When hearing the name ‘Singleloop’, Bredanaren might expect back numbers and sports drinks to see. But this course is not about running, but twinkling eyes, butterflies in the abdomen and a healthy curiosity in the other. Twenty bachelors, or singles, gathered in the park on Thursday evening to look for love.
The Singleloop is not an average dating event. This is not about swiping or speed dating, but about walking. Simple and smart. You get a position, choose between answer A or B, and then walk with the people who gave the same answer a certain route. “This is how conversations arise,” says Ilse Jespers from Matchmakers Brabant who organizes the loop. “And hopefully a bit more.”
Enthusiastic women, shy men
And that works, because where in the beginning the participants still shuffle a little uncomfortably in place, something really gets going while walking. One of the participants has come to Breda especially a day before, because she thinks it is a wonderful way to meet new people. “I don’t expect anything from it, but you never know. You just have to get rid of that couch. Then the rest will come naturally.”
The questions are light, but sometimes say something about someone. Do you like cooking? Then that way. Prefer to eat out? The other way. And so the group splits again and again. Along the way conversations arise, sometimes about the question, sometimes about life. What is disappointing is the rise of the number of men (six of the twenty participants). “Women are a bit cooler,” she laughs. “They dare to do this earlier and I think it needs more,” says the participant. In the background, people on terrace chairs are watching amused. Some even bet who ends with whom. “They enjoy it the most,” she laughs.
More and more bachelors
Previous editions of the Singleloop have yielded relationships, according to Ilse. “There is really need for things like this,” the organizer explains. “More and more people are single and then you still want someone to share joys and sorrows. This is a fun way to meet people offline too.
According to figures from the CBS, the number of bachelors indeed increases. It is expected that no less than a quarter of the Dutch people will be single in 2047. Why is that, is busy about speculated Thursday evening: “People now consciously consciously opt for freedom, or want to stay alone for longer and find it more difficult to find someone at a later age,” one of the male participants thinks.
A woman thinks it is different: “We used to need each other more; women didn’t work and were more dependent on the man. Getting children was a lot more obvious. Now women can only lead a fun and independent life, so a relationship should really be fun. No obligation, but a supplement, and then we might become a little too picky?”
Keep hope
After walking the last round it is time for drinks. The atmosphere is looser, the conversations are easier. Because there were not so many male participants, it is not a successful evening for everyone. But there are also participants who may not have to go home alone. One of the men already has someone in mind. “You can see pretty quickly whether someone is your type,” he chuckles. “And I think that is going in between.”