The host of aussies in Holland is Sandy Moritz
Please send all correspondence and suggestions to Sandy
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aussies in holland |
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WELCOME TO THE AUSTRALIANS ABROAD INFO PAGE FOR
AUSSIES IN THE NETHERLANDS
SPORT
ON
THIS PAGE:
CRICKET
CYCLING
DIVING
GOLF
HIKING
ICE
SKATING
INLINE
SKATING
RUGBY
RUNNING
SURFING
TOUCH
FOOTY
WINFSURFING
AUSSIE
RULES
OTHER DUTCH CLUBS OF YOUR
SPORT
...AND SOME TRADITIONAL DUTCH
SPORTS
CRICKET
CYCLING
Not so much a sport as a national obsession, as you
will no doubt have noticed. The bicycle (fiets) and the cyclist (fietser) are
“protected traffic objects” here and you’ll find that in event
of an accident, the car driver will almost inevitably be deemed guilty. Dinking
is quite legal, you can ride two abreast, and Dutch mothers seem to find it a
challenge to see how many kids they can transport with one bicycle. So yeah, if
you come across someone cycling down the wrong side of the road, drunk, with no
lights and wearing dark clothes – be very careful not to hit him, or
you’re in trouble! Don’t fight it – join them! Excellent
cycle paths (which are also de-iced in the winter), cycle path signs
(they’re the ones with red letters), cycle route maps, hotels which cater
to cycle holidays, lots of convenient ramps for wheeling your bike up and down
steps, hardly a hill in sight, and the liberty to careen over the road at any
time, with little danger to your life. But be careful to lock it. As they say,
stealing bicycles is considered a sport in Holland, and locks are merely a
challenge. For info on cycling, ask any Dutchie, or try http://fiets.pagina.nl/ (NL) –
it includes bike routes (fietsroutes), bike holidays (fietsvakanties), bike
shops (fietswinkels), bike insurance (fietsverzekering), bike rental
(fietsverhuur), and if you’ve been fascinated by the weird bikes you lie
back on, check the links on http://ligfiets.pagina.nl/ (NL).
But aside from it being a means of transport and patriotism, it is also a sport
here. You’ll also see flocks of cyclists (the only ones to ever wear
helmets) racing around. But then it’s not called fietsen any more –
it’s wielrennen. So try http://wielrennen.pagina.nl/
(NL).Tour de
Amsterdam http://groups.yahoo.com/group/tour-de/amsterdam
A social/fun cycling club, to quote: “Tour de Amsterdam was founded in
July 2001 by Anna Holtzman, a New Yorker in Amsterdam, for the purpose of
fietsing to new places and meeting new
people.”
DIVING
Randstad Harings Diving Club
www.randstad-harings.demon.nl/ for those new to sport
diving as well as the seasoned veteran. The only open BS-AC ( British Sub Acqua
Club) branch in Holland, based in The Hague. Have members from beginner to 1st
Class Diver, and from Instructor Trainee to National Instructor, and all are
volunteers. Accept new members at all levels of skill from absolute beginner to
First Class Diver. Training is in English, qualifications are internationally
recognised. Informative website.
GOLF
HIKING
I would have liked to put in “bush
walking”, but as there’s no bush here to walk in (at least, not as
we know it) this seemed the next best thing. The Dutch call it
“wandelen”, and it is considered a sport. You’ll see them
wandelen about the countryside, especially (but not only) on sunny days, often
dressed for the part in comfy clothes, maybe with gaiters, maybe with a stick,
often with a day pack. Oldies do it, families with young kids do it...
it’s just like bushwalking, except it’s all flat and not nearly as
many wild animals. Oh, and there are often nice pancake cafés along the
way! Although you can do it anywhere, any time (another good use for bicycle
paths) there are also specific routes you can take. You can get hiking maps
(wandelkaarten) from the ANWB (auto club) and from the VVV. http://wandel.pagina.nl/ has lots of details
(NLPieterpad
The most famous of the Dutch longer hiking routes
is the Pieterpad, so called as it goes from Pieterburen (Gr) on the northern
coast in the north to Sint Pieterberg (L) in the hilly south east. As
it’s a total of 485km many people do it over a few years. It is divided
into 27 stages, and there are books, maps and websites about the route, where to
overnight, etc. Details can be found on http://pieterpad.pagina.nl/ (NL)
ICE
SKATING
The Dutch pray fervently every year for an icy
winter. Snow doesn’t matter; in fact it ruins the ice, so better none at
all. As soon as it freezes you’ll see marks at the edge of the canals and
ditches, where people (mostly little boys) have been testing the ice. And as
soon as it’s possible, they’ll be out on it. The Dutch prefer to
use long ice skates to the ones we’re used to seeing (which are only used
here for figure skating or ice hockey) as they’re better for distance
skating. If it’s a good icy winter, you’ll find there may be lakes,
canals and so on that are set aside especially for skating, as well as special
routes that you can take for much longer distances. Check with any VVV for
info. There are also cafés alongside the water which can open right up
and remove their floorboards, so you can skate up to the bar. If you’ve
never skated before, ask a Dutchie for advice on buying skates (maybe even
borrowing some), on help with learning, anything – you can be sure of an
enthousiastic response. And if you’re not sure if the ice is safe to
skate on, just ask a local (but not a little boy). http://schaats.pagina.nl/ has a lot of good
links related to ice skating. (NL) See also
“elfstedentocht” further below in the sports
section.
INLINE
SKATING
RUGBY
RUNNING
SURFING
TOUCH
FOOTY
Every Monday night starting at 7pm at Museumplein,
Amsterdam (NH) – right behind the Rijksmuseum, just down the road from the
Van Gogh Musuem on the big open park there – ending about 8:30pm. The
touch footie season will commence from roughly the end of April and run until
late September. Further details in the discussion “getting your sporting
fix this summer” posted 18.02.2002 , or directly from Adrian (alias
abmolloy) touchrugby2002nl@yahoo.com.
Cleansing drinks at a local bar afterwards!
WINDSURFING
AUSSIE
RULES
OTHER
DUTCH CLUBS OF YOUR SPORT
http://sport.pagina.nl/ (NL) This page
is full of links to all sorts of sports, including national clubs, local clubs,
stadiums, etc. If you’re wondering, “korfbal” is netball, and
“honkbal” is baseball! There are even Dutch climbing clubs http://www.climbing.nl/ – about as
natural as Australia having outdoor ice skating, but don’t laugh –
it didn’t stop us getting a gold medal in ice skating, did
it?
AND
SOME TRADITIONAL DUTCH SPORTS...
vierdaagse – four day
walk A wonderful Dutch idea! Basically it works
like this: you register and get a card. For 4 consecutive days you walk,
together with thousands of others, along a set route, getting your card stamped
on the way – a good way to see your new home town. At the end you get a
little medal to show you’ve done it. Lots of towns and villages hold a
“four dayer” each summer. The one in my village (Boskoop) is for
10km each evening. The internationally famous vierdaagse is held in Nijmegen
(Gld) http://www.4daagse.nl/frameset.asp?lan=eng
and is for 50km per day (but you can opt to do 30 or
40). Some do the whole walk in clogs! See also See also the heading above
“hiking”.vierdaagse
– by bike, canoe, or in the pool Many towns
also organise other versions of the vierdaagse, with marathons for cyclists,
canoers and swimmers. Check local papers.most
of the remaining traditional
sports
are to be found in Friesland, the northern
province. Friesland has its own (recognised) language, and a very strong sense
of tradition. The road signs are in two languages, and you see more men in
clogs than elsewhere in
NL.elfstedentocht – ice
skating marathon http://www.elfstedentocht.nl/en/english.htm
held as soon as conditions allow it, generally about once every decade.
Entrants skate the 200km course in one day, through eleven cities in Friesland,
many sustaining mind boggling injuries (e.g. frozen tear ducts). You
can’t miss it if it’s on, the country goes beserk. See also the
heading above “ice
skating”.wadlopen
– walk to an island! http://www.wadlopen.net/ (NL)
wadlopen is a masochistic sport - you walk over mudflats from the mainland to an
island whilst the tide is out. Strictly with a registered guide only as it is
quite dangerous otherwise. Makes you aware of muscles you never knew you had.
But you see seals, and the experience of standing in the middle of what seems to
be the ocean is unforgettable. A basic walk is pretty
cheap.skutsjesilen –
yachts
http://www.skutsjesilen.nl/ (NL)
traditional (and stunning) Friesian yachts. They race each year in summer, but
you have to be Fries to enter. But you can still get lessons, go for a trip on
one, or hire one for a holiday (http://botenverhuur.pagina.nl/ and
look under the heading
skutjes)fierljeppen
– pole vaulting over ditches
http://www.fierljeppen.nl/ Another sport
mainly practiced in Frieland. Originally Dutch farmers walked about their farms
this way, jumping the waterways that enclose each field with a long pole. Be
warned – it looks easy, but if you don’t make it across,
you’ll slide down into a cold and muddy ditch, and the Dutch will laugh
themselves silly! (NL)
Copyright
© 1997 - 2002 Sandy Moritz
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