On Friday the renovated and extended TU Eindhoven student sports centre had its official opening. Its 12,500 square metres make the TU/e-student sport centre (SSCE) the biggest in all of The Netherlands.
The renovation was necessary, because the sports centre was getting too small for its over 14,000 members. Now SSCE can expand to accomodate some 18,000 members. Rower Sander de Graaf, member of the Holland Eight that won a silver medal at the Paris Olympics performed the opening.
Especially the fitness area, formerly three separate spaces, needed to be expanded because it was being used so much more. It now has twice as many square metres. Moreover, the three former fitness areas have been converted into a modern hall for group sessions and a studio for cycling and poledancing fitness.
Other additions are a Body&Mind Studio, four new dressing rooms and a new dojo for martial arts. Apart from these massive extensions, the climate installations have also been replaced.
Sportcafé
The new Student Sports Café is 400 square metres and has a professional kitchen. What’s more, everyone has access, even without a sports pass. A conscious choice, for this makes it a place for social encounters where students and staff can arrange to meet.
As a student, you can develop yourself, meet people, and make friends and join clubs and societies. “Playing sports, for example, promotes the integration of internationals”, says director Wim Koch, who emphasises that no fewer than 60 per cent of the students at the university have a sports pass.
Physical and mental health
Oympic medallist De Graaf expressed his appreciation for the sports centre and the TU/e in his speech. “I want to thank them, because I could achieve what I did only because the society took me in, because the sports centre helped me to get to a higher level, and because the university accomodated me. This enabled me to combine a career in high performance sports with a master in civil engineering”.
