DJK Würzburg is a German sports club located in Würzburg

Würzburg

Würzburg is a city in the region of Franconia which lies in the northern tip of Bavaria, Germany. Located at the Main River, it is the capital of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. The regional dialect is Franconian....

. DJK stands for "Deutsche Jugendkraft" (German youth power). The club belongs to the DJK-Sportverband

DJK-Sportverband

Deutschen Jugendkraft Sportverband , is a Catholic-sponsored sports association in Germany. Founded originally as a faith-based organization, today it is open to anyone who supports its goals...

 (Sport Association), which is affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church

Roman Catholic Church

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

 in Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

. The club has gained fame through its basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

 department, in which NBA player Dirk Nowitzki

Dirk Nowitzki

Dirk Werner Nowitzki is a German professional basketball player who plays for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association...

 got his start.

History

The DJK Sport Association was founded on September 16, 1920 in Würzburg. Due to the geographic location of its home office, the DJK soon founded a local club in Würzburg. However, the different athletic departments found themselves divided among various Catholic clubs. During the Third Reich, all DJK affiliates were banned by the government. After World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, the DJK consolidated all of its local departments into DJK Würzburg. Today the club has over 3000 members, including a variety of non-Catholic members.

The club's top women's handball

Team handball

Handball is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each pass a ball to throw it into the goal of the other team...

 team played in the Handball-Bundesliga Frauen

Handball-Bundesliga Frauen

Handball-Bundesliga, is the top women's professional handball league in Germany.-2010–11 season teams:*SG BBM Bietigheim*HSG Blomberg-Lippe*Buxtehuder SV*FHC Frankfurt*Frisch Auf Göppingen*HC Leipzig*Bayer 04 Leverkusen*VfL Oldenburg*SGH Rosengarten...

, the top flight of women's handball in Germany, from 1976–1985, during the 1987–88 season and from 1993–95.

The club's basketball department gained fame in the 1990s as both the men's and women's teams qualified for the Basketball Bundesliga

Basketball Bundesliga

The Basketball Bundesliga — commonly abbreviated BBL — is the highest level league of club basketball in Germany. The league comprises 18 teams. A BBL season is split into a league stage and a playoff stage...

 (BBL). The women's team played many years in the first and second divisions and was crowned German Champion in 1993. In 1989, the men's team made the jump into the second division. In 1997, featuring Dirk Nowitzki in the line-up, DJK Würzburg claimed the 2nd Division South title, qualifying for the Basketball Bundesliga. In 2001, DJK spun off it's men's basketball team into a private corporate entity, now known as the Würzburg Baskets, to capitalize on their growth as a professional basketball team. DJK Würzburg has produced numerous players who have gone on to have success in the BBL, with the German national team

Germany national basketball team

The German national basketball team for men is the basketball side that represents Germany in international competitions. Their biggest successes are the victory in the European Championship of 1993 at home in Germany, the silver medal in the 2005 European Championships and the bronze medal in the...

 and, for Nowitzki, the NBA.

Honors

Numerous Bavarian

Bavarian

Bavarian is the adjective form of the German state of Bavaria, and refers to people of ancestry from Bavaria. Bavarian may also refer to:* Austro-Bavarian, a group of closely related dialects of German, spoken in parts of Bavaria, most of Austria and the Alto Adige/Südtirol* Bavarian cream, a...

 amateur titles
Women's German Basketball Champions: 1993
Men's 2nd Division South Basketball Champions: 1997

Former Players

• Demond Greene
  Demond Greene
  Demond Greene is a dual German-American citizen and professional basketball player. He plays both the point guard and shooting guard positions. He is 1.86 m in height and he weighs 86 kg . His father is from the USA and his mother is German.Greene currently plays with the number 24 for...
  
  
• Robert Garrett
  Robert Garrett
  Robert Garrett was an American athlete. He was the first modern Olympic champion in discus throw and shot put.-Biography:...
  
  
• Christian März
• Dirk Nowitzki
  Dirk Nowitzki
  Dirk Werner Nowitzki is a German professional basketball player who plays for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association...
  
  
• Björn Gieseck
• Denis Wucherer
  Denis Wucherer
  Denis Wucherer is a retired German professional basketball player. He is 1.96 m tall and played shooting guard...
  
  
• Jochen Dittrich

External links

• Official homepage