TU sport clubs try to make it work

“I’m not really surprised, given the earlier messages,” according to chair Merel Schalkers of indoor football club FC Tutor about the new measures announced on Monday. “Such a shame, but understandable.”

Last week, the Cabinet announced yet another investigation into the possibility to allow young people up to the age of 27 to play team sports again from mid-January. On Monday evening, it became clear that all indoor sports were suspended for now. Playing sports outdoors is only possible in pairs.

Not realistic
^{Distance training went well at FC Tutor, but that is no longer possible since Tuesday. (Photo: Tutor)}

“Last week there was speculation of the restrictions being relaxed,” stated Schalkers, “but we thought even then: let’s wait and see if it really happens. It did not seem realistic given the rising number of infections.”

At her club, which has a women’s team and ten men’s teams, training was done in groups of four in half of the hall until last Monday evening – while observing the applicable rules, including one and a half metres apart. Schalkers added, “We noticed a distinct lack of interest in this structure, most of the team-hours were not filled. A bit of passing and shooting is fun, but it is not really football.”

‘A bit of passing and shooting is fun, but it is not really football’

In the coming weeks, no balls will be rolling at all. “We are following the situation,” said Schalkers about the changing measures. “We have been doing that for a while. Constantly looking for what is possible within the rules, trying to be flexible.”

In the meantime, she and the management team are trying to come up with ideas to keep the club active somehow, for example by organizing more online activities like Haxball competitions. “That effort was appreciated, but not many people signed up for it in the end.”

Logical

^{Punch volleyball trained with improvised blockers. (Photo: Sam Rentmeester)}

“Such an awful shame,” expressed chairwoman Marieke van Arnhem from the volleyball club DSVV Punch about stopping all indoor sports, even though she saw it coming. “Last week’s announcement gave us hope the relaxation of the restrictions might be on the cards. Instead, the rules have only become stricter, but that is a logical step. We cannot offer our members anything at all. We are closed anyway during the Christmas holidays, but we shall lose a few more weeks this way.”

Punch has 13 men’s and just as many women’s teams. In the past period each team could sign up for two or three shifts of four people per week, distributed over two training evenings. On the club website there is a list of 23 possible exercises that the trainers could implement in a corona-proof way. This allowed everyone to remain in condition to some extent. That is now temporarily impossible.

Lost season
Van Arnhem did not expect that members in the category up to 27 years old would be able to train in larger teams after January 19. “A reduction to groups of four people seemed more likely. Making plans for a larger, central group training is senseless now. And there is no chance of restarting competitions yet.”

Depending on further developments, Van Arnhem wants to examine, when it becomes possible again, whether an internal competition could be organised. “A lost season? If nothing is permitted now, then it is rather a disaster of a year, yes.”

In the meantime, the management team is trying to keep the club alive in its jubilee year by organising activities like an online pub quiz, games evenings and museum visits. “We are trying to make it work.”

Outdoor sport
While indoor sports are cancelled altogether, training outdoors is still allowed. But no longer in groups of four, just in pairs. And of course with one and a half metres’ separation.

Whether that is any consolation for hockey club SHC Scoop is questionable. The website of the TU sport centre X reported that the management would be exploring the possibilities for outdoor sports. “We are complying with the regulations of the sport complex,” affirmed Scoop secretary Michiel Zwartjes. So it’s a waiting game.

In his club the training in the past few weeks had also been in groups of four. “It’s really little, but better than nothing. Maximum of four groups of four on each field. Such a shame that sports in that form must stop, but this measure is in line with the other required actions.”

‘Will people remain members after this season?’

Zwartjes hopes that the current stricter measures will mean that sports can be played again in January. “That would make us so happy. When the measures were relaxed after the first wave and training was allowed again, we really enjoyed that.”

The club secretary acknowledges the risk of infection when resuming team training or even competitions, when that becomes possible again, but trusts in his management team’s supervision of strict compliance with the corona rules. “We have done that so far. We have had very few infections, people with symptoms are not allowed to train.”

Loss of members?
The question is, how have the restricted possibilities in this year affected the membership? The effect was minimal at Punch, according to Van Arnhem. “We have many international students who live with their parents and could not come to train. And we had slightly fewer registrations of new members this year.”

For Scoop, with 250 active athletes, the situation is similar, said Zwartjes. “Players who had planned to stop remained members in order to continue being able to play sports.”

At Tutor, there was a noticeable change. Schalkers said, “We have about 100 members, 20 less than last year, but that was an exceptional year. Some members prefer to skip this year, partly because they don’t feel safe otherwise. The real question is whether many people will remain members after this season.

• Find out what possibilities X offers under the current restrictions.

Jimmy Tigges / Redacteur Sport