Straubing – Top-class!

Sports clubs help to keep our society vibrant and make it more open. However, this cannot be achieved without the personal commitment of many people. That is precisely why voluntary work within these clubs cannot be valued highly enough. This voluntary work requires support, whether financial or in kind. Even professional sport mostly relies on volunteers when it comes to youth programmes. At least, that is the case for the clubs in Straubing.
Sport can also strengthen a sense of belonging to a region and foster pride in it. Football is an important sport in Bavaria, but it is no longer played at the highest level in Straubing. In Straubing, trotting races used to be major social events and made the town famous far beyond the region’s borders; today, the Straubing Tigers, as an ice hockey team in the DEL, contribute to the town’s reputation throughout Germany.
The exhibition features the following sports, which have been played in the first or second Bundesliga or a comparable competition since 1945:
First up is Boxclub 1931 Straubing e.V., a former Bundesliga club. Its figurehead today is Edgar Walth, a multiple German bantamweight champion.
In women’s volleyball, a school team achieved a meteoric rise from the youth ranks all the way to the 1st Bundesliga in just six years. For VC Straubing, this adventure came to an end after a few years, not for sporting reasons but for financial ones. The teams from NawaRo Straubing had similar experiences. It is a club that is now once again on its way back to the first volleyball Bundesliga.
Trotting is not a team sport. It is included in the exhibition because it has made Straubing famous far beyond the city’s borders, both nationally and internationally. Its long tradition, dating back to 1873, demonstrates its significance.
The Boogie-Mäuse are not only well-known in Straubing. They are frequently seen at events such as balls. However, they can also be found performing in formations and as soloists at German Boogie-Woogie Championships and international competitions. At the German Championships in recent years, they have frequently been among the top three, and have even been crowned champions.
Canoe polo has been played at the venerable Straubing Canoe Club since 1987, amongst other activities. A strong team competed in the first Bundesliga for two seasons, in 2001 and 2002.
BV Fortuna Straubing 1975 e.V. enjoyed tremendous success in pool and snooker. The club competed in the top Bundesliga in both disciplines. As early as 1984, they took first place at the German 8-ball Championships in Aachen.
SV Solidarität Straubing 1905 e.V. must be placed on the red list of sports threatened with extinction. It is a cycle ball club which was banned during the Third Reich because of its close ties to the workers’ parties. In the 1980s, the club competed in the 2nd Bundesliga.
Ice hockey is now a major promotional asset for Straubing throughout Germany, thanks to the professional DEL team. The road to professional ice hockey in Straubing was a rocky one. From natural ice to an artificial ice rink, then to the covered stadium – which is now closed – there were many ups and downs on the way to the top, financial and sporting problems, great successes, Czechs and Canadians in the team, some great coaches, major sponsors, and restructuring within the professional club – this is how the journey to promotion to the DEL in 2006, exactly 20 years ago, can be described.
Today, the Straubing Table Tennis Club (Tischtennisclub Straubing e.V.) is renowned for hosting major tournaments, particularly for youth and junior players. However, the club itself also has a glorious past. In the 1953/54 season, the club finished as runners-up in the South German Team Championships and ranked among the top eight table tennis teams in Germany!
The Straubing Curling Club was founded as early as 1929. By 1935, it had already become German champions, and in 1936 took part in the exhibition competitions at the Winter Olympics in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. In total, between 1966 and 2006, they were world champions 4 times, runners-up 3 times, European champions 10 times, European Cup winners 4 times, German champions 12 times (24 times in total!), 13 times German Cup winners, 27 times Bavarian champions and 27 times Bavarian Cup winners.
Founded as early as 1884, the chess club has always played a major role in Eastern Bavaria. Between 1982 and 1984, it competed in the 2nd Bundesliga.
Another Bundesliga club, this time in football, was TSV 1861 Straubing. As early as 1949, the club was playing in the 2nd Division South, the second-highest tier of German football. They managed to stay in this division for 11 long years before being relegated to the amateur league.
The current skittles club, Aufwärts Donauperle Straubing, traces its origins back to 1954, although it was not officially founded under this name until 2010. The Straubing skittles clubs merged time and again: in 2012/13, they were promoted to the first Bundesliga. The adventure came to an end with the 2016/17 season.
American football found its first enthusiasts in Straubing as early as 1979. The Straubing Bisons were launched. They played in the American Football Bundesliga in 1980 and 1981 before disbanding in 1982. They were succeeded by the American Football Club Straubing Spiders e.V., founded in 1984. They played in the 2nd German Football League for many years. Since 2022, they have been competing in Germany’s top division, the German Football League (GFL). The football players are supported by the cheerleaders, who not only cheer them on but also compete in their own championships.

Last edited on 15.07.2026