It seems as if the TT campsite moved to Nijeveen on Saturday morning. Caravans and campers are the intermediate Boerslanden along sports complex. On the main field, six hundred people are mixed up in special drains. Most have a can with an alcoholic snack in their hand. Music pops out of the boxes.
Yet this is not a TT camping, but the playing field of the Dutch Kubb Championship. This has been organized in Nijeveen since 2004 and is extremely popular.
“95 teams from all over the country,” organizer Henny Sondervan proudly says.
KUBB is an offside and is played by many a campsite goer. It’s all about strategy and precision. “Two teams compete against each other, where the goal is to overthrow the wooden blocks of your opponent. The last one must be thrown over in the middle. The team that does that first wins,” explains Sondervan.
The 95 teams are enormously fanatic. “We even trained in advance,” says a young man from Nijeveen. “Or it helps I wonder,” laughs his friend.
To distinguish yourself from all those hundreds of participants, you must stand out. The most special drains can be seen: from kings to girls with danger ribbons wrapped around them. ‘Beware of flying Kubbs’ can be read on their T-shirt.
Sondervan walks around all day to see if everything is going well. He is proud of the popular event. “It’s a really official NK,” he shines. Whether the sport also has potential to become Olympic? “I don’t know. If the sport gets so big then we have to put down complete beer tanks; otherwise they won’t come,” he laughs.
Beer is important, but the famous Kubb bowl too. After tonight it is announced which team will run out this year.