Gepidae

Gepidae is Tilburg's student volleyball association. We spoke to two girls from the board who enthusiastically told us about their association. What immediately became clear is that Gepidae has an incredibly open character. You are welcomed with open arms and it doesn't matter who you are or what you do! You can also make it as crazy as you want within the association. Play volleyball at high, intermediate or beginner level, become active in committees, encourage other teams along the lines, join in all the get-togethers or a combination of all that. Clearly, there is a place for everyone, and there is plenty to do. Curious? Read more below.

Who are you and what do you do within Gepidae ?

"I am Liza and I am currently the secretary at Gepidae, so I am responsible for membership administration and such. I myself am now playing in Ladies 4 for the third year!"

"I'm Naomi and I'm currently the PR officer at Gepidae and so am responsible for promotions, website, external relations and social media. This is my second year at Gepidae, but unfortunately due to an injury I can't play myself."

What is Gepidae?

Liza and Naomi enthusiastically tell: "The most fun student sports association in Tilburg!"

"We have activities and parties, but also really serious competition. You can play volleyball with us at a good level, but also for fun or as a beginner who has never played volleyball before. So we really have a good range of all types of volleyball and the super fun of student life alongside it."

"You can choose to play volleyball alone, do activities alone and everything in between. We also have the beach volleyball training sessions. So if you don't like the regular volleyball, but rather the beach volleyball, that's also there. We have a total of 339 members, which makes us - if all goes well - the third largest sports association in Tilburg."

How are the teams put together?

"We have a total of six men's teams. Among the ladies, we have 15 teams. So the vast majority are women's teams. Here then are differences between teams playing at a high national level and at a recreational level. We also have two beginner teams in the ladies, which do not play matches."

Where do you play volleyball and where do you drink the beers?

Naomi tells us: "The home matches of the national league and the training sessions of all the teams are actually all at the university sports centre. The away games, of course, can be anywhere. All recreational league matches are at T-kwadraat. Finally, get-togethers often, but not always, take place at the O'Café in the sports centre.

What are events you organise?

"Basically, we have the gala every year. We have a Gepidae weekend, where we go away for a weekend with anyone who wants to. We organise the Gepidae Open and a Beach Open, which is a big tournament where teams from outside Tilburg can also participate. And there is an opening weekend. So there is plenty to do throughout the year!"

"There are also smaller events within our association, such as beer biking, cantuses and things like that. We also try as much as possible to encourage teams to encourage each other and have contact with each other. Fortunately, that works out very well."

What are the highlights in a year?

"A big highlight are the cycling dinners. On this evening, you are a duo with someone and eat a starter, main or dessert somewhere else. Of course, this includes the necessary drinks. Former members often come back to Tilburg for this. In addition, Gepidae Open is always a great success, because lots of different teams from outside Tilburg come here. It's a tournament, with a very big party."

What typifies an average member?

Liza says: "What I really like is that literally everyone is welcome. I really experienced that from the start. It doesn't matter what you study, how big or small you are, how young or old you are. You are always welcome and everyone likes you to join. You are pulled along pretty quickly from the start, everyone is open to new people and very happy when new people join."

What are the self-development opportunities?

"In total, we have 19 committees. Many of them are activities committees, but some committees do focus on other things. It's really just very diverse and we have a committee for almost everything. Some committees take little time and some a bit more. You can choose how much time you want to spend on it. So there is enough for everyone to develop themselves."

What are traditions within the association?

"We have one anyway," the girls are quick to tell us. "That's adtje shoe. If you spill beer, you have to do an adtje shoe. This rule really always applies. It doesn't matter where you are. It really is a standard."

Naomi outlines an example: "It really is everywhere. We were just sitting with some people in the sunshine in the park yesterday. Even there it was being done and we weren't even in a Gepidae 'setting'."

If you had unlimited resources, what would you do?

"Get a lot bigger! We currently have a waiting list and we are so bummed about that. Ideally, we would have unlimited hall space, allowing everyone to train as often as they want. So room space is now a limiting factor. We want everyone to be able to do their thing as much as possible and we need more hall space for that," Naomi tells us.

"Some teams want to train more. They can't do that now and that's unfortunate, but on the other hand it's no different. So if we would have unlimited resources, we really want to address that," adds Liza.

Want to know more about Gepidae? Then take a look at the site!