He never really left. Even if Ulrich Leithold earned a living in Chemnitz during the 1990s, he was still an integral part of his home town of Pausa.

“I didn’t have a choice at that time,” says the 57-year-old, in retrospect. He has been back in Pausa for almost 15 years now and has found work in the town – and what is much more important for him – in his position as chairman of the KSV Pausa wrestlers’ club, his buoyant, ambitious manner has enabled it to become a nationally famous flagship association based in the Vogtland region.

The man who loves to be known as an “original native of Pausa” is happy to come from the Vogtland region. “I can easily cope with the mentality here; things may be a bit rough at times, but that breathes life into business and helps us move forwards. The people in the Vogtland region are a tough bunch; if they get a bee in their bonnet, they carry on until they succeed.” With this in mind, he describes the many volunteer supporters at the Pausa power sports association as “positive crackpots” and explains what he means; “they’re idealists that you can be proud of.” Ulrich Leithold himself also embodies these features – and they spur him on. He is proud to report that if the wrestlers from Pausa travel anywhere, people say, “Watch out, the Vogtland guys are coming! Then there’s a warm welcome.”

Sports have been part of Leithold’s life for a long time. “First of all, it was football; then I became actively involved in gymnastics. In the end, I attended courses to become a trainer and fight judge.”

When the master textile engineer was able to start working as a quality tester at a company in Pausa in 2001, he knew what he would do: “I’d returned home and wanted to become involved in local sports.

"I’ve known about wrestling matches since my childhood. I joined the wrestling club as an outsider, but we’ve become more and more united."

He took over as chairman in 2003. He uses a minor comparison to demonstrate what that meant for him:

“We’re a club that has to do its sums consistently and organise things on a solid basis – that means it’s no different to Bayern Munich.”

The youth league team and the men’s team, who wrestle in the 2nd national division, are the club’s flagship groups. 

You cannot talk to this real native of Pausa for long before he mentions what is important to him. “If only I’d had hit on the idea of taking on responsibility in the club at an earlier stage.” The impressions of the A-youth German championships, which KSV Pausa organised in April, are still fresh in his mind. Ulrich Leithold and his team had already organised this event once in 2009 and since that time the club has arranged another major project every two years: in 2011, it was the junior team world cup with the eight best national teams in the world; and in 2013, it organised the German men’s championships. “The preparation work is enormously intense; there are innumerable minor details that the club and the 100 helpers have to take into consideration.” The clubs’ head is not prepared to sit back on his laurels. “If something works out well, you plan the next step. I can imagine organising an international competition,” he says at the end.

It is an interesting to note:

KSV Pausa is an advertising partner in the “This is Saxony” campaign organised by the Free State. Leithold has this to say:

“I like supporting it because it helps you broaden your horizons. The Saxon regions are home to all of us – and the Vogtland region is an important part of it all.”