These UvA students traveled the world for their sport
Some students come to the Netherlands not primarily to study, but to practice their sport at a high level. How do they combine sports with their studies at the UvA? “If I had to study as much as some of my fellow students, I wouldn’t be able to play squash.”
“I would rather just ride horses if I had the choice,” confesses Communication Studies student Maria-Eleni Tourkomani (18) over the phone. An ambulance drives by in the background. “But studying gives me a more secure future than sports: if you get injured, a career in sports can be over in no time.”
Tourkomani is on her way from the heart of Amsterdam to the stables in Hooge-Mierde, Brabant. Waiting for her there are her two dressage horses Tosca and DJ, whom she brought with her from Greece. The trip to Brabant – one train and two buses – takes her four hours round trip and she makes it three times a week. “I thought it was going to be very tough, but so far it’s going very well.”
At the early age of 12, Tourkomani moved from Greece to the Netherlands for dressage riding, which is “a kind of dancing with the horse.” In Tilburg, she was able to apprentice with a trainer with Olympic experience at Acadamy Bartels. She wants to continue training there during her studies at the UvA. “There are also stables in Amsterdam, but the level of training there is not as high. Plus, the horses in Hooge-Mierde have much more nature around them and I can ride them in the woods.”
Tourkomani is one of 10 international students with top sports status at the UvA. Similarly, Chilean Alexei de Witt Redlich (19) joined the Almeerse field hockey club’s selection through his trainer in Chile. De Witt Redlich says that “since Chile is participating in the World Hockey Championship, there are many Chileans who come to the Netherlands to raise their field hockey level in six months.” He has been playing field hockey in Almere alongside his economics studies at the UvA since September. “I want to spend a year figuring out if playing field hockey and studying in another country is something for me.”
Scott Gillanders (22, psychology) from Ireland also came to Amsterdam for squash. “The Netherlands is not the biggest country in squash, but there are more coaches and more fields than in Ireland. Besides, the squash world works in cycles: now Prague is a hub where a lot of good squash players go, and Amsterdam is also very popular. So it really is the place to be.” As a junior, Gillanders and his two Irish teammates were among the top five best squash players in Europe. “But after you turn 20, most squash players in Dublin start drinking a lot. They still play matches but don’t train. If you stay there, it’s hard to get better.”
Anyone can play field hockey
Once they arrive in the Netherlands, the international students are confronted with the higher level at which the sport is practiced. During the first riding lessons at Acadamy Bartels in Hooge-Mierde, Tourkomani was told, “You don’t even know the basics!” “That quite shocked me, but I didn’t take it too personally because I knew the level in Greece was lower.”
De Witt Redlich, who has been playing field hockey since he was five and whose parents both played for the national team of Chile, also thought that his level was too low for the men’s first selection in Almere when he had just arrived in the Netherlands. “Hockey is played very differently in the Netherlands. The game has much more speed, there are more players, and many more leagues. There’s no one here at the field hockey club who doesn’t know how to play field hockey; everyone can do it.”
For squash, the opposite is true, Gillanders discovered. “In the Netherlands, squash is a business. There are a lot of people who ‘sometimes’ play squash and rent a court for an afternoon. But that does make it less cozy.” Gillanders grew up rough at the squash club in Dublin that his father owns. Beginning at age 13, he helped his father with coaching and did his homework at the bar. “At the club, only members play. Everyone knows each other. In Ireland, it’s like this; either you play squash full time, or you’ve never heard of it. So it took me a while to feel comfortable at a Dutch club that wasn’t just for members.”
Top sports status
Students with top sports status can take longer to study and reschedule exams by mutual agreement. USC’s facilities are free for them. They are also eligible for a certain sum from the profiling fund in case of study delays.
Still, Tourkomani would prefer to train and participate in competitions even more often than is currently possible as a freshman. “For the course I am currently taking, I am only allowed to miss one class in two months. I couldn’t get an exception for that even with the top sports regulation. Even in high school, I could hardly get time off. I thought that would change at university, but it hasn’t yet.”
“What is possible varies by program,” confirms top sports coordinator Marjan Kuiper. “Learning objectives must not be compromised. So an extra exam opportunity, changing study groups, doing an alternative assignment if you miss too many times attendance is possible, but these things must be requested in time through the study advisor.”
Gillanders is not taking advantage of the top sports status that would allow him to get exemptions. “Training 20 hours a week is not feasible at university. The top sports regulation is very bureaucratic, so I won’t look into that until I fail an exam.” Gillanders plans his squash workouts around lectures. “I don’t have a very fixed schedule; if I want to train, I text someone. If I had to study as much as some classmates, I wouldn’t be able to play squash.”
De Witt Redlich just returned from Chile in mid-February where he trained with the national team for a month. Studying abroad didn’t work out for him, so he had to cram hard for a few days to make it to the midterms. “We are preparing for the Pan American Games in April. If we finish first or second there, we can qualify for the Junior World Cup, which we also participated in last year.”
Playing squash full time
Will these students stay in the Netherlands after graduation? Gillanders thinks so; after all, he met his girlfriend here. “But I will probably become a nomad and live in many places.” When Gillanders graduates this summer, he plans to play squash full time for the next two years. “Especially in the beginning, it’s hard to make a living from it, depending on how much you win. But besides that, I have sponsors and you can also make money playing for leagues in Europe, not to mention prize money. And you can start coaching. I already do that at USC and in the Frans Otten stadium.”
Tourkomani also wants to stay in the Netherlands. “The Netherlands and in particular Amsterdam will not only open doors for my career in sports but also for jobs in general.” De Witt Redlich is not yet looking that far ahead. “I doubt whether economics is the right bachelor’s degree for me. So who knows, maybe I’ll try another course of study at the UvA next year and stay another year. If I don’t have my parents’ support for that, I’ll go back.” In terms of field hockey, he does think he can catch up to the Dutch level. “I have improved a lot lately, so I think I can make it here.”
