TH-Wildau - News
International competition on the river Dahme: 7th Wildau Solar Boat Regatta on 10 September
For the 7th time, the Wildau Solar Boat Regatta will take place on the banks of the Dahme River in Wildau. Eight solar boat teams from three different countries will compete on the water. The special thing about it: The boats competing in different categories are all powered by solar energy. Interested visitors are cordially invited.
Since 2011, students, pupils and dedicated water sports enthusiasts have been meeting regularly in Brandenburg with their solar boat teams. The events, organised by the Solarbootverein Deutschland e.V., take place on Lake Werbellin and the Finow Canal in Eberswalde. For the seventh time, the Technical University of Applied Sciences Wildau (TH Wildau) is also hosting the regatta on the Dahme under the direction of Prof. Jörg Reiff-Stephan, founding member of the Solarbootverein Deutschland e.V. and Vice President for Studies and Learning at TH Wildau. It will happen again on 10 September 2022. Supported by the "Villa am See Wildau", the "Wassersportclub Wildau" and the student council of the TH Wildau as well as many helpers from the region, including the city of Wildau, the "Deutsches Rotes Kreuz" (DRK), the fire brigade and many more, the event will be held on the banks of the Dahme. The opening of the regatta will take place at 10 a.m. on the lakeside promenade in Wildau in the harbour of the "Villa am See".
The international starting field consists of teams from Germany, Hungary and Poland. TH Wildau will also be starting with several boats this time. At the Wildau events of the past years, but also nationally and internationally, the boat "SUNcaTcHer", the university's own construction, was often able to convince. The boat was created mainly through the commitment of students who like to tinker and work on new technical solutions in their free time. They come from different study programmes. In addition, further boats are currently being planned for use in the coming years.
The starting field for this year's regatta includes three categories for the boats according to the regulations of the European Solar Boat Championship. Eight teams from German, Polish and Hungarian universities, high schools and youth centres as well as private individuals will compete with their boats and driving strategies.
Race course and schedule
The regatta course is located only 600 metres from the campus of the TH Wildau. A challenging course awaits the teams on the Dahme. Spectators will have an excellent view of the competition from the shore. The teams have to complete a slalom and sprint course (two runs each) in the morning and a parade distance of 30 kilometres (30 laps) in the afternoon. The results of the competitions are then added up to a respective total score.
Ron van de Sand, member of the organising team: "The Wildau Solar Boat Regatta 2022 is practically in the starting blocks. We are proud that teams from Germany and abroad will be represented again this year and that we will be able to show the spectators what can be achieved with renewable energies - in this case solar energy. The competition on the water is always worth a trip, so we hope that many will find their way to us."
Background solar boat races in Germany
Chernobyl in April 1986: a hitherto unprecedented environmental catastrophe caused by man moved many to rethink and reorient. At the Max Beckmann Secondary School in Berlin, chemistry and physics teacher Norbert Wilms came to the conclusion that renewable energies had to find their way into the classroom and into everyone's lives. The idea was quickly born - not far from Lake Tegl - to build solar boats to put theory into exciting practice with the pupils. The birth of the solar boat races approached and on 3 September 1988 the time had come: the first solar boat regatta - probably worldwide - took place and other curious people joined in over the years. The once Berlin-Hamburg event quickly grew into an internationally respected event that attracted more boats and interested people to the sporting venues at home and abroad every year.
Specialist contact person at TH Wildau:
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Jörg Reiff-Stephan
Regatta management and organisation
TH Wildau
Hochschulring 1, 15745 Wildau
Phone: +49 (0)3375 508 418
E-mail: joerg.reiff-stephan@th-wildau.de
Contact persons External Communication TH Wildau:
Mike Lange / Mareike Rammelt
TH Wildau
Hochschulring 1, 15745 Wildau
Phone +49 (0)3375 508 211 / -669
E-mail: presse@th-wildau.de
Caption: On the second weekend in September, it's that time again: the 7th Wildau Solar Boat Regatta attracts interested visitors to the Dahme with an international starting field.
Picture: TH Wildau, Text: M. Rammelt