German WWII DRL Gold Sports Badge in Cloth-This is an unissued example of the 1937 bronze pattern DRL Sports Badge in a machine embroidered bronze on black rayon badge cloth. This is quite striking with its bronze over black. This is a terrific example.
History: The DRA stood for the Issuing Organization; the "Deutscher Reichs-Ausschuss" (German National Committee for Physical Training). The DRA presented the DRA Badges from 1914-1933 in three grades (Bronze, Silver & Gold) depending upon an individual’s score on a physical test In 1933 the organization’s name was changed to Deutscher Reichsbund fur Leibesubungen, so the badge was changed to read DRL (2nd version) and from 1937 – 1945 the NSDAP swastika was added at the bottom (3ed version) Originally introduced in 1913 as the DRA badge, this was modified in 1933 to the DRL badge and again in 1937 with the addition of the swastika. The award was intended as an incentive for physical training and was issued to both males and females between 18 and 32 years old who met the required criteria for an eight-year period, or those between the ages of 32 to 40 who met the criteria over a twelve-month period.