In amateur sports, the path to success is rarely a straight line. More often than not, it is paved with endless WhatsApp messages, car shares, and the constant question: "Who is actually organising all of this?"
The Over 35s women's team from the FTG joint sports community (Frankfurt) take this commitment to the absolute extreme. The squad consists of players based in Frankfurt, Trier, and Freiburg. Despite these distances, they secured the South-West German Championship title this season and are now facing their ultimate highlight of the year: competing in the finals of the German Championship 2026 in Saarbrücken.
Building a team from three different federal states is virtually unthinkable in regular league operations. In the Over 35s category, however, regulations permit joint sports communities spanning across different locations. For the players, this offers the perfect opportunity to revive old connections. "There are players who have known each other since their youth and played together in Trier. Paths diverge, but they always find their way back to each other. What unites us is our passion for the sport. This way, we can combine our athletic love for basketball with quality time spent together," says Jeanne Wilson, a player on the team, in an interview with the spized Club Academy.
Behind this sporting romance, however, lies hardcore organisational work. Training camps, friendly matches, and tournaments have to be planned meticulously, as Jeanne reveals: "Our WhatsApp chat is constantly exploding with coordination dates. We are all working professionals, and we have mothers in the team. We manage everything entirely on our own — from accommodation and travel expenses right down to paying the referees for friendly matches."