Nowadays, athletes increasingly use technical appliances in order to optimize movements while training. Therefore, in swimming training, the take-off forces from the starting blocks are measured, for example. Also, devices at the pool wall are known which capture the forces exerted by the swimmers during turning, i.e. when they change their direction at the pool wall. Such conventional turning plates which typically have dimensions of 900×600 mm at a thickness of 100 mm cause problems in particular with respect to the mounting possibilities. Since these turning plates are very heavy with a weight of about 180 kg a crane is usually required for mounting the same. In addition, bore holes must be drilled in the pool wall which adds to the effort and may deteriorate the leak-tightness of the swimming pool. In addition, the turning plates have to be corrosion resistant, especially in heavily chlorinated water in which they are employed. Moreover, the thickness of 100 mm is increasingly less tolerated because the turning plate should not be significantly different from the swimming pool wall. This is particularly important for backstroke starts when the swimmers grab on a bar at the starting block and place their feet on the turning plate.