it once: “It's a great route that offers enough for everyone. If you want it to be very sporty, you can do the tour in one day. But it is also very attractive to take a little more time and complete the tour in several stages. In any case, it is only when you drive down the route that you really realize how beautiful Graz actually is. "

What is important to the Let's Go organization team: “This is not about a competition and not about the fastest time, so all traffic regulations should be followed accordingly. It's all about the experience and being active, ”emphasizes Pichler. In addition: If someone has suggestions for improvement and comments regarding route guidance, please contact [email protected] . write

• Sporty sightseeing tour

This idea combines art and culture with sport and exercise. On the "MapRun" app you can take a sporty sightseeing tour and explore the 25 most important sights of the city or learn to orientate in general. The principle is similar to that of the 7 Summits: the start is on the main square, then you walk or run through the individual stations and come to a few kilometers. When you reach a sight, a signal sounds again or the mobile phone vibrates. "You move around and get to know Graz in the process - an ideal campaign for everyone in times like these," says Hohensinner happily.

Sporty apprentices, Graz Sports Monday and our own clothing line

From the fever of the sports year was also Gunther Lederhaas, the managing director of GRANIT GmbH and partner of “Let's Go Graz”, packed. With his construction company, he is not only responsible for the construction of unique sports facilities in Graz such as the Raiffeisen Sportpark, the Blue Box at HIB Liebenau, the Auster Graz or the ASKÖ-Halle in Graz-Eggenberg. In his company he also deliberately relies on sport and exercise, because the goal for GRANIT is to create the prerequisites for young people in their first years of employment to see sport as an important building block for later success: “Business and sport are two areas that ensure personal and entrepreneurial top performance, with many similarities and synergies. The body learns to deal with physical challenges through exercise. This physical fitness is also important for the psychological area. We at GRANIT want to create the best conditions for a well “trained” professional life in a simple way, ”says Lederhaas.

Because of two premieres, you should definitely make a note of the next week now: On April 12th, the “Grazer Sportmontages” will start. Together with the newspaper “der Grazer”, “Let's Go Graz” provides a free series of discussions and workshops with a variety of explosive sports topics. From April to December 2021 there will be topic-specific lectures, panel discussions and workshops every month - every Monday.

For the time being, this series is still taking place online, see at www.grazer.at or on the Let's Go YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrfthNUlX2FIvCmYjq4zysw. The first discussion is already tough: there are sports councilors Christopher Drexler, Sports Councilor Kurt Hohensinner, ÖFB team boss Franco Foda as well as sports medicine specialist Kristina Köppel-Klepp and the former cross-country world champion Alois Stadlober. All information is available on www.letsgograz.at/grazer-sportmontag.

And our own “Let's Go Graz Collection” will also hit the fashion market next Monday. For the time being, shirts, hoodies (hoodies / jackets) and so-called gym bags are available. The somewhat older semesters among us still say “gym bags” about it ... All information about it is available www.letsgograz.at.