The SA Sports Badge was a decoration of Nazi Germany

Nazi Germany

Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...

 that was issued between the years 1933 and 1945. It was a political version of the much more generic German Sports Badge

German Sports Badge

The German Sports Badge is a decoration of the German Olympic Sports Federation DOSB, of the Federal Republic of Germany...

 which was also issued in great numbers by the Nazis.

The SA Sports Badge was issued in three grades (bronze, silver, and gold) as well as a special version known as the "SA Sports Badge for War Wounded". The wounded version was implemented in 1940 for those military veterans of the Wehrmacht

Wehrmacht

The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...

 who had been wounded in combat and could no longer perform the physical feats required for the normal SA Sports Badge. The wounded version of the badge was designed with different criteria and only those rated with a disability

Disability

A disability may be physical, cognitive, mental, sensory, emotional, developmental or some combination of these.Many people would rather be referred to as a person with a disability instead of handicapped...

 could qualify for the badge.

Although originally designed as a physical fitness

Physical fitness

Physical fitness comprises two related concepts: general fitness , and specific fitness...

 badge for Nazi stormtrooper

Stormtrooper

Stormtroopers were specialist soldiers of the German Army in World War I. In the last years of the war, Stoßtruppen were trained to fight with "infiltration tactics", part of the Germans' new method of attack on enemy trenches...

s, the SA Sports Badge was issued across every German military and paramilitary organization. Indeed, the SS held the SA Sports Badge in high regard, and many of its senior members, Heinrich Himmler

Heinrich Himmler

Heinrich Luitpold Himmler was Reichsführer of the SS, a military commander, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. As Chief of the German Police and the Minister of the Interior from 1943, Himmler oversaw all internal and external police and security forces, including the Gestapo...

, Karl Wolff

Karl Wolff

Karl Friedrich Otto Wolff was a high-ranking member of the Nazi Schutzstaffel , ultimately holding the rank of SS-Obergruppenführer and General of the Waffen-SS. He became Chief of Personal Staff to the Reichsführer and SS Liaison Officer to Hitler until his replacement in 1943...

, and Arthur Nebe

Arthur Nebe

SS-Gruppenführer Arthur Nebe was a member of the NSDAP party with card number 574,307. In July 1931, he joined the SS and his membership number was 280,152. His early career included the Berlin position of Police Commissioner in the 1920s...

 among them, qualified for the decoration. The badge was also commonly issued to the Wehrmacht

Wehrmacht

The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...

 and was one of the few political decorations that the armed forces allowed to freely be displayed on a military uniform (other such decorations included the Blood Order

Blood Order

The Blood Order , officially known as the Decoration of 9 November 1923 , was one of the most prestigious decorations in the Nazi Party...

 and the Golden Party Badge

Golden Party Badge

The Golden Party Badge was a special badge of the Nazi Party. The first 100,000 members who had joined and had uninterrupted service in the Party were given the right to wear it...

).

By 1943, a similar sports badge had been created for non-Germans attached to the Germanic-SS

Germanic-SS

The Germanic SS was the collective name given to SS groups which arose in Occupied Europe between 1939 and 1945.The units were modeled on the Allgemeine-SS in Nazi Germany...

. Known as the Germanic Proficiency Runes

Germanic Proficiency Runes

The Germanic Proficiency Runes was a decoration of the German SS, issued as a type of sports badge to members of the Germanic-SS...

, this award was issued in two grades (bronze and silver) with similar physical tests as those required for the SA Sports Badge.

Award requirements

Group	Section	Discipline
1	Leibesübungen (Physical Fitness)	100m Sprint, long-throw, shot-put, 300m walk
2	Grundübungen (Basic exercises)	Small caliber shooting, 25km ruck-march, club (Stick grenade shaped) tossing
3	Geländesport (Field exercises)