Yesterday was the busiest day of the EuroGames so far! No fewer than 16 tournaments took place. Everywhere you looked there were people working-out, exercising, and cheering each other on. Lots of medals were awarded and handed out and everyone enjoyed the beautiful weather!
Badminton and Volleyball started at 9:00 am. No fewer than 192 badminton players participated. The matches were held in the huge Jan Massinkhal. At the same time, and hardly any distance away the Volleyball was taking place with a staggering 272 volleyball players. The fields were full of athletes and seemed to stretch as far as the horizon, the drag queens turned up full of encouragement and raised the tempo a couple of notches, and the atmosphere was warm and friendly all shot through with an infusion of diversity and inclusivity. What a perfect morning!
The Squash tournament also started yesterday and it was played in the same location as Volleyball. The walls of the squash courts rang with the constant pounding and the repetitive bounce-back was audible.
The tennis courts of TV Rapiditas are located right next to the Radboud University Sports Center. This was the second day of Tennis and it continued until 11 o’clock in the evening, very doable in the perfect weather.
Spontaneous meet-ups and tough competitions make for wonderful memories, lying on the warm grass or chilling on the beautiful terrace. Across from the tennis courts are the football fields of SV Orion and yesterday was the last day of the football tournament. Of course, there was a battle for first place.
The Hockey tournament was also coming to a close, it took place a little further away and this was the final day of a three-day tournament. The competition was close and as is often the case with hockey it remained unsettled for quite some time.
For a little less obvious rivalry there was the Ballroom dancing in The Vereeniging, Nijmegen’s beautiful concert hall. The dancing was stunning as the participants from all levels spun, swirled and cha cha cha’d across the dance floor. On Friday evening, as the competition closed, a dance party was planned and everyone was invited. The Bridge tournament also took place in the Vereeniging, no matter how quiet it was the competition was still intense.
Three water sports tournaments happened yesterday. The Swimming was opened by alderman Grete Visser and quite many participants were there, including our chairman. In the pool on the other side of town, the Water Polo finals took place. Once again competition was strong but the enthusiasm was even stronger. The semi-finals of the rowing were held on the open water close to the city in the Spiegelwaal. With the pop-up bar, the camaraderie, and the sunshine it was perfect, simply wonderful.
Pickleball, Martial arts, and Table tennis were happening in various sports halls. Those tournaments closed yesterday and lots of people had so much fun, learned new skills, and made lots of new friends. It was also the last day for golf, after Thursday’s party, quite a number of holes were played on the beautiful greens of Heelsum Golf Club. Everything was in perfect condition thus ensuring an exciting final round.
At Athletics, all disciplines were taking place in the afternoon and later in the evening. There were some intense battles with lots of medals in the offing, for some, the 25-degree heat was pretty tough.
Some tournaments still have another day to go. Good luck and enjoy the last day of the EuroGames 2022!
