PVI Activities 2024

Photoalbum

The PVI had interest to organise a Golf clinic for its members when it was discovered that the UT Kring had already scheduled such clinic. Thus PVI members were advised and supported to participate in the UT Kring activity.

The Golf clinic took place in 2 sessions, on 10th and 12th of May at the Golfclub Driene in Hengelo. It was a beautiful day, and we were thus lucky with the weather, although a bit warm.

We started with a drink after which a golf coach joined us and took us to the Driving Range. This is where you practice hitting the golf ball from the tee and with guidance from the coach.

After another refreshment, needed as it was warm that day, we were split up into small teams and we played a game of golf on the short-track that has 4 holes.

Playing the 4 holes with groups of 3 persons, which is harder than one thinks, especially if one of the holes has a small lake in the middle of the playing field.

The afternoon ended with some snacks and drinks.

With more than 170 registrations for the annual ITC Sports Day we were looking forward to a wonderful afternoon with lots of excitement. After the artificial soccer field and the sports café our domicile in 2024 was the hockey field and the Boortoren, the clubhouse of the Hockey club which is actually an old drilling tower from the salt mining industry in the region. The weather forecast was not bad, at least it would not get as hot as in 2023.

Most registrants registered for the famous BBQ and were invited to participate team competitions like Volleyball, Football and Jeu de Boules and also could participate in a demonstration sport Box cricket. On a more individual basis anyone could attempt a 40-meter sprint with electronic timing, a 1 mile run, back to school games like KUBB or sack throwing. The field and surrounding looked like an ant’s nests with young and old running and jumping around while spectators and supporters were having their drinks at the terrace of the clubhouse. Not only the physical activities drained the energy of the athletes, also the strong wind had an influence. That wind also caused balls flying much further than expected or intended and often the 40m sprinters had to avoid running into a football or cricket ball. In total 69 attempts were registered on the 40 m sprint and the organisers could schedule 4 finals.

A photoalbum is available.

Volleyball

In the volleyball competitions initially 4 teams registered but since 3 showed up the competition was modified and all teams played each other 2 times. This caused some interesting results because the Indigenous Trying to Concur (ITC) were not the best after the first round, but qualified for the final and claimed the title. This was all done with increasingly loud support by the team itself.

1. Indigenous Trying to Conquer
2. Serv-ivors
3. Volleybrawlers

Football

Football had a similar problem of teams not being complete at the official start of the competition. The coordinator was however strict and decided teams to start even if their team was not complete. So some matches were played with 2 against 5. According to the coordinator sometimes the team of 2 played better than with 5. Despite instructions that it was a non-contact competition there were sometimes harsh battles with an occasional contact. One red card was shown (we will not disclose the name though). The 5 teams in competition played some tough battles and in the end it was Kilimanjaro who won the 2024 title.

1. Kilimanjaro
2. Kungfu Football
3. Office & Friends
4. Team Abdul
5. Team Kwasi

Jeu de Boules

The Jeu de Boules competitions was organized under strict coordination of professional Boulers on the grass in front of the Boortoren. Despite the potential problem of uneven terrain, poorly cut grass, wind or other physical or social conditions CCC once again claimed the title. In his last ITC Sports Day participation as staff member, Roelof teamed up with Roland to win all 3 matches. In addition to the cup he also received two of his favorit Twentse Lummels (look it up with Google). The team “Les Petanqueurs”, composed of Mark and Brussel had to switch occasionally from being participants to BHV to assist a twisted ankle or painful knee. Despite these interruptions they regained their concentration to finish second before the ad hoc team Geo Geniuses. Kim couldn’t play with her favorite partner Eddy. Job tried his best in their team called Back to Groothuis, but nevertheless they finished 4^th.

1. CCC
2. Les Petanqueurs
3. Geo Geniuses
4. Back to Groothuis

Box cricket

Despite the regulation that box cricket can be played in a relatively small area, the ball was sometimes hit hard and high to fly over all other sports or into the bushes behind the wicket. It was clear that many of the ITC students from the Asian region where they play cricket could throw the ball and hit the ball full speed. For the occasion a tennis ball was tapered to make it less bouncy and harder.

Back to school games

SAB representatives brought some back-to-school games like sack throwing and KUBB. Students but especially children from staff were quite happy to have these games alongside the sports area. It gave them a moment in between 40 meter sprints.

40 meter sprint

Especially the children on and around took their chances and ran not just once or twice but some even 9 times the 40 meter. Even though it was clear that after 3-4 runs you would hardly be able to set your best time. There was only one exception: Milou Frenken ran her best time in her 7^th attempt. At the end of the afternoon 3 finals were scheduled since only Neele was present for the girls final. After a convincing comment that she would always win because she was the only girl, she accepted to run In the boys final against her two older brothers. And what a final that was. The 8-year-old Neele pushed her 13-year-old brother Tim to the limits and crossed the finish line first. The female final was won by Aleid, who also played football, just before Ying and Paula. Since the finish was close, a video referee decision was required. The men’s final required some adaptation because one of the qualifiers was limping around with cramp. Despite the change it should be a thrilling final because the fastest qualifier (Felix 5.56) and number 6 (Wan 5.69s) were only 0.13 seconds apart. Felix and Xu indeed battled 40 meters to decide who would succeed John Ifejube: Felix.

BBQ & 1 Mile

When the queue for the BBQ was forming, there were still some enthusiasts ready to run 3 rounds around the sports area for ht e 1mile. Just second before the start dad Dennis decided to accompany his family who completely registered. Thus the group of runners was composed of Paula and Laura and the family Penning de Vries/Gütenscheid (Marloes, Neele, Tim, Nils and Dennis). Even without a glorious win they would have been elected ITC Family of the year (although dad decided to run away from his pack while mom supported the youngsters). Dennis won the overall and male competition (being the only male had an advantage) in 5min44. Paula and Laura initially fought a tough battle but Paula then started cruising away from Laura finishing the 1 mile in 6min05.

Next year we’ll implement the rule that all 1-mile runners can immediately go in front of the queue ;-)

At the end all participants were asked to put their hands together once again for all the volunteers who made this wonderful event possible.

The Mexican cooking workshop was also a great success, lots of food delicious food were made. Our cooking instructors were Alma and her husband. Participants made diverse dishes and worked very well together. After cooking we enjoyed the Mexican buffet. It was a very warm day, with also some spicy food. All in all we highly recommend you order catering or schedule a cooking workshop with Alma.

Photo album (for the full (smell and taste) experience you should have participated)

This year we also organized the Sinterklaas celebration together with the UT Kring.

Ellen and Isabel from the PVI were involved. This year it was more streamlined than last year.  Nice! The tasks were clear and well divided.

Isabel helped with wrapping the gifts (great success!) and was partly present at the preliminary discussions. Ellen attended the preliminary discussions and helped on the day itself. She has also made videos and photos.

The children enjoyed a musical performance in the Vrijhof, provided by the Euphonia music association, and they received a gift bag. In addition, there were treats for everyone, big and small.

This year we organized the Christmas market to Essen in collaboration with the ITC student association ORBIT (formerly SAB).

The Christmas market took place on Saturday 7^th December. For the students to be able to join we organized the market to be on a Saturday instead of our usual Friday.  

We were happy that the interest to go to the Christmas market was amazing and we filled the bus with 48 participants.
The city of Essen gave us some great Christmas market stalls, combined with a great city visiting experience.  The Christmas market stalls gave plenty of shopping and drink/eat options, opportunities to try those typical Christmas products and traditions you would like to experience at a German Christmas market.

We hope to see everyone again for next year’s trip, this time in ….? Suggestions as always are welcome!

Again in in 2025, PVI organised an End-of-the-Year activity for former staff members. As per tradition, we started with a warm welcome with coffee and “krentenwegge”. Around 20 people gathered in the “Lounge” in the Langezijds buildling, and many of their former colleagues used the option to meet and mingle, making for a lively meeting.

Yuri Engelhardt then gave a presentation about the UT climate centre: Its mission is to empower students, staff, and society to maximize their impact on the world's climate challenges. ITC staff is heavily involved in the centre, such as Cheryl de Boer (director) and the speaker, Yuri Engelhardt. They are committed to a transdisciplinary approach in research and education, impact, community, and communication. The main objectives are to empower students to contribute effectively towards the climate crisis, organize climate-themed strategic education options, and collectively address climate mitigation and adaptation challenges through a GeoTechnoSocial approach in both research and education. More information can be found here: https://www.utwente.nl/en/sustainability/climate-centre/