{"id":87633,"date":"2018-06-06T10:04:39","date_gmt":"2018-06-06T08:04:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=87633"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:23:00","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:23:00","slug":"niemand-weet-waar-mascotte-roffa-is","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2018\/06\/06\/niemand-weet-waar-mascotte-roffa-is\/","title":{"rendered":"No one knows where Roffa the Mascot is"},"content":{"rendered":"

Roffa, the mascot of Erasmus Sport, has been missing for nearly a year now. Starting from early 2014, the lion, who looks like a student and was designed to mark the occasion of the EU Games, visited all sorts of sporting events. He used to stand next to the sport centre\u2019s entrance, until he disappeared last year.<\/p>\n

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Erasmus Sport\u2019s Gaby Dijkstra had the mascot designed for the 2014 European Universities Games, held in Rotterdam. \u201cRoffa is a studenty, tough-looking lion, which is why he symbolises Rotterdam student sports. Back in 2014 he joined in all the activities. He posed with all the big shots and was the official face of the EU Games.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chess tournament<\/h2>

After the EU Games, Erasmus Sport adopted Roffa as a mascot for Rotterdam\u2019s student sports clubs. Says Dijkstra: \u201cRoffa came along on trips to all sorts of major sporting events. He even visited a chess tournament once.\u201d<\/p>\n

But in 2017 tragedy struck. Dijkstra went on a six-month trip to South America. When she returned to the sports centre last August, she found that the lion suit had disappeared. \u201cMy colleagues and I looked everywhere for him for months, but we haven\u2019t been able to find him at the sports centre. We know he wasn\u2019t lent to a club. We honestly haven\u2019t the foggiest what happened to Roffa.\u201d<\/p>\n

Proposal<\/h2>

Dijkstra is upset about the mascot\u2019s disappearance, because she was quite fond of it. On one occasion she even darned Roffa, using needle and thread. \u201cIt\u2019s so cool when our mascot is walking around at, say, the match that gets Antibarbari the title, or when he interviews the Rector on the university\u2019s Foundation Day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Could it be that Roffa is being held ransom by one of the clubs affiliated with Erasmus Sport, or by an umbrella sports organisation from another student town? \u201cIt\u2019s possible, but I think I would have heard from them by now if that were the case,\u201d says Dijkstra. \u201cGenerally they want something in return for returning the object.\u201d She is not sure she is willing to accept a quid-pro-quo deal now that a year has passed since Roffa\u2019s disappearance. \u201cIf Roffa is still in one piece, make me your best proposal!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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Een lijst van afbeeldingen<\/h2>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t
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