According to Lotte Indencleef form the organization there was no other option than to cancel the tournament on Sunday. “We waited for a bit in the morning, but it just kept on raining. A number of teams had already left. Besides, things were simply getting dangerous on the slippery grass. The handful of teams that did go out to play, soon stopped. Fortunately Saturday was a very enjoyable day with lots of sunshine.” In the end, the Dutch Student Championship could only take place in part. Indencleef: “We did hold the qualifying rounds on Saturday, but the final could not be played.” There was no question of moving matches indoors. “Many years ago that was done, but we did not want that. It would have had to involve drawing lots.”

Some participants have taken part in the event for many years. Like the Danish volleyball player Lise Jakobsen from Århus, for whom this year was the 25th time. Between volleyball matches participants could have their bodies adorned with henna-tattoos. At night there were parties featuring the bands Beatsclassics and Boundless and DJ Alex.

Complaints
The sounds of festivities in Laplace square were not appreciated by everybody, for that matter. Ten complaints were received by the university’s Education and Student Service Center (STU) from inhabitants of the nearby space cabins. These inhabitants, mostly foreign students, complained of noise nuisance in the nights from Friday to Saturday and from Saturday to Sunday.

According to the Industrial Assistance and Security service of TU/e it was the first time that there were any complaints about the outdoor tournament. “Which is surprising, considering that it was quieter this year. Then again, last year one block of space cabins, closer to LaPlace square, was not there yet. And the toilet cabins were located quite near the space cabins this year. Maybe we should look into that next year”, says Hay Becks, security team official with BHV.

Sounds of revelry
In the past two months the foreign students were informed several times about the festivities. “The organization of the party and the fire brigade and security services informed the people living in the neighborhood. Student accommodation office Vestide also knew about it”, says Becks. He emphasizes that everything went neatly by the book during the festivities. “The decibels attained remained well below the standard. The music was turned off at 03.00 a.m. and things quieted down fairly soon.” Dr. Karen Ali, head of the STU, concurs. “We monitored things more strictly. The students were told that complaints would be taken seriously and that living on campus was a relatively new thing for us. We shall examine whether we can handle things differently in future.”

According to space cabin inhabitant Honde Koc the festivities did not quiet down until 05.00 a.m. Especially in the second night, just before the examination week started, she did not sleep a wink. “Earlier I had sent an e-mail about it to the STU. They told me that I could go to the library to study. However, the library is closed as of 20.00 hours and I like to study at night. My rhythm was really upset by the party. I don’t mind people having a party here, but try and do it during another weekend. The timing leaves much to be desired.”/.