SUCA is the name of the Eindhoven student gymnastics club. And no, they can all by no means do ‘everything they do on television.’ “Last week we had an open training session, and it is still difficult to persuade people to come to a gymnastics practice. They all think they will have to do three somersaults on the trampoline, in a manner of speaking. The truth is that gymnastics can also be done at an amateur level, and it is just as much fun then”, says Anne Franssens, secretary of SUCA.

SUCA has approximately 25 members, a mixture of foreign and Dutch students. “If you go in for gymnastics in your own country and you are looking for a similar thing, in Eindhoven you automatically end up with SUCA, says Francesca Storti. “That may explain why we have a relatively high proportion of foreign members.” Francesca is from Italy and conducts PhD research at the Department of Biomedical Engineering. “I was glad to see that even as an adult I could still become a member of a gymnastics club.”

The members of SUCA practice twice a week, and apart from that its members can take part in the student gymnastics competition. Anne: “The matches in this competition are organized by cities in turn. This weekend, for instance, thirteen of our members will be going to Rotterdam to take part in the competition.” The fun aspect about gymnastics, Anne thinks, is the combination of an individual sport with the group event. “You practice for yourself, so you don’t need to feel guilty when you skip a practice. On the other hand, you do have the cozy atmosphere of a team sport. We always go to matches as a group and we organize activities. Thus, next week there will be a ‘Black Peter gymnastics practice’. During this session we learn everything that you need to be able to do as Black Peter.” (HB)

SUCA trains at the Student Sports Center on Monday and Thursday nights from 20.00 to 22.00 hours, and is inviting everybody to come and join them for a test practice.