Report by Susi Metzner, President WIMA Germany
The Germans pulled out all the stops for what would have been a magnificent 70th anniversary celebration. A pre-rally was planned to be held from 23-26 July, in a youth hostel located in the middle of Landschaftspark Duisburg-Nord, which is part of the ‘Industriekulturpfad’ or ‘Industrial Heritage Trail’. It is a very interesting area with a long industrial history in coal mining and steel production. It closed in 1985 and the facilities were remodelled as cultural institutions. Planned activities were going to include a guided tour of the site plus optional events such as a torchlight tour, geocaching and a high rope climbing parkour.
The main international WIMA rally would have been held in the grounds of the Siegerland YMCA in Wilnsdorf, in the southwest of North Rhine-Westphalia. This region is famous for its beautiful landscapes, dark forests, and huge river and lake dams. As usual, there would have been joint rides, games, a disco, a live band, a campfire, a parade and two dinner evenings. Apart from the 140 beds in the youth hostel, we could have occupied the whole youth hostel area with our tents and the gymnasium was ready as a recreation room. We had 380 entries from 15 countries so this rally would have been one of the biggest international WIMA rallies ever.
Unfortunately, as the global Covid-19 Pandemic unfolded in the early part of 2020, it became apparent that we might have to cancel, so we did not collect any money in advance from the international members. At times, we had several ‘alternative plans’ for a slimmed-down version of the rally, but in the end we decided to urge the authorities to ban the rally, as many of the international participants would not have been allowed to leave their countries or even enter Germany and a ‘cost-covering’ rally would no longer have been possible. Thanks to the official ban, we were able to invoke ‘force majeure’ and got out of the situation with virtually no major losses. It was extremely unpleasant for me personally that my first international ‘action’ as the new President of WIMA Germany was, of all things, the cancellation of a rally. (This was the first cancellation since 1962 when most members were pregnant or breastfeeding). This was not how I had imagined taking over from Verena. I felt so sorry for the entire organisation team. They had organised everything for years and then a virus comes along and ruins everything. Unimaginable until then.
2020 WIMA Germany International Rally – Promotion Video
