People from Volendam are in an uproar now that they can smell the Eredivisie, but an age-old tradition may come to an end: the Back-and-forth over the dike. It is still unclear what the promotion party will look like. Resident Nick Doevendans writes a letter to mayor Lieke Sievers and asks him to consider his reservations. “If a Volendammer has something to celebrate, he or she will do it on the dike.”
Thanks to 3-1 victory over Young Ajax there is a chance that FC Volendam can already be promoted to the highest level on Friday. When promoted to the Eredivisie, the players are driven over the dike in a barge on wheels. The barge with the name ‘Heen-en-Weer’, (the club has been promoted and relegated more often, hence the name Heen-en-Weer) is probably not running.
The municipality had previously indicated that the ‘Return and Return’ across the dike would be too dangerous. Due to the massive influx of cheering football supporters and Volendammers, it would become too busy.
The last time Volendam became champion and thus promoted was in 2008 and it looked like this. Text continues below video.
Also the Noordhollands Dagblad writes that the tradition is coming to an end. Volendammer Nick Doevendans asks Mayor Sievers to consider approving the Volendammer tradition after all.
Doevendans writes in his letter to the mayor: “In the context of safety, you want to kill the promotional party. It may sound very exaggerated, but with the disappearance of the Back and forth over the dike, you are doing away with an important element in this tradition.”
“However, we can go too far in safety and it is sometimes better that we make decisions with the heart. Life is full of risks. With good weather it is always busy on the dike, so there is always a risk that something will happen.” So, given the risk, will we soon be closing the dyke to the public for good?” asks the Volendammer in his letter.
“You now want to put a stop to this. This makes you stand directly opposite the Volendammer, while you should be standing next to your citizens. If we are to believe the plan of Jonk (football coach), this will also be the last time we will see the Back & Weather, because after the promotion the goal is to become a stable middle engine in the Eredivisie…” The letter to mayor Sievers is widely shared.
Tribute in two places
FC Volendam director Richard de Weijze says in a comment that FC Volendam would like to want to party in both places† “We are working on a number of scenarios. We would like to end up in the stadium. Ultimately it has to be a combination,” said De Weijze. The club is still discussing this with the municipality.
In the event of a promotion, the club would like to celebrate a party on both the Volendamse Dijk and in its own stadium. The ceremony will take place on Sunday 8 May.
Mayor Lieke Sievers has not yet responded to Nick Doevendans’ letter.