The Armeesportvereinigung Vorwärts (Army Sports Club Forward), briefly ASV Vorwärts, was the sport organisation of the

German Democratic Republic German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

National People's Army The National People's Army (german: Nationale Volksarmee, ; NVA ) were the armed forces of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) from 1956 to 1990. The NVA was organized into four branches: the (Ground Forces), the (Navy), the (Air Force) an ...

(NVA) and its predecessor, the Barracked People's Police (''Kasernierte Volkspolizei''). Together with the sport clubs and the

SV Dynamo The Sportvereinigung Dynamo () (''Dynamo Sports Association'') was the sport association of the security agencies (Volkspolizei, Ministry for State Security, fire department and customs) of former East Germany. The association was founded on 27 ...

, the ASV Vorwärts was one of the most important supports of the East German elite sports system. From their clubs in

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...

Frankfurt (Oder) Frankfurt (Oder), also known as Frankfurt an der Oder (), is a city in the German state of Brandenburg. It has around 57,000 inhabitants, is one of the easternmost cities in Germany, the fourth-largest city in Brandenburg, and the largest German ...

Neubrandenburg Neubrandenburg (lit. ''New Brandenburg'', ) is a city in the southeast of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is located on the shore of a lake called Tollensesee and forms the urban centre of the Mecklenburg Lakeland. The city is famous for its ...

Stralsund Stralsund (; Swedish: ''Strålsund''), officially the Hanseatic City of Stralsund (German: ''Hansestadt Stralsund''), is the fifth-largest city in the northeastern German federal state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania after Rostock, Schwerin, Neub ...

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emerged well-known sportsmen like the boxer

Henry Maske Henry Maske (, ; born 6 January 1964) is a German former professional boxer and one of Germany's most popular sports figures. He held the IBF light heavyweight title from 1993 until 1996. Amateur career Maske was born in Treu ...

or the canoeist

Birgit Fischer Birgit Fischer (; born 25 February 1962) is a German former kayaker, who has won eight gold medals over six different Olympic Games, a record she shares with Aladár Gerevich and Isabell Werth, spanning seven Olympiads: twice representing East ...

. In almost every city with barracks or other army installations the ASV kept a training center. Apart from providing the training equipment, the most important task of the local sections was the promotion of youth sports. The uniform ASV tracksuit, brown

polyamide A polyamide is a polymer with repeating units linked by amide bonds. Polyamides occur both naturally and artificially. Examples of naturally occurring polyamides are proteins, such as wool and silk. Artificially made polyamides can be made through ...

with yellow and red stripes on the arms and the oval ''ASV''

emblem An emblem is an abstract or representational pictorial image that represents a concept, like a moral truth, or an allegory, or a person, like a king or saint. Emblems vs. symbols Although the words ''emblem'' and '' symbol'' are often use ...

on the left chest, attained very popular cult status amongst youth after the

German reunification German reunification (german: link=no, Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) was the process of re-establishing Germany as a united and fully sovereign state, which took place between 2 May 1989 and 15 March 1991. The day of 3 October 1990 when the Ge ...

History

The Central Training Administration (german: Hauptverwaltung Ausbildung) ( de) (HVA) founded its own sports association SV Vorwärts der HVA Leipzig in Leipzig in 1950. In the same year, the

Main Administration Sea Police The Main Administration Sea Police (''Hauptverwaltung Seepolizei (HVS)'') was an East German maritime organization established with support of the Soviet Navy on June 16, 1950. It was an armed organization of the East German Ministry of the Inter ...

(german: Hauptverwaltung Ausbildung) ( de) (HVS) founded its own sports association SV Sturmvogel in Parow. The Barracked People's Police (german: Kasernierte Volkspolizei) (KVP) was then established by the HSA on 1 July 1952. The sports association SV Vorwärts der HVA was consequently renamed SV Vorwärts der KVP.

Hanns Leske Hanns Leske (born 1950 in Berlin) is a German sports historian, political scientist and former Berlin local politician. Life Hanns Leske served from 1979 to 1999 within the Social Democratic Party of Germany as a member of the district council of ...

: ''Vorwärts. Armee-Fußball im DDR-Sozialismus.'' Aufstieg und Fall des ASK/FC Vorwärts Leipzig/Berlin/Frankfurt, Göttingen 2009, S. 22. SV Sturmvogel was joined with SV Vorwärts der KVP on 1 August 1953.

Rowing Honours

Henley Royal Regatta

References

External links

Book: "Kämpfer in rot-gelb"; Publisher: Komitee der Armeesportvereinigung Vorwärts; Year: Leipzig, Offizin Andersen Nexö, 1986; Authors: Wolfgang Spitzner, Peter Schorcht; Graphical design: Siegfried Hempel; Scope: 310 S; 5,7 cm x 5,8 cm

The explanation of the ASV in German.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Armeesportvereinigung Vorwarts Athletics clubs in Germany Defunct sports governing bodies in Germany Sports clubs in East Germany National People's Army Multi-sport clubs in Germany Military sport in Germany Military sports governing bodies Sports organizations established in 1950 1950 establishments in East Germany