“Have-a-go-Rio” on the beach at Scheveningen
Not everyone is lucky enough to have a ticket to the Olympic Games in Rio. Yet, if you happen to live in Holland, all you need do during the Games is to jump on a bus or tram and travel to The Hague for a taste of the Olympics on the beach at Scheveningen.
The “Olympic Experience” is a fun day out for all the family offering a great assortment of “have-a-go” sports activities, including golf, all creatively laid-out on the sandy shores near the harbour and all included in the 10 euro entrance fee (5 euros for children).
If you’re not feeling so energetic, you can also simply lie-back and admire the sporting efforts of others in the fan grandstands or in the comfort of a giant beanbag (orange in colour, naturally) or stripy deckchair in the Olympic Village. You never know, you might be inspired by the world’s best athletes in action in Rio on one of the enormous screens under the shadow of the lighthouse at Scheveningen.
Inspirational sport setting by the lighthouse
The summer of 2016 may not be living-up to our expectations in Holland, but then again there has been a lot more wind and rain in Rio de Janeiro than expected, so we shouldn’t complain! If you’re really lucky, as we were today, the weather pundits will forecast bad weather in Holland, so that you’ll have the Olympic Village pretty well to yourself. As it happened, we experienced one cloud burst, no queues, lots of sunshine and plenty of attention from the sporting volunteers. Invigorating sea air, crashing waves, blue skies, sand between your toes…what more could you ask for?
Golf back in the Olympics
The rain we had was timely as it gave us a good excuse to take a cappuccino break. Within an hour of our arrival, we’d already tried out nearly every activity we’d passed. The children were loving it, as were the rather more grown-up ones! With varying degrees of success, we experienced and thoroughly enjoyed judo (first watching – to warm-up, you understand) but then took part in everything else under the sun from a rodeo ride, obstacle races, climbing, long-jump, hockey and a 30-metre sprint against the clock to ‘virtually’ wind-surfing in Rio wearing special glasses!
‘Raak’ hits the mark with the kids
After a picnic lunch we were ready for round two. We skipped the boxing ring (maybe next time!) and headed for the archery, surfing and golf. Golf – now we’re talking! After 112 years golf is back in the Olympic Games this year. Joost Luiten, born in Bleiswijk, just down the road from The Hague, is representing Holland in Rio. He tees-off on the Olympic Golf Course tomorrow (Thursday, 11 August). Not surprising then, that Holland’s number one golfer has helped inspire ‘Raak’, a golf initiative from the Dutch Golf Federation aimed at encouraging youngsters to take up the game.
Have a ball, be a golf ball!
‘Raak’, which means ‘to hit’ or ‘to hit the mark’ in Dutch, is attracting a lot of interest. The Raak Kids Golf Park includes a number of fun games such as bouncing around in giant blown-up golf balls (à la sumo wrestling); a velcro target golf game (à la darts); a hole-in-the-wall golf game as well as more traditional golf – a putting green and the chance to hit real golf shots towards the sea. It was great to see that even on a quiet morning that so many youngsters were busy with golf in some way, shape or form. The secret of its success, I’m sure, is keeping it fun and not too technical. Simply letting the kids experience the feel of swinging the club and hitting the ball under guidance, now that’s a true golf experience!
Near the harbour, at the more peaceful end of Scheveningen where normally only the beach volleyball players and surfers are to be found, just about every sport imaginable is laid-out for the two weeks of the Olympics. There are enough activities to keep you going for a few days! But it’s not just about having-a-go in the Olympic Village, many of the sports are timed and measured with experts at hand to give friendly and enthusiastic advice. You can rate yourself against the Olympians in Brazil too. Take the ‘hamster-in-a-wheel’ sprint race against Dutch golden girl Dafne Schippers, for example. See if you can beat her. The real “Queen of Sprint” is, of course, in Rio this week, but you can gather with the thousands expected in the Olympic Village in Scheveningen (6-21 August) to cheer this world-class wonder of an athlete on to yet another victory along with your other sporting heroes.
By the way, the young ones get a rubber stamp on their Olympic passport for each sporting activity they try which rewards them with a gold medal. Great incentive! The whole Olympic Experience looks set to encourage a whole new generation of athletes and sporting heroes and, who knows, it may well even transform a few couch potatoes!
Wendy Hoad
PICTURED: Kids of all ages enjoying the fun of the Games at the Olympic Experience in The Hague. Main photo: Linde, aged 5, ‘virtually windsurfing in Rio’. © Photography by Golfing Inspirations.