Athletes notice the consequences of the energy crisis: lukewarm beer, no shower and only fry on Saturday

Olympia Haarlem offers accommodation to football players, softball players, baseball players and badminton players. By offering these different sports, Johan Snoeks sees the costs skyrocketing. The chairman is therefore busy making his club more sustainable. “In January we had already received a bill for 12,000 euros in energy costs. That was still below the old rate. If the prices are five times as high, it will really become a headache file.”

Snoeks does not want to use the club reserves yet. That is why drastic measures are being taken. “We can only shower on weekdays between 18.30 and 22.30. As a result, the boiler is no longer fired all day. In the longer term, we are even considering having members pay a shower contribution. We cannot sustain this.”

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Various measures have already been taken to reduce costs. “For the time being, the heating will remain off everywhere. In addition, coffee machines, computers and refrigerators are no longer on 24 hours a day. Furthermore, the fryer is only on on Saturdays and athletes have to wash their uniforms themselves.”

Heaters off

Frans Kramer, founder of VZV from ‘t Veld, is also concerned. “We now pay 14,000 euros per month in energy. That is four times what it used to be and then the stoves are still off.”

VZV is also frantically making cutbacks. Kramer: “Last month the showers were closed and the lighting of the fields was dimmed. We also locked the massage room. This indirectly affects sports performance. The NOC*NSF has stated that a hall must be 17 degrees. In the worst case, we have to lower the temperature to freezing point in the winter. That is unworthy of top sport, but we have no other choice.”

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That is not the only thing VZV has done. “In our sports café, everything is switched off in the kitchen. The bar staff will be baking snacks with an air fryer for the time being. We also only have lukewarm beer. All the refrigerators have been turned off, because it simply doesn’t work anymore.”

legionella

In ice hockey they also notice the consequences of the energy crisis. Jeroen Klappe, chairman of ice hockey club Blue Mountain from Hoorn, says he is in a split. “We don’t have our own hall. That’s why we depend on De Westfries. If they can’t do anything but increase the rent, we have to pass that on to the members. That’s not what you want, but you will have to organize training sessions and matches. keep bidding.”

In De Westfries, the temperature of the ice rises by one degree at night. A saving, but detrimental to the quality of the ice. Klappe also sees negative effects of the energy measures. “In the summer, the boilers of the showers were shut off. They were recently switched on again. Legionella was quickly found in the first week. These are adverse problems associated with these types of measures. Although they are completely understandable.”