Roundnet Germany’s International department strives to bring to roundnet aficionados located in Germany and Europe worthy roundnet news from outside our borders. We asked various NGB’s how they lived last year’s and roundnet’s biggest event yet: the Worlds, what exciting projects they currently develop to bring roundnet further at their national level, where the hottest roundnet communities are and which tournaments are open to international players. We hope you will enjoy this series – today with Roundnet Nederland!
On top, international tournaments start now to be listed on our RG PlayerZone, so watch out!
1. Your Worlds Ranking, and overall feedback on the tournament
Our men’s team came: shared 22nd place. It was great to play some incredible teams from all around the world. We were a bit disappointed with our results, but the final game against Ireland is one that we will not quickly forget. The energy was incredible and it came down to the final game. It was nerve wracking.
Our women’s team came: shared 13th place. Especially the game against Norway was so interesting to watch.
Our mixed team came shared 9th place. Solange and Stan formed a great team. They had not played together that much in the run up to Worlds and really grew together during the tournament.
It was inspiring to see so many athletes from around the world that all share the same passion for this sport. Roundnet Belgium did an incredible job at hosting this event. While the weather was not always in our favour, everyone was positive and existed to see this sport reach a new level. Especially the Squad component made this first Worlds unforgettable.
2. Current Roundnet National Champion presentation in all available categories.
Solange Schrijnder van Velzen & Tessel van Manen (Women)
Solange @solangesvv comes from @roundnetamsterdam and has carried the title of National Champion proudly since September 2021. She has a strong serve and is difficult to beat.
Tessel has been playing from the very start of Roundnet in the Netherlands and she used to playing and competing with men’s teams. She also comes from @roundnetamsterdam. She is one of the faces of women’s Roundnet in the Netherlands.
Patrick de Lange & Thibault Mareschal (Men)
Thibault @thibaultmareschal formerly played in France, is now based in the Netherlands and proud to wear the orange jersey. Fun fact, his brother Louis, also plays the sport and was in team France at Worlds. Too bad we didn’t see that special game.Patrick,
@patrick_delange is the Canadian Dutchman who has settled in Amsterdam. He really gives it all in every game. His professional background in swimming has given him the mentality of an athlete.
3. Hot Roundnet Hubs in your country: where are located the biggest roundnet communities.
We currently have 4 official clubs, in Amsterdam, Enschede, Groningen and Maastricht with Amsterdam Revolution en Enschede LEAP being the bigger ones. The community in Utrecht is growing and currently in the process of establishing their club. For international players the city of Amsterdam would provide you with the most interesting competition.
4. 2023 expectations for Roundnet growth in your country (players base growth, how many new clubs and so on)
Roundnet Netherlands is still young. While a group of enthusiasts have hosted an annual National Championship since 2018, it is only in 2022 that the federation was officially founded.
In 2021 there were 96 teams competing in the Dutch National Championships. We see the number of players growing every day.
Our main expectations for 2023 are that the number of players in the Netherlands will increase and that at least 2 or 3 more clubs will be established this year. We also expect that more and more people will get familiar with the sport (through schools, PE classes and by seeing it in the parks/beaches).
5. Projects at the NGB (e.g. national team, club, individual ranking, pro division etc.)
Our current project is focused on the 2023 Spring/Summer season. We are for the first time hosting tournaments throughout the country, which we call: grand slams. In these grand slams you can earn points for the national (individual) ranking. Beyond that we want to improve the general publics awareness of the sport, by improving our communications. Furthermore we plan to host clinic sessions by famous European Roundnet players for our
community.
Finally we want to see how we can encourage more PE teachers to let their students have a first experience with Roundnet.
6. The big upcoming national and/or international events taking place in your country this year.
The Grand Slams season has started so you can already include all the following dates in your calendar:
- 27 Mai Groningen
- 17 June Amsterdam
7. Any tournaments open for international players forecasted already?
All international players are welcomed to our Grand Slam series. Only the Dutch national championships will not be accessible for international players.
