CLASS CRITERIA BRONZE Successfully passed an educational and physical program. SILVER Awarded to those holding the Bronze badge for five years and participated and passed the annual requirements. The individual would have to be 35 years of age or older. GOLD Individuals holding the Silver badge for Six years and successfully participated in the annual requirements. Recipient had to be over the age of 40.

Ernst Julius Röhm, (November 28, 1887 – July 2, 1934) was a German officer in the Bavarian Army and later an early Nazi leader. He was a co-founder of the Sturmabteilung ("Storm Battalion"; SA), the Nazi Party militia and later was the SA commander. In 1934, as part of the Night of the Long Knives, he was executed on Hitler's orders as a potential rival. Rohm was the person who authorized the creation of the Sports badge.

A vertical pin is provided to secure the badge to the tunic. The pin is attached via a hinge at the top of the badge. A catch is placed in the opposite side. The pin was driven through loops (two or more) that were sewn to the chest area of the jacket.

BY THE NUMBERS
It is hard to determine the exact number of Anti Partisan badges that were produced. However, thanks to the record keeping maintained by the Wehrmacht, it is possible to estimate how many badges were actually issued. The number stands above well above 4 million.

The SA sport badges were initially issued to all members of the SA and SS. After the badge gained national status by Hitler on February 15th 1935. All German nationals could try out to earn it.

The actual number of Sport badges produced is greater than the number that was issue. It must be accounted that the distributors would have a stock in hand so it could replace lost ones and issue new awards. In addition the factories were likely to have warehouses with inventory at hand. The Sport badges were sone of the awards most widely distributed during WWII.

The population of Germany in 1939 was approximately 64,000,000. The SA boated 3,000,000 members by 1934.

COLLECTING SPORT BADGES
Collecting Third Reich memorabilia is a field that has been growing since the days the GI's rummaged around Europe bringing back military souvenirs. German soldiers wore many of their awards on their uniforms when they went to battle. Once the soldier was killed or captured, the American soldiers would take the awards as war trophies. Eventually all these pieces came back to the United States where military history enthusiasts began to collect them.

"I am trying to figure out if I should get into collecting Sport badges." Determining which badges to collect can be a challenging decision. The combination of availabiilty and cost will often set the pace of what can be collected. The adjacent table outlines some of the advantages and disadvantages of collecting the Sports badge.

This award is currently being reproduced. It is becoming more difficult to be able to tell the fake ones from the real ones because the quality of the reproductions is improving. The collector must become familiarized with the construction style and materials employed in the manufacturing of this badge. Attention to the details is critical in order to be able to determine the authenticity of the badge.