![[Translate to English:]](/fileadmin/_processed_/5/f/csm_Okawa-zomerkamp-oostenrijk_2a945bafd1.jpg)
- Student
- 04/10/2019
ZES
Each summer, the Eindhoven Student Gliding Club packs up their gear and heads to a beautiful airfield abroad (usually France, Germany or the Czech Republic) where they go out and fly every day. Secretary Niek Morskieft: “As you can see in the aftermovie, our group is special, in particular because the ages of our members vary from roughly zero to eighty. Almost half of our members are former students, that’s because our gliding club needs experienced people such as instructors and glider technicians, and because many people can’t say goodbye to our association.
This year, our summer camp took place in Kammermark, a tiny village in the eastern part of Germany. A day at summer camp starts with sleeping off a hangover after a long evening around the campfire. There isn’t much time for that though, because we start setting up our flying equipment around eight thirty in the morning. We set up the winch, the tractor tows the cables, and the show is ready to start.
From beginners who are about to experience their first flight, to experienced flyers who fly for hundreds of kilometers and stay out for hours. When we get hungry and it’s getting dark, we have dinner together and then relocate to the campfire. The challenge, of course, is to make the fire as large and hot as possible, which gets out of hand more often than not. But it always produces wonderful pictures and stories though.”
![[Translate to English:] Video | Axel Köhler](/fileadmin/_processed_/a/f/csm_Aftermovie_ZES_zomerkamp_2019_-_Kammermark_I_0fd6558e25.png)
Squadra Veloce
Student cycling association Squadra Veloce went to Col de Joux Plane this summer. PR-commissioner Noah van Horen: “During this vacation, a group of Squadrans and some members of Dutch Mountains, the student cycling association of Maastricht, went on a bike trip through the French Alps for a week. The cabin at the foot of the Col de Joux Plane was the perfect starting place for tours with far too much climbing, mountaintops and sweat. We returned to Eindhoven with climbing legs with which Alaphilippe could have won the Tour de France, and now we hope to win every sprint on an overpass.” See the impressive holiday snaps below:
Okawa
Obviously, student canoe association Okawa can often be found abroad. “There, we like to glide down the most beautiful and exciting rivers suitable for canoeing,” says board member Elisa van de Schoot. “Unfortunately, not everyone can always come along, because we give high priority to safety.”
“The spring camp is for the more experienced paddlers. They can then pass on the experience of this four-day camp to new members, that way, our association maintains a high level. This year, the camp took place in the Sesia region in Italy. There are a lot of challenging rivers there with a wildwater classification between 3 and 5 on a scale of increasing difficulty from 1 to 6. The river in the picture is called Gronda. It’s a narrow pool and drop river, which means that the more rapid and difficult passages are followed by longer easy stretches. That’s quite nice because it gives you some time to rest in between the more difficult passages, which take a lot of energy and concentration.”
“The summer camp is really about sharing knowledge. Anyone came come along to this camp, and that’s what makes it so sociable! At night we talk, snack and drink, but we also like to play games, ranging from the ones that really take some thinking, to frisbee and Kubb.
We went to the Ötztal region in Austria for one week this year with a group of twenty-one people. It’s an area with lots of rivers that fill up with meltwater in the summer. As a result of that, there aren’t that many stones, but the water is extra cold. Fortunately, we have special gear that keeps us dry and warm. We go out in two groups and in the evening, we tell each other tall stories about our day. Our camp is easily recognizable by the colored boats, clotheslines for our wet canoe gear, tents, and the relaxed atmosphere in the open air.
This year, we went to the Erft in Germany with new members. This calm river is perfectly suited for going out on the water with a large group of people who have little or no experience with wildwater canoeing. Here you can make mistakes without suffering all too serious consequences. The picture shows a half meter drop that’s perfect for practicing.”
Thêta
This summer, student rowing association Thêta was represented at World Cups and World Championships, but the association also took a trip to Dresden to take part in the Dresden Rowing Cup, which is part of the annual Dresden City Festival. “We send a men’s eight plus cox to the rowing cup in Dresden for two years now,” says coxswain Debbie Walther. “It’s an international competition in which, apart from a number of German clubs, teams from Saint Petersburg, Poland, Coventry and Switzerland take part as well. The competition consists of a qualification round on a rowing machine and a race in the boat on water. The qualification takes place on Saturday. It’s outdoor and in the center of the city, so all the visitors to the Festival can see it. The boat race on Sunday is 6 kilometers long on the river Elbe. Thêta won the race last year. This year, they came in second behind the men’s eight from Zürich. But there’s good news: because the Thêta men’s eight was the favorite after all, they were invited to take part next summer and who knows, the team might bring home a cup again.”
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