More and more sports and hobby clubs are talking about the water. In Haarlem, the need is really high at about five sports clubs due to the sky-high energy prices. Sports alderman Eva de Raadt recently reported this during a city council meeting. Although Sports Association Olympia also suffers from high energy and gas costs, chairman Martijn Hulsebosch does not want to increase the contribution. “In a neighborhood like this, the crisis hits people’s pockets first.”
The winter break ensures that associations can take a breather, but after the Christmas holidays the field lighting must be switched on again and canteens and changing rooms will have to be heated again. Sports association Olympia has already made a lot of sustainability at the club on its own feet, but that does not mean that they have not noticed the rising energy and gas prices. “The central heating does not run on solar panels, it runs on gas,” says Martijn Hulsebosch.
The field lighting is also LED, but the club still has to make ends meet. “Previously, a field could be lit for 5 euros for a training session of 45 minutes, but nowadays that easily costs 20 euros.”
They are therefore in the danger zone together with many other Haarlem sports clubs. For privacy reasons, the municipality does not want to announce which clubs these are. Many associations will receive the new energy rates this month and that is a ‘butt pinch’, says Martijn. “No one has budgeted for energy prices to rise to such an extreme level, we may be able to manage that for a few months through reserves, but there is not enough to absorb this permanently,” said the chairman.
We may have been able to withstand rising energy prices for a few months through reserves, but there is not enough to absorb this permanently.”
Hulsebosch keeps itself informed on a daily basis about news about the energy crisis and subsidy schemes. “In the Netherlands there are many ways to get money through subsidies, but then you have to have the right information.” Many applications take a lot of time and are very complicated. A bitter pill for volunteers, the chairman sees. Because not everyone has the right knowledge to deal with such schemes.
Help from the municipality
It is now known that the municipality of Haarlem wants to support social organizations in various ways. For example, the municipality wants to offer the associations that rent locations from the municipality deferment of the rent payment. The planned sustainability plans for these locations are ‘pulled forward’ in the agenda and have been assigned to a contractor, the municipality reports to NH Nieuws.
In addition, money has been released from the government, which will be distributed on a custom basis. This also depends on new energy tariffs, which many clubs are now receiving. Additional costs will therefore be announced in January. The municipality also offers assistance with applying for subsidies. In addition, associations can request an energy coach, who can advise them on costs and more efficient and sustainable use of energy.