Seasons & Sports
The GISST year is organized in three seasons: Fall, Winter and Spring. Sports rotate throughout the school year, with each and every of these seasons being so-called “regular” one for the particular sport.
Fall Season
- Regular season: Badminton, Cross Country, Football, Varsity Volleyball
- Prep-season: Basketball, U14 Volleyball
Winter Season
- Regular season: Basketball, Table Tennis
- Prep-season: U14 an Varsity Volleyball
Spring Season
- Regular season: Track and Field, U14 Volleyball
- Prep-season: Badminton, Basketball, Football, Varsity Volleyball
The Swimming program is an exception, which runs in two terms (Sept-Jan / Feb-June), with Term 1 being the regular season, and Term 2 being the prep-season.
Age Categories
The organized tournaments under the auspices of the GISST council are as follows:
UNDER 14
U14 is for students in Grades 6 – 8 who are under the age of 14 on September 1 of that school year.
VARSITY
Varsity is for students in Grades 9 – 12 who are 14 years or older on September 1 of the school year, and are full-time students at the school.
A student born on September 1 and turning 14 can choose U14 or Varsity.
In addition to U14 and Varsity age categories, we also offer Swimming for Primary students in Grades 3 – 5. This so-called Interschool Swimming program is for advanced swimmers only. The FIS does not offer any swimming courses for beginners.
Training
During the regular season, there are two training sessions per week, and the students are expected to attend both trainings. Please note that there is no reduction in registration fee in case your child can only participate in the training once per week. The prep-season trainings (off the regular season) generally take place only once per week. Swimming is, once again, an exception with training offered once per week throughout the entire school year.
Try-Outs
As of this school year, we will conduct try-outs for any regular competitive sports season in U14 and Varsity age categories during the first two weeks of training. This also applies to the Grades 3 – 5 swimming.
There will be no try-outs for Junior GISST and/or any prep-season activities – “first come, first served”.
Trial Period
Upon registration for any Junior GISST and Prep-season activities, and to allow students to try a particular sport before fully committing to it, we offer a two-week trial period without any charge. If you would like to cancel your child’s participation within the trial period, please send an email to .
Late cancellations will not be accepted, i.e. you will still be charged the full registration fee.
For students who make the team after the try-outs in competitive sports (incl. Grades 3 – 5 swimming), we allow for one additional week trial period without charge.
Competition / Tournament Organization
The GISST aims to provide students from German international schools with opportunities for participation in quality sporting activities on a competitive basis.
As part of the regular season, our teams will have an opportunity to join Friendly events in preparation for the final GISST tournaments. These Friendly events usually take place on Saturday from 10:00 to 16:00, both home and away.
The final GISST tournaments are being hosted by various GISST member schools and are, in general, two-days tournaments.
Selection
From all students who attend training (after the try-outs), we select a team to represent the FIS at the final tournament. The final selection is usually made about 2 weeks prior to the GISST tournament.
Accommodation at GISST Tournaments
All GISST Tournaments that include overnight stays will be hostel/hotel based.
The accommodation for all participating student athletes and coaches will be arranged prior to each particular event by the FIS, in cooperation with the host school. Whilst the FIS will provide transportation and cover the tournament fees, families of students selected will need to cover accommodation costs themselves. These costs include hostel/hotel accommodation, meals, as well as a bus shuttle from the hostel/hotel to the venue during the tournament.
The accommodation costs are 150 Euro per person for all 2-day tournaments and 75 Euro per person for the tournaments that include a 1-night stay. This is something that will be billed to you via an invoice and to be paid via a bank transfer once received.
There will be no additional costs for participating in Friendly fixtures.
Registration
It is a “must” to register your child for participating in the GISST Sports Program. Admission to any training group will only be possible for those students registered beforehand.
To register your child to participate in the GISST Sports Program, please go to the FIS Parent Portal and click on the “Booking Activities” icon. In the “Activities” window, you will need to select the day of the week in order to see activities available.
You can sign up your child for any sports activity offered at their grade level in each particular season.
The online registration will open three times per school year:
- Fall Season Registration: Monday, August 25 at 18:00 till Friday, September 5 at 9:00
- Winter Season Registration: Monday, December 1 at 18:00 till Friday, December 12 at 9:00
- Spring Season Registration: Monday, March 2 at 18:00 till Friday, March 13 at 9:00
Availability of spots in any particular sport cannot be guaranteed. To avoid disappointment, please complete the registration as soon as possible.
Registration Fee
There is a registration fee that all GISST participants must pay.
The registration fee for the regular season (training 2x/week) is 170 Euro, and for any prep-season (one training per week), the cost is 80 Euro. This applies to all sports that are offered in the 3-season format.
The swimming program is, however, arranged differently – in only two terms (Sept-Jan / Feb-June). Although the Swimming training is offered only once per week, due to the duration of each particular season, the registration cost for this sport is 170 Euro per person and term.
This registration fee applies to all participating students regardless of whether they are selected to represent the school at Friendly and/or nationwide GISST tournaments.
You will receive an invoice at the end of the trial period for each sport category that you signed up for.
No fee will be charged in case the participation is cancelled within the trial period.
If participation is not cancelled during the trial period of the first two training weeks, you will be charged the full registration fee.
Junior GISST Club
After a very successful “kick-off” last school year, we will continue offering a non-competitive sports program for students in Grade 1 to 5 – the Junior GISST Club.
Once again this school year, a selection of sporting activities in line with the GISST program will be offered within the Junior GISST Club.
During the Fall season (i.e. mid of September till begin of December 2025), the following activities will be offered to Primary students:
- Monday
Junior GISST Team Sports – Grades 3-5
(combination of Volleyball, Basketball and Indoor Football) - Wednesday
Mini Junior GISST Multi Sport – Grades 1-2
(basic skills across a variety of sports and physical activities)
Junior GISST Running Club – Grades 3-5
(combination of Cross Country and Track & Field) - Thursday
Junior GISST Racket Sports – Grades 3-5
(combination of Badminton and Table Tennis)
Participation in the Junior GISST Sports Program is fee-based. Like any other GISST activity, there is a registration fee that all participants must pay, currently 80 Euro per activity and season.
Further Information/Contact
If you would like any further information or if you have any questions about the GISST program, please get in touch via email:
Mila Fischer / Athletics Director
Kristijan Vidovic / Athletics Assistant
