Lancelot

This week we spoke with Niels and Stan from the student squash association Lancelot. An association with a special story: started again with the long-standing name. Out of passion for the sport and the will to share that passion with others, Niels and Stan breathed new life into this dormant association. Meanwhile, the association is flourishing again. In a sustainable way, Niels, Stan and Bram have laid a solid foundation. What's in it for the future? You can read that in the article!

Who are you and what do you do at Lancelot?

"I'm Niels and I'm the president at Lancelot this year. I do what presidents do. Ultimately I try, together with my fellow directors, to steer the association in the right direction."

"I'm Stan and I'm the secretary at Lancelot this year. So I'm mainly involved in a bit of 'community building.' So I'm not only concerned with squash, but also precisely with setting up activities and such besides the court."

"It's not just the two of us. In fact, we also have a treasurer, Bram. So the three of us then form the board of Lancelot!"

What is the basis of Lancelot?

"Lancelot is the university's student squash association. We were founded in 1988, so we have been around for a good 30 years. There have been a number of periods when the association was 'dormant'. No board could be found. That was also the case in the past two years. Since the summer we have picked it up again and are growing again. At the moment we have 40 members. There is room for everyone who likes squash, so beginners and advanced. We have club nights, where we like to play together, but we also have a fanatical competition team. We want to make sure people can meet, so they can play at a desired level."

Stan added, "Because the association was asleep for two years, we had the opportunity to start with a clean slate. We took over the name, but we put our own spin on the association entirely otherwise. Now everything is in place and it's running well!"

How did you get the idea to restart Lancelot?

Niels explains, "Last summer I was looking to play squash with people here. Then I started contacting Lancelot. That was a dormant club at the time so there was no one to contact. Then I asked FOSST what the situation was. They indicated to me that there was no squash association, but they wanted one. They asked me to pick it up. After thinking about that for a while, it seemed like a really fun idea."

"I wanted to take the opportunity to share the passion for squash and to give people a home a place to play squash. I turned to Stan. We wanted to build an organization together. So we didn't just want to offer squash, but we looked at the structure of an organization and community building. We thought that was really cool!"

Stan: "I had never played squash before when I was asked by Niels to join the board. I then tried it once and I was sold. We wanted to build a community coupled with a fun sport. Then Bram - our third board member - joined as treasurer. Together we form a strong board."

"So the cool thing is that we didn't want to play squash at any cost, but we were eager to build an organization that is still going strong in the long-term. It's been a really cool experience for us! We see from the membership growth that it's working and we also hear from members that a lot of initiatives are cool. That gives a lot of energy."

What does an average week look like?

"On Mondays we have the club night. On Wednesdays we have training provided by the sports center. On Fridays we have training with the first team. The last Monday of the month we have a tournament, where people can get a taste of that kind of atmosphere. If you win, you get to immortalize your name on the gold racket."

"In addition, we have several social events throughout the month. Every last Tuesday of the month we have a 'social.' That's just doing drinks, with a theme. Any member may and can join that. Each month we also strive to have another larger activity, such as a bear cantus or a scavenger hunt."

"The contact with other squash clubs outside Tilburg is also very good. We like to visit them for open tournaments. Members of the Lancelot team participate in regional competitions and tournaments organized by student squash associations, squash clubs and the national association."

What do club nights look like?

"Squash and drinking beers! In a certain order, of course. First you play squash and then you socialize with each other. Of course there are die-hards who play a lot with each other, but you can also just watch a game on the side and take it easy. On these evenings we like to add something extra. We often do games and exercises, so that you are on the court with more than one person. This can be done in a safe way. You can learn a lot from each other. There is enough knowledge in the house and that makes it super instructive. We try to make squash as accessible as possible for everyone."

"Fairly recently, for example, we have a new dimension we can add. It's called squash 57. You then get a kind of Beach Ball racket, with a real bouncy ball, which gives you more time to play the ball. This makes the game more accessible."

"Because there are 40 of us, it's very personal, which is very nice. You know everyone by name. So the threshold to challenge each other and to join is very low. For us, 40 members is already quite a lot, because we started with nothing. It has grown so fast in a year. We have 4 squash courts and if we want to grow even more, we have to be creative."

How is the mutual contact among the members?

"Everyone came trickling in one by one. We started with me as the first member, Stan as the second member, and every week someone seemed to join. It seems these new members were looking for a place with like-minded people. They found that with us. As a result, it really feels like one. So we put a lot of effort into making sure everyone feels welcome and comfortable at Lancelot."

Stan adds, "Everyone can determine their own way about how they want to be in the group. Some people go 'all-in' and are there everywhere, some are just at squash or socials. So you can completely decide how you want to be in it. In every way there is a place for you. Our goal is getting better and better because it comes naturally and everyone welcomes each other."

What would you like to see in the future?

"As we grow in membership, we do want to be able to maintain quality. Building more courts is difficult, but it would be nice if we could have multiple club nights. It would be really cool if Lancelot is the place where students go to play squash."

"There are a lot of people who just reserve a court and get going, but the club really has something extra to offer those people. We often hear that people are not sure if they are good enough. In the association, we have members of all levels, from beginner to advanced and everything in between. As a result, everyone can find fun, good playing partners on club nights."

"We are also mostly working on the basics right now. We want to make sure we can pass the baton on nicely. So we want to put everything on paper for our successors."

What does the informal picture look like?

"We are busy thinking of things we can do socially. The priority - considering we just started - is on some basic things and squash. However, the activities committee is already thinking a lot about this."

"The great thing about being so small is that you can listen very carefully to everyone. To what they want. If a big part likes something, we're going to do it. So it's very much action-reaction and co-creation. So we think it's important to listen to the members, but there are always initiatives coming up that we as a board like to share with the members."

How can you become a member of Lancelot?

"You really do have to be a member at the sports center. If you are, we have a club night every Monday. Anyone can come to the club night once and see what it's like. We also have an 'open month' twice a year, where you can come by for a whole month. This is the first month of the new semester."

"You don't necessarily have to join at a certain time. So you can join at any time. You pay €25 for a full year and €15 for half a year. Even with those prices, we wanted to keep it as accessible as possible."

"If you want to know more, you can take a look at our Instagram or the website. Or, if you see someone wearing an orange shirt with 'Lancelot' on it, of course you can also reach out to us!"