Thousands of students pitched their tents at Eindhoven University (TU/e) last Friday for the famous Hajraa grass volleyball tournament. This weekend was all about sports and fun.
“We’re here to party.”
With beer and music playing in the background, the participants quickly got into the mood. “We have to set up the tent first, but I am already looking forward to it,” said a student with a heavy bag. A total of 5,000 students were participating in this year’s tournament. Teams from Belgium, Germany and England, among others, signed up. The participants could all stay overnight on the university grounds, which were turned into one big campsite. “My trainer said you have to participate in this at least once in your life,” said a lady who was inflating her airbed.
A lot of partying
The outdoor tournament is organised every year by E.S.V.V. Hajraa, the student volleyball club affiliated with the TU/e. “It started very small but has since grown into the biggest grass volleyball tournament in the world,” said Nynke den Biggelaar, PR coordinator of the tournament. “It’s mainly about everyone playing volleyball with each other. Just students among each other. That’s always fun”. Before the tournament started, there was a lot of partying. But the participants didn’t have much time to recover from the party: the first matches started at 8.30 on Saturday.
Source: Studio040
Translator: Martijn
