Although Antoon Janssen of the Eindhoven Student Sports Federation (ESSF) didn’t participate in the event himself, he was in Nijmegen the whole weekend to support the Eindhoven athletes. He speaks of a great atmosphere, few injuries, and some bad luck. “We made it to seven finals, but failed to win most of them. From the top of my head I think the male soccer team did win. Women’s and men’s handball and volleyball came in second, and the women’s water polo lost the final, too. In total, we were on the stand ten times. Overall, Eindhoven reached third place.

Host city Nijmegen won this year’s edition of the GNSK. Utrecht came in second with a slightly higher score than Eindhoven.

For the nineteen sports events, Eindhoven delegated eighteen teams. There weren’t enough female athletes from to form a women’s basketball team. Janssen praises the sportsmanship at the event. “You have to realize these are semiprofessional athletes. There were few discussions and during the party afterwards teams had relaxed discussion about their games.”

Thijs Haenen traveled to Nijmegen as team leader of cycling club Squadra Veloce. Because one of his men’s bikes was faulty, he had a chance to shine himself. “It was my first race ever and I came in sixth. As fate would have it I brought my bike and gear.” The club’s chairman is proud of his teams’ performances. His women’s team was fourth, and the men climbed the stage to receive their third-place medal. “We did the best we could, but no one could beat Nijmegen and Utrecht.”

Next year, the GNSK will be held in Tilburg.