First you have to wait in line before you can enter, then it’s time to change into your sports gear together with many others, next up is a group lesson in a crowded space, and finally it’s time to hit the rather poor showers. This is perhaps a somewhat negative take on the facilities in the Student Sports Centre, which many students and staff members gratefully make use of each day - but the fact is that the building is in urgent need of renovation and that it is slowly bursting at the seams. Especially during lunch break and evening hours, when your legs are practically sticking out the window.

Meeting place

“We’ve really reached the limit of our capacity,” says Wim Koch, referring to the almost fourteen thousand sports cardholders currently registered at the sports centre. So far, the situation is manageable with regards to the sports TU/e was forced to locate elsewhere - the sports centre rents a few sports halls from the municipality for the amateur volleyball league -, but if it were up to the managing director, no more sports will follow. “We aren’t just a sports centre, but a meeting place as well. We are located in the heart of the campus and we’re easy to reach for cardholders from both Fontys and TU/e. That social function would get lost if we were to offer sporting activities at locations spread across the city.”

Koch has been lobbying for adjustments to the building for years, until the decision was finally made last year: the university council agreed to make money available. Now, one year later, the program with requirements for the rebuilding and renovation is finished. It states, among other things, that the fitness space needs to be extended and that room needs to be made for extra accommodation for group lessons, which will free up hours for sports that take place in large halls, such as basketball and volleyball.

The lockers will also be improved, as will the sanitary facilities, or to be precise: the toilets and the changing rooms. Wim Koch: “Some internationals feel the need to shower and change separately. We’re not going to turn things upside down, but it does involve an increasing number of people whose wishes we want to take into account.”

In addition, the entrance and the catering section will be enlarged, and there will be room for more and better office spaces. “In the current situation, there’s a regular shortage of workplaces and meeting rooms. We will design certain spaces in such a way that they can be used for multiple purposes.”

Future-proof

Koch expects that the eleven million euro’s that have been set aside will be enough to realize the most necessary renovations and extensions. He would, however, like a higher amount to make the building more future-proof and deal with dated equipment. “I understand that the money TU/e spends should go to education first of all, but this at least gives us the opportunity to make some significant changes.”

Next year will be devoted to working out the final design - and several involved parties (ranging from the building’s users to Real Estate Management personnel, for instance) are welcome to have a look at it in the meantime. A tender will be issued in that period as well.

When you ask Wim Koch what the Student Sports Centre stands for, he gives a clear answer: “We’re not just here for sport, but above all for social bonding and making people feel more energetic.” These goals were initiated and pursued by himself to a large extent since his appointment as managing director in 2006.

The former volleyball player has been working at the Student Sports Centre since 1985, when he joined the sports center as an employee. He had already obtained a degree from the Academy for Physical Education. Koch played volleyball at the highest level. He played a hundred and thirty games for the Dutch national team and later became assistant national coach of the men’s team during the Sydney Olympics in 2000.

Working with students

In 2006, Koch had to make a decision: continue with volleyball on the highest level, or become managing director of the Student Sports Centre. He chose the latter, with great conviction. Enthusiastically: “I never regretted that choice, not once. Working with our students is still my main motivation. It gives me so much energy, to see the enthusiasm in these young people. I’ve heard some ideas a hundred times before already, but that doesn’t matter. Sometimes you see students who were rather shy when they first walked in here, turn into great chairpersons within a few months. I suppose that’s the teacher in me who wants people to develop themselves. It’s in my blood.”

Since his appointment, Koch wanted to make the Student Sports Centre grow, for instance by sharing expertise. “About ten years ago, the sports centre primarily offered a selection of sports, to which campus-wide activities related to vitality and community building were later added. We have the knowledge and skills, and I believe we should share it with the entire campus. Isn’t it strange that we can help reduce stress and social isolation but don’t act on it? One of the things we did, together with Education and Student Affairs, was ask students who were feeling out of sorts to join our group lessons. The result was that their work motivation improved and that they made more friends. We’re about to look for ways, in collaboration with TU/e researchers, to get employees to exercise more often.”

With the arrival of the first students in 1957, there was an instant need to practice sports. A few members of the Eindhoven Student Corps founded the first sports association: the Eindhoven Student Corps Volleyball Association. Other associations followed, such as Student Rowing Association Tachos in 1960. Moreover, students were soon able to follow all kinds of sports classes throughout the city. The sports complex on the campus ground opened its doors in 1967 and from that moment on, the Higher School of Technology Eindhoven had several sports halls, an outdoors field, five tennis courts, a canteen, changing and shower rooms, and offices. A second hall was added in 1980 and a third one in 1996. The swimming pool followed in 2001. In 2006, three squash courts and a new fitness area were built. Improvements were made in recent years as well, such as the renovation of the canteen.

(Source: De kleine TU/e-encyclopedie)