A 13 year old girl competes in Jugger in Germany

Marie, a 13 year old girl, plays a sport called Jugger with the VfL Rethwisch club in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein.

She joined the team six years ago after seeing the sport and decided she wanted to participate. Her team currently competes in the children's category, where they have won the German championship three times. Jugger involves two teams of five players. Each team consists of one runner and four defenders called Pompfer.

The objective is for a runner to carry a foam ball called a Jugg and place it into a container called a Mal. Only runners can carry the ball, while the Pompfer use padded weapons called Pompfen to block opponents and hit them. If a player is hit, they must kneel and sit out for several seconds. Marie plays as a runner because she is the fastest member of her team.

She explains that the game requires strategy, as players can swap positions or weapons between rounds. While the sport has no formal leagues, the club participates in five to seven tournaments across Germany every year. Marie previously suffered a broken collarbone during a tournament in Berlin when an opponent used a chain weapon, but she recovered in time to compete in the national championship.