The grand opening of the new field hockey pitch on the Härlen campus took place on Friday, May 17, 2024. Over a period of just under a year, the old natural grass pitch was removed and replaced with a sustainable artificial turf. During the implementation, we received a lot of support from Salem alumni, parents, the Friends of Salem and friends and patrons of the school. The new turf is the original Olympic turf that will be used at the European Championships in Paris 2024. The new pitch is suitable for playing field hockey, but will of course also be used for regular sports lessons.

Together with around 200 invited guests from the ASV, the Supervisory Board, the Friends of Salem, the parents, the President of the Baden Sports Association and parts of the Salem school community, two field hockey matches were played after a few words of welcome and speeches.

In the girls' competition, the Salem team played against the college team. In a close and fiercely contested match, the college team's superiority on the field and a clear advantage in chances ultimately failed to produce a result. With an effective conversion of chances and clever defensive tactics, the victory went to the supposed underdogs from the middle school by a narrow 2:1 in the end.

In the boys' competition, the ASV field hockey team wanted to compete with a mixed team of field hockey players from the middle and upper school. Both sides were highly motivated and got down to business on the pitch – with several chances on both sides. ASV was able to equalize an early lead by the Salem team. When many were already anticipating a penalty shoot-out, the Salem team struck again with ice-cold precision and were able to lift the newly donated trophy for the first time after the final whistle. At the award ceremony, however, the ASV already vowed to take revenge at the next ASV Whitsun meeting in June 2025.

A great day came to an end with food and drink. And everyone agreed on one thing: the new course is fantastic!

Photos: Ilja Mess