Sport Knowhow XL news (in English)

• The physical and mental health of 32 (former) elite athletes | 08-06-2021

  As a elite athlete, how do you cope with change, what can you do when things don’t go like you expected and hoped? What is the secret to success? And how do you transition to a life after a professional sports career? Margriet de Schutter recorded the stories of 32 active and retired professional athletes.

• Verhaeren continues to take care of athletes but not in NOC*NSF’s employment | 13-05-2021

  After seven very successful but very intensive years working as Australia’s national swimming coach, Jacco Verhaeren returned to the Netherlands in September 2020. Soon his name was floating around as Maurits Hendriks’ ideal successor as technical director of NOC*NSF. But at this point in time he does not aspire to that job, Jacco told Sport Knowhow XL.

• Table Tennis Association keen to expand range for members and ping pong players | 01-02-2021

  The Dutch Table Tennis Association (NTTB) is undergoing a process of change. The association is not only keen to activate and bind the many ping pong players but also wants to enhance its range on offer to members. ‘We have to make sure that our range is more flexible’, says Marthijn van der Wal, the NTTB’s head of sports participation and association development.

• American Anti-Doping Act: Overshooting the mark?! | 11-12-2020

  The United States recently adopted the Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act. Is the Rodchenkov Act really a step forward in the fight against doping?

• UV-C-light helps create virus-free environment in gyms | 22-10-2020

  The town of Bloemendaal could be the first to house a Covid-19 secure gym, thanks to innovative technology. Crucial is the installation of UV-C lighting. ‘This light kills the DNA and RNA of bacteria and viruses’, explains Alain Timmers who claims to be the first certified UV-C lighting installer in the Netherlands.

• Support for community-related activities in football | 24-09-2020

  With a solid policy on social responsibility football clubs, competitions and unions not only impact society, but their own organisations as well. This is the message that the European Football Development Network would like to convey to an increasing number of parties in football. In the Netherlands, former trainer Robert Maaskant plays an important part.

• Colourful pitches, white benches | 16-09-2020

  While pitches are colourful, benches are still white, and that goes for almost all sports. Jacco van Sterkenburg has been studying racism in sports for almost twenty years. Recently, he and several international colleagues published a book on the phenomenon: ‘Race’, Ethnicity and Racism in Sports Coaching.

• Patented fitness system is COVID-proof and weatherproof | 16-09-2020

  Fitness entrepreneur Patrick Wolfs spent months negotiating the Benelux rights for StreetBarbell. ‘The patent concerns the weight plate system. It is unique, as it creates variable resistance. Moreover, StreetBarbell is the only professional solution worldwide for gym-quality outdoor fitness.’

• Dutch researcher working on the ideal running shoe in the North of England | 04-09-2020

  Sports shoe developer Bodil Oudshoorn earned a doctorate degree from the Centre for Sports Engineering Research at Sheffield Hallam University in 2018, with her study on the safety of rugby shoes. Today she works for a British company developing running shoes.

• Rugby Nederland continues on successful path | 27-08-2020

  Slagvaardig Organiseren van Sport is the name of a project that should help smaller and medium-sized sports federations become more responsive and better equipped to anticipate changes in society. How did the sports federations experience the scheme? Today you can read about the change process of the Dutch Rugby Federation.