Royal Military Institute for Physical Education

KMILE coat of arms at King Baudouin Stadium

The Royal Military Institute for Physical Education (KMILE) ( French Institut Royal Militaire d'Education Physique (IRMEP), Dutch Koninklijk Militair Instituut voor Lichamelijke Opvoeding (KMILO)) is a sports school of the Belgian armed forces . It was established in 1885 as the first official physical education facility for the Belgian military in the former Geruzet barracks in Etterbeek near Brussels . Since 1947 it has been located in the "Caserne Sous-Lieutenant Antoine" in Eupen -unterstadt Weser valley .

history

By decision of the competent Belgian Minister of War General Charles Pontus of 22 December 1885, a "Normal School of Fencing" was initially to train fencing masters and coaches established for the Belgian military and inaugurated in Geruzet barracks in Etterbeek on 12 January 1886th A few years later, gymnastics lessons were introduced and in 1894 the school was renamed "Normal School for Fencing and Gymnastics". In 1904 the curriculum was expanded to include anatomy , physiology , methodology and didactics and the study times were extended accordingly, and laboratories for sports medicine examinations were set up.

During the First World War , the school had to be closed from 1914 to 1919, but courses in military combat training and bayonet fencing were held at various locations. After the war, the training facility was rebuilt and on March 30, 1921, by royal decree, it was named the “Military Institute for Physical Education” (MILE).

At the beginning of the Second World War , the institute had to close again in 1939 and with the surrender of Belgium on May 18, 1940, all military personnel of the institute were regarded as prisoners of war. Many of the soldiers from Wallonia , including several officers from the Eupen Institute, were taken to a prison camp near Prenzlau . They decided to continue the sporting activities in the camp and organized daily gymnastics courses and various sporting events. They also offered improvised sports courses with the support of doctors present and by reading textbooks from the International Red Cross .

Former Wetzlar school, later staff building

After the war, the institute temporarily set up in Tournai from July 1945 and in 1946 relocated to the also provisional Chateau de Battel near Mechelen in the province of Antwerp . On February 15, 1947, it finally moved to Eupen, where it was housed in the Caserne Sous-Lieutenant Antoine , in which the 2nd Regiment of the Carabiniers-Cyclistes had previously been stationed from 1929 to 1940. The buildings there had served until 1920 for the "Industrial and Commercial School for Boys and Girls" founded by Robert Wetzlar and directed by his wife Mathilde, which was closed in 1920 as a result of the Treaty of Versailles after the Prussian district of Eupen was incorporated into the Belgian state and had been moved to Bonn.

After Belgium was one of the founding members of the Conseil International du Sport Militaire (CISM) in 1948 , the sports institute became more important. Many of the participants in the discharged from the CISM discharged annually military world championships and every four years Military World Games were previously formed in Eupen and trained. To this end, the practical and theoretical content of the sports courses has been continuously supplemented, updated and modernized. In addition, the institute opened up to the local sports clubs and national sports associations and organized joint sports events, offered accommodation for guests as well as transport options.

On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of its existence, the institution was renamed the “Royal Military Institute for Physical Exercise” by royal decree of June 17, 1960. After the Belgian military had allowed women to join the armed forces from 1975 onwards, an increasing number of women soldiers now enrolled in the institute's courses. Finally, in 1997 the KMILE was awarded honorary citizenship of the city of Eupen for its integration into social and sporting life and the friendly contact between those responsible at the institute and the city. However, in recent times the question has arisen again and again as to what extent the joint use of the sports facilities can still be designed and the running costs for the maintenance of the sports facilities can be shared or whether the sports institute might have to be withdrawn entirely from Eupen.

Your outdoor sports facilities are located on the Schönefeld ridge between Eupen-Unterstadt and the hamlet of Nispert. From 2015 to June 2020, Major Nathalie Beerden was the first woman in command of the military institute.

Concepts and content

and display information about the image

Institute banner

The first courses mainly served to learn the sport of fencing and from 1894 after their introduction for the army by General Louis Brassine were supplemented by the areas of gymnastics and gymnastics, which were based on the teaching methods of Francisco Amorós and Friedrich Ludwig Jahn . After a study trip in 1902 for the new commandant of the school, Clément Lefébure, to Sweden, during which he had become acquainted with the so-called Swedish gymnastics , he then introduced it to the Eupen school. In a six-month study, he proved that the body training developed by Pehr Henrik Ling , which was itself a further development of the training methods by Johann Christoph Friedrich GutsMuths among others , proved to be more effective than the previous methods. In the mid-1920s, this form of gymnastics was also adopted as the basis for civil elementary and primary schools.

After the school had been converted into a military institute for physical education in 1921, laboratory research was intensified and well-known professors from the Free University in Brussels were hired as laboratory directors. As a result of their initiative, official health index cards could be introduced for the first time for the sports soldiers from 1933, which also served the Belgian Olympic and Interfederal Committees and other sports associations as a control for the medical evaluation of the athletes. In addition, the range of courses has been expanded and, for example, military doctors have been trained as sports medicine specialists. Likewise, the contents of the gymnastics training were changed from the older static to a more modern dynamic educational method, which was based on the knowledge of Niels Bukh and JG Thulin.

After the institute settled in Eupen after the Second World War, there were radical changes in the curriculum in 1950. In addition to gymnastics, endurance as well as climbing, throwing and jumping now played an increasingly important role in the curriculum as basic physical training, as did military combat training and the social component. The institute was based on the "Méthode Naturelle" of the French naval officer Georges Hébert . Belgium's entry into the CISM as well as the participation of Belgian soldiers in competitions organized by the CISM or other international sports federations also influenced the special contents of the curriculum. In total, the following courses were offered at the institute during this period:

Auxiliary instructor for physical education and sport, duration six weeks, approved for NCOs and officers,
Instructor for physical education and sport, duration one year, approved for NCOs and officers, selected from the best participants in the auxiliary instructor course
Masters for physical education and sport, duration one year, selected from the best participants in the instructor course
Armorer, specialization offer in fencing for the participants of the master class

In order to strengthen the morale and character of the soldiers, courses on the “survival test” were introduced from 1982, in which both female and male participants have to complete a physically and mentally demanding military march of six days without contact with the outside world and on their own. These excursions initially took place in the mountains of Corsica and have been carried out in the Pyrenees since 1991 .

After conscription was abolished in the Belgian army in 1994, this had an impact on the institute's curricula. The sports instructors of the Belgian armed forces were now called "Physical Trainer Instructor" (PTI) and the curricula were completely restructured. The sports medicine laboratory continues to play an important role at the KMILE as a facility accompanying teaching and training. NCOs or officers as well as candidates have since been able to attend the following courses:

Assistant Physical Trainer Instructor, duration six weeks
Physical Trainer Instructor, duration one year, the prerequisite is the PTI assistant
Specialization courses from a few days to several weeks.

The KMILE maintains intensive contacts, especially with the former Belgian colonies and focuses on training soldiers from Central Africa and other countries to become certified sports directors. In addition, the institute has been cooperating with the Flemish sports authority BLOSO (Bevordering van de Lichamelijke Ontwikkeling, de Sport en de Openluchtrecreatie) and the Walloon Administration for Physical Education and Sport ADEPS (Administration de l'Éducation physique, du Sport et de la Vie en Plein Air ) . This enables civilians to attend courses at the sports institute and, conversely, the individual diplomas awarded by the school can be recognized under civil law. There is also a lively sporting and social exchange with the civilian population of East Belgium and the clubs located there. As a result, the military institute was made an honorary citizen on October 16, 1997 by the city council of Eupen .

Investments

barracks

Headquarters building
Accommodation building

On the barracks area is the building of the former Wetzlar school, built around 1900, which is now used as a staff building for the military administration and the classrooms, as well as the accommodation block at right angles to the side, both of which were last restored at the beginning of the 21st century. Together with the building complexes, which contain two sports halls and a gym, as well as a fencing hall, a fighting room and an extensive fitness room, they form a large inner courtyard for parades and rallies.

Memorials

Memorial for the victims of the 1st and 2nd World War
Memorial stone for Bertrand Borrey

In the middle of the accommodation wing there is a memorial in honor of the soldiers of the 2nd and 4th regiments of the Carabiniers Cyclistes who died in the course of the two world wars. It was first erected in 1934 for the victims of the First World War and consists of a large memorial stone on which the names of the soldiers and their rank as well as the emblem of the 2nd regiment and the year 1914 and 1918 are engraved.

After the Second World War, the memorial was supplemented by further memorial stones, which were placed on both sides of the main stone. They show the names, rank and locations of the soldiers of the 2nd regiment on the left and those of the 4th regiment on the right, as well as the year 1940.

Another memorial stone near the main entrance is dedicated to Capitaine-Commandant ( Staff Captain ) Bertrand Borrey (1944–1992), who had been a member of the institute since 1977. He was murdered on May 2, 1992 as an observer for the European Community in Mostar , Herzegovina during the war in Bosnia .

Outdoor facilities

Athletics stadium
Obstacle course

The central training facility at Schönefeld is an athletics stadium that meets the standards for international competitions and championships and has been named “King Baudouin Stadium”. It is equipped with eight circular tracks, which were renewed as a tartan track in 1985 and which can be used on the west side as a sprint straight for sprint competitions up to 110-meter hurdles. The inner area of the square is planted with lawn and can be prepared and marked for throwing disciplines and ball sports.

Another modern sports hall completes this area. To the side of the sports field, a challenging obstacle course was built according to the rules of the CISM and a small rope course was created in the adjacent forest area .

For higher demands on climbing or abseiling techniques , a public climbing facility is available, which was installed on and on the 33 meter high observation tower at the Weser Reservoir, only a few kilometers away . In addition, the extensive, hilly forest area of the foothills of the High Fens offers good opportunities for demanding endurance training.

At the end of June 2018 it was announced that the city of Eupen would take over the facilities and that the military could continue to use them.