The usually quiet and still Saturday morning of Sportcentrum at the UT was transformed into an exciting and lively morning by the presence of hundreds of international students from different institutions all over the Netherlands. The sports center was about to witness a day full of fun and entertainment. The event dates back to 1980, when ITC Enschede and ISS The Hague, decided to organize a sports event for international students in the Netherlands. Since then several other institutes, in addition to the UT, have joined to make it a more colorful event.
This year, the participants came from ITC-Enschede, ISS The Hague, RNTC Hilversum, UNESCO-IHE Delft, TU Delft, MEL Erasmus Rotterdam, PTC Barneveld, HIS Rotterdam and our own UTwente. These teams competed against each other in indoor soccer, volleyball, basketball, badminton, table tennis, chess and darts.
At 10:00 am, the games started and the Sportcentrum became a dynamic and happening place. Predictably, soccer drew the maximum number of spectators along with basketball, volleyball and badminton. Clapping, shouting, cheering and whistling were the chosen gestures of euphoria in the surrounding arena.
One of the organizers, Dionysia Loman from the UT, commented enthusiastically, `This is the day to play different sports and meet people from different countries. The event also serves as a platform to propagate friendship and cohesiveness between different institutes comprising people, from diverse cultures and nationalities. There will also be teams striving to win, which will ensure the competitiveness in the games as well.'
The soccer match between MEL-ER and RNTC was a truly remarkable one. Despite losing to MEL-ER 4-0, RNTC appeared to enjoy every moment of it. Playing drums and dancing to motivate their team was a wonderful display of game spirit. `It's about having fun, winning or losing comes later,' observed Samuel Ato Afful, a student at RNTC from Ghana.
Nonetheless, it was more fun on the winner's side. Ana Raquel Ulloa a student at MEL from Panama declared, `We are really having a nice time here, with so many international people around. It would have been a good idea to meet each other before the games though. A small introduction at the beginning can be a wonderful way to start the day,' she suggests.
By the middle of the afternoon, the first phase of competition was over and the heat was settling in for the final decisive phase. With semifinals and finals going on, Sportcentrum was in full swing. Final standings of the teams came down to the final match of the last event: the soccer final between IHE and the UT. IHE did exactly what was needed to grab the first overall position, by winning the exciting game 1-0, leaving the UT in third place. ITC took the second spot. All the games were played in complete harmony, spreading goodwill and amity between students of different nationalities.
Late in the afternoon, it was the beginning of the end of the event, with ISS and IHE students dancing madly and capturing the scene on film. After an eventful day, everyone headed towards Vrijhof, where a delicious dinner was waiting for them. Memorable moments of the day and chit chat about various cultures highlighted the dinner table discussion topics.
Amol Thakre
