Traditional Amsterdam rowing match moves to Rotterdam, thanks to celebrating Skadi

What could be more fun than beating Amsterdam in the year that your club turns 90 years old? Not much, they thought at rowing club Skadi. That is why the association took the traditional final rowing matches from the capital. Since 1975 they have traditionally held on the Bosbaan near Amsterdam, but now they will be organized at the Rotterdam Willem-Alexander Baan on 7 and 8 July.

“For years this competition has been inextricably linked to the Bosbaan,” explains competition commissioner Matthijs Freund. “But we never took that for granted.” The celebration of the 90th anniversary was an excellent occasion for Skadi’s anniversary committee to try and get the game to the city. “Especially now that our lustrum theme is Lef (‘Guts’), we thought it was time to end the status quo and convince the organization to move the competition to the Willem-Alexander Baan.”

Doubt

The Slotwedstrijden (‘Closing Games’) are organized by the Dutch Student Rowing Federation (NSRF). They traditionally form the final part of the national rowing season. For more than forty years these games have been held in the capital, but chairman Hannah de Vries of the NSRF started to have doubts after hearing the plea from Skadi (and of course, after hearing about some financial commitments from the municipality of Rotterdam). “Thanks to the financing and knowledge of the course, this was the right time to try it. With Skadi as co-organizer we are convinced that we will be able to host a beautiful edition this year. ”

The anniversary year of Skadi started last year on 26 October with the opening ceremony. The peak of the festivities is in the month of July. After the NSRF Closing Games in the beginning of the month, the lustrum week will follow after that weekend.