Behinderten- und Rehabilitations-Sportverband Berlin

The Behinderten- und Rehabilitations-Sportverband Berlin e. V. (BSB), also known as the Behinderten-Sportverband Berlin, is a registered association and specialist federation for rehabilitation that supports sport for people with disabilities and those with impairments in Berlin. It was founded in 1952 and today organises roughly 25,000 club members across more than 200 clubs. Its stated aim is to give everyone the opportunity to take part in sport within a club. The BSB operates as an umbrella body for disability and rehabilitation sport in the German capital. Its governing organs are the Verbandstag (association assembly), the Hauptvorstand (main board), the Präsidium (executive committee), the Sportjugend (BSBJ, the youth sport organisation) and the Beirat (advisory council); specialist committees can also be established. In March 2014 about 200 clubs were organised within the BSB, and in 2018 Özcan Mutlu was elected president of the association. A central part of the BSB's work is competitive and elite sport. The association supports athletes with disabilities in preparing for and training towards events such as the Paralympic Games, using trained supervisors and qualified coaches. A dedicated Leistungssportkonzept (elite sport concept) sets out support for athletics, swimming, sitting volleyball, table tennis, sledge ice hockey and cycling, covering training measures and competitions, the financing of state and federation coaches, and talent identification and youth work. The BSB is involved in international events including the International German Championships (IDM) in swimming and in athletics, and it maintains Paralympic training bases (Stützpunkte) in swimming, athletics and judo. Athletes associated with the BSB include Marianne Buggenhagen (A squad, athletics) and Daniela Schulte (A squad, swimming). Beyond elite sport, the BSB promotes grassroots and recreational activity. Alongside swimming and athletics it supports sports such as Nordic walking and wheelchair basketball. Member clubs offer the opportunity to earn the German Sports Badge (Deutsches Sportabzeichen), for which club membership is not required. As a rehabilitation provider, the BSB and its member clubs offer measures and sports including gymnastics, swimming and movement games, available on a doctor's prescription for Rehabilitationssport, with the aim of improving physical capacity and producing positive psychosocial effects. The association also organises events such as the Landesseniorensportfest for athletes aged 40 and over, and it is involved in the Diabetes Programm Deutschland, a running programme developed with the German Sport University Cologne and a diabetes centre in Cologne. Youth work is prominent through the BSB Sportjugend and through the national school-team competition "Jugend trainiert für Paralympics", which has been implemented since 2010 and in which all 16 German federal states can take part. The competition covers the support needs of physical and motor development, sight, and intellectual development, and its patron is the President of the Federal Republic of Germany. The BSB also runs TalentTage to give young people an introduction to disability sport. On the public-affairs side, the BSB takes positions on disability policy in Berlin. In September 2026 it issued a press release regretting Berlin's withdrawal from the bid to host the Paralympic and Olympic Games, saying it had expected the bid to accelerate necessary changes such as equal conditions in para sport and more inclusive sport offerings. The association also took part in a joint online training course on "Sport bei Demenz" (sport and dementia) with the Landessportbund Berlin during Dementia Week 2026, and in September 2026 it mourned the death of Monique Wichmann, a formative figure in inclusive sport in Berlin.

The Behinderten- und Rehabilitations-Sportverband Berlin e. V. (BSB) was founded in 1952 as an association and specialist federation for rehabilitation, supporting sport for the injured and disabled in Berlin. Over the following decades it grew into the umbrella organisation for disability and rehabilitation sport in the German capital, eventually organising around 25,000 members in more than 200 clubs. By March 2014 about 200 clubs were organised within the BSB. The association's structure comprises the Verbandstag, the Hauptvorstand, the Präsidium, the Sportjugend (BSBJ) and the Beirat, with the possibility of establishing specialist committees. In 2018 Özcan Mutlu was elected president of the association. The BSB developed a dedicated elite sport concept (Leistungssportkonzept) to support athletes with disabilities preparing for events such as the Paralympic Games. The concept covers athletics, swimming, sitting volleyball, table tennis, sledge ice hockey and cycling, and includes the promotion and running of training measures and competitions, financing of state and federation coaches, and talent identification and youth work. The association maintains Paralympic training bases in swimming, athletics and judo, and is involved in international events such as the International German Championships (IDM) in swimming and in athletics. Athletes associated with the BSB include Marianne Buggenhagen (A squad, athletics) and Daniela Schulte (A squad, swimming). In grassroots and rehabilitation sport, the BSB and its member clubs offer gymnastics, swimming and movement games, among other activities, available on a doctor's prescription for Rehabilitationssport, aiming to improve physical performance and psychosocial well-being. Member clubs also offer the German Sports Badge (Deutsches Sportabzeichen), for which club membership is not required. The BSB organises the Landesseniorensportfest for athletes aged 40 and over, hosted by Sportverein Inklusiv Johannesstift e.V., and is involved in the Diabetes Programm Deutschland, an idea of Michael Rosenbaum from spring 2011, developed with the German Sport University Cologne and the diabetes centre at the Evangelisches Krankenhaus Köln-Weyertal. Youth and school sport have been a significant strand. The national school-team competition "Jugend trainiert für Paralympics" has been implemented since 2010, developed from ideas within the Deutsche Behindertensportjugend (DBSJ) and the Deutscher Behindertensportverband (DBS), and open to all 16 German federal states. It covers the support needs of physical and motor development, sight, and intellectual development, and its patron is the President of the Federal Republic of Germany. The BSB also runs TalentTage to introduce young people to disability sport. In the 2020s the BSB continued to act as a public voice for inclusion and participation in Berlin. In September 2026 it publicly regretted Berlin's withdrawal from the bid to host the Paralympic and Olympic Games, and it took part in a joint online training on sport and dementia with the Landessportbund Berlin during Dementia Week 2026. Also in September 2026 the association mourned Monique Wichmann, a formative figure in Berlin's inclusive sport scene.

• 2026

  The BSB takes part in a joint online training on sport and dementia and publicly regrets Berlin's withdrawal from the Olympic and Paralympic bid.

• 2018

  Özcan Mutlu is elected president of the association.

• 2014

  As of March 2014, about 200 clubs are organised within the BSB.

• 2011

  The idea for the Diabetes Programm Deutschland emerges from Michael Rosenbaum in spring 2011.

• 2010

  The national school-team competition "Jugend trainiert für Paralympics" begins to be implemented.

• 1952

  The Behinderten- und Rehabilitations-Sportverband Berlin e. V. is founded as an association and specialist federation for rehabilitation.

A Berlin umbrella federation and rehabilitation sport provider working for inclusion, participation and equal conditions in disability and para sport.

• Rehabilitationssport (rehabilitation sport)

  Measures and sports such as gymnastics, swimming and movement games offered by the BSB and its member clubs on a doctor's prescription, aiming to improve physical performance and psychosocial well-being.

• Funktionstraining (function training)

  A rehabilitation-oriented training offering provided by the BSB as a rehabilitation provider.

• Elite sport support (Leistungssportkonzept)

  Support for athletes with disabilities preparing for events such as the Paralympic Games, covering athletics, swimming, sitting volleyball, table tennis, sledge ice hockey and cycling.

• Paralympic training bases (Stützpunkte)

  Training bases in swimming, athletics and judo.

• Jugend trainiert für Paralympics

  A national school-team competition implemented since 2010, open to all 16 German federal states, covering physical and motor development, sight, and intellectual development.

• TalentTage

  Events giving young people an introduction to disability sport through inclusion, participation and encounter.

• Landesseniorensportfest

  A BSB-organised sport festival for athletes aged 40 and over, hosted by Sportverein Inklusiv Johannesstift e.V., open to athletes with and without disabilities.

• Diabetes Programm Deutschland

  A running programme for people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes, developed with the German Sport University Cologne and the diabetes centre at the Evangelisches Krankenhaus Köln-Weyertal.

1. 1BS Berlin - Homebsberlin.de
2. 2Behinderten-Sportverband Berlin (Wikidata)wikidata.org
3. 3Behinderten- und Rehabilitations-Sportverband Berlin (Wikipedia, German)de.wikipedia.org