The women’s volleyball team during their training session last Sunday. They have just under four weeks to prepare for the European Championships. Photo Guy Ackermans The WUR women’s volleyball team will be competing in the European Student Championships in Budapest, Hungary, from 27 July to 3 August.
Thanks to their strong performance in the Dutch Student Championship (GNSK) last academic year, the Wageningen women’s volleyball team will be competing in the European Student Championships in Budapest this summer. ‘Wageningen is not necessarily a big student volleyball city. So it’s actually pretty cool that we can go to the European Student Championships,’ explains team member Lauke Bouter.
#WURlife
The players will not be competing in the European Championships under the banner of the WaHo student volleyball club, but as the WUR university team. ‘Our team mainly consists of WaHo players, but we also have a number of players who play for other clubs at a higher level,’ says teammate Stella Omtzigt. Bouter: ‘Because they also study or studied at WUR, they are allowed to play in this team.’ The European student sports umbrella organisation is strict in this regard. All players had to submit proof of enrolment at the university or have a diploma awarded after 1 January 2024. Eight of the twelve players will still be students at the time of the tournament, while the others will have just graduated.
‘We’ll be going – very #WURlife – to Budapest by train at the end of July’, says Bouter. ‘It will take us about twenty hours. Some of my teammates didn’t want to fly, and it’s also partly a financial decision. Flying was more expensive. Now we’re all going together, which is nice. The train also has advantages, because now we can easily take a lot of luggage with us. We have a varied programme with training sessions, matches and quite a lot of free time. In addition to two match kits and other sportswear, two pairs of volleyball shoes – so you don’t have to put your sweaty shoes back on when you play again in the afternoon – sleeves, knee pads and lots of sports socks, we’re also taking plenty of normal clothes with us.’
Competing
‘We’ll be playing against volleyball powerhouses such as Italy and Germany’, Omtzigt says, looking ahead. ‘We don’t expect to win everything. However, we will play a lot of matches, because even the losers of the group stage will continue to play each other for the places of honour. Maybe we can surprise ourselves. In any case, we have agreed that we will compete together until the end, celebrate every point and enjoy the great experience.’
Bouter: ‘Our trainers, whom we hire through De Bongerd for our club training sessions, are now helping us on a voluntary basis in the run-up to the European Championships. We are really grateful to them for that. They are even coming with us to Budapest. They have coaching experience at a high national level, but like us, they have never been to the student European Championships before.’
Translated with help of DeepL.com
