Celebrations at Erasmus Sport. Last Tuesday, the ten thousandth sports pass of the year was sold. A record, because there have never before been so many passes active at the same time.
The number of visitors to the sports centre has soared in recent years. This massive increase is partly due to the better cooperation with student associations, making it easier to target the students. “This benefits the associations because they can offer their members discounts”, says director of Erasmus Sport, Jon de Ruijter.
Many international students
Many international students use the sports centre. “Over 60 percent have a sports pass and these students also use the facilities more than average.” While Dutch students come 1.6 times a week, international students use their pass around 2.5 times a week. Among the staff, the number of sport passes has fallen. “Often they say it’s because of their increased workload since the reorganisation.”
Disadvantages
The huge growth also creates problems. For some sports, a membership freeze has been introduced because there’s no room for more students. This mainly affects hall sports like volleyball and basketball. “We are currently looking for solutions,” says De Ruijter. One possible solution is a temporary inflatable hall on the vacant piece of land opposite the Plaza.
