Ursula Strauch receives Wetteraukreis sports award
Ursula Strauch, an 82-year-old from Rödgen, has received the sports honorary award from the Wetteraukreis for more than six decades of volunteer service. Despite decades of leadership in gymnastics and dance, Strauch is already planning her group’s next major international appearance.
From Local Gymnast to Regional Director
Strauch serves as the chairwoman of TSV Rödgen, a small neighborhood club featuring gymnastics, gymnastics, and dance. Over more than sixty years, her administrative and coaching footprint expanded far beyond her local club. She previously worked as a gymnastics technical warden in the Turngau, led large-group performances for the Hessian Gymnastics Federation (HTV), served as deputy chairwoman of the sports circle, and sat on the Wetteraukreis sports advisory board.
Reflecting on her longevity in sports administration, Strauch noted that she initially planned to step down in 2007 following the Worldgymnaestrada in Dornbirn, Austria. When her appointed successor resigned shortly after taking over, Strauch returned to duty. She faced another turning point ahead of the International German Gymnastics Festival originally slated for 2021 and postponed to 2025 due to the coronavirus pandemic, officially ending her tenure with the HTV to focus exclusively on club choreography.
The Birth of Happy Hessen
Despite her planned departure from regional bodies, female gymnasts from across Hesse approached Strauch to continue training under her direction. Participants agreed to travel regularly to Bad Nauheim for practice sessions, leading to the formation of the traveling performance ensemble known as “Happy Hessen.”
The group relies on hand apparatus, such as specialized flags, Pezzibälle, and drumsticks. For a previous German Gymnastics Festival in the Mannheim region, Strauch personally cut, sewed, and weighted sixty custom flags with lead strips and swivels to ensure proper aerodynamics during routines. Her creative process involves listening to dozens of tracks, editing audio files to precise timing down to the individual beat, and mapping out choreography on paper before testing movements in her living room.
Logistics and Financial Realities for Lisbon 2027
Strauch and her squad are preparing for the Worldgymnaestrada 2027 in Lisbon, Portugal, where 32 active athletes and guests will perform three city routines. Accommodations and flights were secured three months in advance to manage rising travel costs. Each participant faces a baseline entry fee of 500 euros, alongside individual flight and lodging expenses, though the group secured supplemental subsidies from both the local municipality and the Turngau.
Logistical conditions have evolved significantly since her earlier tenure. During the 2003 Worldgymnaestrada in Lisbon, while managing a contingent of 200 gymnasts for the HTV, Strauch slept on air mattresses inside a monastery school—an accommodation style the modern touring group avoids.
Strauch Managed Sports Groups While Running a Butcher Shop
While running a local butcher shop alongside her late husband, Strauch routinely managed up to six exercise groups simultaneously within TSV Rödgen.
When asked about handling administrative disputes, Strauch recalled a 2004 incident during the merger of the Friedberg and Büdingen sports circles, where the women's representative position she held was eliminated following a male participant's motion arguing that gender equality had already progressed sufficiently.