Dec 16, 2025The Hamburg Sports Festival – NF-Walker races and other highlights
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On October 7, 2025, around 350 students from Hamburg’s four schools specialising in physical-motor development gathered for the big Sports Festival at the Alsterdorf Sports Hall. It was a day full of joy, diversity, and impressive athletic achievements.
In this article you can read about:
- A Sports Festival with a long tradition
- The Elfenwiese School – diversity, support and inclusion
- The NF-Walker in everyday school life – a device that opens doors
- Big emotions with the NF-Walker: The Sports Festival 2025
A Sports Festival with a long tradition
The Hamburg Sports Festival looks back on more than 35 years of history and is organised jointly every year by four schools in the region. The event provides students with a unique stage – one they rarely encounter in everyday school life.
Whether using walking aids, wheelchairs, or participating as part of a team, every pupil can compete in a suitable discipline, such as wheelchair basketball, the team game "Ball under the Rope," Boccia, or the Sit’n Skate course- a wheelchair obstacle course with ramps, edges, and challenges. The NF-Walker race, a competition using a gait trainer, plays a particularly important role every year – but more on that later. The wide range of activities is what makes this festival such an inclusive highlight for all children involved.
Preparation differs from school to school: some practise wheelchair basketball or Polybat all year round, while other disciplines are practiced within individual classes. In some cases, entire classes form their own teams and compete under creative names.
The Elfenwiese School – diversity, support and inclusion
The Elfenwiese is a special needs school focusing on physical-motor development and one of the event’s co-organisers. In recent years, its student community has become increasingly diverse, including:
- Children with physical impairments
- Students with autism
- Children with cognitive impairments
- Pupils with a wide range of motor and cognitive support needs
Therapists, including Karen Manthey and Annina Otten – our interviewees for this article, play an integral role in the school’s daily life. They support the children therapeutically, assist in sports lessons and contribute to projects such as the Sports Festival. Both shared valuable insights into their work and the special importance the NF-Walker holds for many of their pupils.
NF-Walker
The NF-Walker is a gait trainer that allows children with even very low motor function to stand and walk independently while keeping their hands free.
Also read: Vilgot is happiest when he’s using his NF-Walker.
The NF-Walker in everyday school life – a device that opens doors
Many children have access to their own gait trainer at school, enabling regular daily use. During school holidays, some even take it home – provided there is enough space.
Physiotherapists most often use the NF-Walker with students who:
- cannot walk independently or with a rollator
- show readiness to stand
- are curious about movement
“Most of the time, we can tell during the initial trial whether a child enjoys it. We coordinate closely with our representative from Made for Movement. He visits us, and then we simply try things out,” explains Annina Otten.
In everyday school life, the NF-Walker is integrated into various settings:
- During sports lessons, e.g., in relay races or activity stations
- In therapeutic sessions to practise standing and walking
- Throughout the school year, allowing consistent training
Karen Manthey explain: “Our school has long corridors with plenty of room to walk – so the kids end up covering some pretty impressive distances!”
Most importantly, the NF-Walker provides not only movement, but also a significant boost in independence and participation for many children.
Also read: what does your child gain from using the gait trainer NF-Walker?
Big emotions with the NF-Walker: The Sports Festival 2025
Each year at the Hamburg Sports Festival, students from the Elfenwiese School proudly demonstrate their independence as they take part in the traditional NF-Walker race.
In this event, the children don’t compete against each other, but against their own personal best times – a fair and motivating approach that celebrates even the smallest progress.
The NF-Walkers are fine-tuned beforehand, so everything runs smoothly – sometimes there are even technical “pit stops” on-site.
Teachers, therapists, and parents line the track, cheering on the young athletes, placing them proudly in the spotlight.
Our interview partners confirm:
This Sports Festival is so much more than an athletic competition. We see children with shining eyes, medals around their necks, and the feeling: ‘We belong here.
Although organising the festival involves considerable logistical effort – from equipment coordination to arranging transport and supporting the students –it ultimately becomes a shared success for everyone involved!
A heartfelt thank-you to Karen Manthey and Annina Otten for their valuable insights – and we wish the Elfenwiese School many more joyful, moving and successful Sports Festivals in Hamburg.
