Row, row, rowing the boats

Rowing is the ultimate university sport in the Netherlands, with a long and established tradition and numerous classic races, like the eight-kilometre-long ‘Head of the River Amstel’ race in Amsterdam, which was rowed for the 77th time this year. Delft also hosts several major regattas and boasts of two of the Dutch university world’s most competitive rowing clubs in Proteus-Eretes and Laga.
Proteus-Eretes organises the ‘Pinewood University Eights’ in September, and the Peil in May, and Laga, Delft’s second student rowing club, annually hosts the ‘Ringvaart Regatta’, a gruelling rowing marathon covering 100 km.
With more than 500 members, Proteus-Eretes is the largest sports club in Delft, offering its member use of more than 100 boats, an extensive training schedule and a clubhouse where members can have dinner and drinks after a hard day of rowing on the Schie. It’s also the most successful sports club in Delft, having produced several Olympic medallists, including gold and world champions.
In 2002, Gerritjan Eggenkamp, a Proteus-Eretes alumnus, won the famous Oxford vs. Cambridge ‘Boat Race’ as a member of the Oxford team, becoming the first Dutchman to win this, the most famous university rowing race in the world.
New members usually join Proteus-Eretes in late August, after the OWee introduction week, but the club also offers the possibility to join in the spring. While some Proteus-Eretes’ members train six times a week for the big races, most members aren’t that fanatic, training just once or twice a week and enjoying the club’s student society set up for the usual student fun and partying. According to Proteus-Eretes’ secretary, Simon Fibbe, of the club’s 500-plus members, some 50 are international students, with most hailing from mainly European countries like Belgium, Germany, Spain, Hungary and the UK, which isn’t surprising, as rowing is anchored in the European student tradition and largely unknown in the East, where many TU Delft international students come from.
Andreas Lambrinos, one of Proteus-Eretes’ international members, had some rowing experience before joining the club last year. Lambrinos, a Canadian-born Greek, studied architecture in Sheffield (UK). After completing his BSc degree, he worked for three years in an architecture firm in Cambridge, which is where he caught the rowing fever, rowing the Cam River fanatically for two years. Nowadays, Lambrinos is pursuing a MSc degree at TU Delft, but continues to row in his free time.
Proteus-Eretes is “enthusiastic about getting people involved,” Lambrinos says, and this combined with the club’s superior facilities determined his choice to join.
While studying for an MSc doesn’t allow for a strict training schedule like in Cambridge, where Lambrinos rowed every day, he does however manage to find time to train with his 4-man team each week. Asked about the differences between rowing in Delft and in Cambridge, Lambrinos mentions the crowded waterways and tight spaces on the Schie. In fact, during his very first rowing training he managed to capsize his boat, becoming an instant legend within Proteus-Eretes. As for the similarities with rowing in the UK, Lambrinos praises the high standards of coaching and equipment available in Delft.
So what is it about rowing that sets it apart from other sports? Lambrinos believes it’s the sport’s breaking-barriers quality: “Even the English are friendly and cheerful after a rowing match – everyone wants to have a beer with you.” He also says rowers are extroverted people who possess the “fuck it mentality”, while adding that, “in a rowing race you’re dependent on perfect coordination with your team. It’s so intense, tiring and painful, but you can’t give up because your mates are counting on you. And that aspect creates a special bound.”
Last year, Lambrinos participated in the ‘Head of the River Race’ on the Thames, a classic race over 6.8 km, but this year he’s forgoing long distance racing, preferring instead to concentrate on his studies. For international students interested in getting a taste of this, the quintessential student sport, Lambrinos says that shorter races over 500 or 750 meters are within anyone’s reach. “And if you can’t commit fully to the rowing, Proteus has enough events to fill your social agenda,” he adds with a wink.

In de Aula werden vorige week donderdag de eerste twaalf certificaten van de postdoctorale ontwerpersopleiding Consumentenprodukten uitgereikt. Na twee jaar ligt er van elke cursist een veelal geheim bedrijfsrapport en een openbare thesis over het één jaar durende eindproject op tafel. Het beste ontwerpproject werd beloond met de Van Herk Ontwerpprijs.

,,En nu worden deze twaalf apostelen losgelaten op de Nederlandse gemeenschap. Als ze het net zo goed doen als die van tweeduizend jaar geleden ben ik tevreden”, besluit ir. J.M.H. van Engelshoven, president van het KIvI, zijn betoog. Met behulp van een citaat van de president van Boeing (over het belang van life-science bij het ontwerpen van produkten) probeerde Van Engelshoven ‘het heilige vuur’ voor het ontwerpersvak bij de twaalf cursisten nog wat aan te wakkeren.

Sinds 1994 verzorgt het Institute for Advanced Industrial Design Engineering, behorend bij de faculteit Industrieel Ontwerpen, een tweejarige postdoctorale ontwerpersopleiding Consumentenproducten. Deze is bedoeld voor technische ingenieurs die onder meer uitblinken op hun eigen vakgebied. Drie van de eerste cursisten die deze opleiding met succes hebben afgesloten, gaven tijdens de certificaatuitreiking voor een senaatszaal vol met trotse familie en vrienden een korte presentatie van hun project.

Indrukwekkend

,,Kost dat dan nog steeds één gulden vijfentwintig?”, vraagt iemand uit de zaal. Niet het werk van Erik Zeeuwen voor KPN roept veel vragen op, maar het gebruik van de chipcard voor zijn intelligente telefoon. Het is duidelijk de consument die hier de vragen stelt.

Veel minder vragen voor Robert van Riet. De werktuigbouwer ontwikkelde voor de firma Remeha in Apeldoorn evenmin een nieuw speeltje, maar een variant op het in Nederland onmisbare CV-toestel. Remeha had een groot eisenpakket. Het nieuwe product moest behalve voldoen aan de reguliere eisen, dalen in kostprijs en minder ruimte en assemblagetijd in beslag nemen. Bovendien moest het een goed design hebben, volgens Van Riet: ,,Dat is een leuk toestel, daar kijk ik graag naar.”

De resultaten die Van Riet boekte met zijn ontwerp voor een nieuw cv-toestel zijn indrukwekkend. Niet alleen is de prijs 36 procent gedaald, het volume van het toestel is drie keer zo klein geworden en de assemblagetijd neemt nog maar één vijfde van de huidige assemblagetijd in beslag. Inmiddels werkt Van Riet dan ook bij Remeha.

De presentatie van Marc Steen is heel erg ‘IO’: op het geprojecteerde beeldscherm veranderen de themawoorden van het project constant van grootte, vorm en kleur. Steen zat in een multi-mediateam bij Philips om nieuwe toepassingen voor een tv-toestel te bedenken. E-mail via een miniscuul toetsenbordje op de afstandsbediening lijkt echter niet echt handig.

Bij de uitreiking van de certificaten, blijkt dat vrijwel alle cursisten aan de slag kunnen bij het bedrijf waar ze hun eindproject hebben gedaan. Het laatste programmapunt van de avond is aangebroken: wie maakte het beste ontwerp en wint dus de Van Herk Ontwerpprijs ter waarde van vijfduizend gulden? Het ontwerp van Van Riet blijkt het hoogst gescoord te hebben op de criteria: maatschappelijk nut, duurzaamheid en ontwikkeld volgens de systematische werkmethode zoals aan de TU wordt gedoceerd.

Rowing is the ultimate university sport in the Netherlands, with a long and established tradition and numerous classic races, like the eight-kilometre-long ‘Head of the River Amstel’ race in Amsterdam, which was rowed for the 77th time this year. Delft also hosts several major regattas and boasts of two of the Dutch university world’s most competitive rowing clubs in Proteus-Eretes and Laga.
Proteus-Eretes organises the ‘Pinewood University Eights’ in September, and the Peil in May, and Laga, Delft’s second student rowing club, annually hosts the ‘Ringvaart Regatta’, a gruelling rowing marathon covering 100 km.
With more than 500 members, Proteus-Eretes is the largest sports club in Delft, offering its member use of more than 100 boats, an extensive training schedule and a clubhouse where members can have dinner and drinks after a hard day of rowing on the Schie. It’s also the most successful sports club in Delft, having produced several Olympic medallists, including gold and world champions.
In 2002, Gerritjan Eggenkamp, a Proteus-Eretes alumnus, won the famous Oxford vs. Cambridge ‘Boat Race’ as a member of the Oxford team, becoming the first Dutchman to win this, the most famous university rowing race in the world.
New members usually join Proteus-Eretes in late August, after the OWee introduction week, but the club also offers the possibility to join in the spring. While some Proteus-Eretes’ members train six times a week for the big races, most members aren’t that fanatic, training just once or twice a week and enjoying the club’s student society set up for the usual student fun and partying. According to Proteus-Eretes’ secretary, Simon Fibbe, of the club’s 500-plus members, some 50 are international students, with most hailing from mainly European countries like Belgium, Germany, Spain, Hungary and the UK, which isn’t surprising, as rowing is anchored in the European student tradition and largely unknown in the East, where many TU Delft international students come from.
Andreas Lambrinos, one of Proteus-Eretes’ international members, had some rowing experience before joining the club last year. Lambrinos, a Canadian-born Greek, studied architecture in Sheffield (UK). After completing his BSc degree, he worked for three years in an architecture firm in Cambridge, which is where he caught the rowing fever, rowing the Cam River fanatically for two years. Nowadays, Lambrinos is pursuing a MSc degree at TU Delft, but continues to row in his free time.
Proteus-Eretes is “enthusiastic about getting people involved,” Lambrinos says, and this combined with the club’s superior facilities determined his choice to join.
While studying for an MSc doesn’t allow for a strict training schedule like in Cambridge, where Lambrinos rowed every day, he does however manage to find time to train with his 4-man team each week. Asked about the differences between rowing in Delft and in Cambridge, Lambrinos mentions the crowded waterways and tight spaces on the Schie. In fact, during his very first rowing training he managed to capsize his boat, becoming an instant legend within Proteus-Eretes. As for the similarities with rowing in the UK, Lambrinos praises the high standards of coaching and equipment available in Delft.
So what is it about rowing that sets it apart from other sports? Lambrinos believes it’s the sport’s breaking-barriers quality: “Even the English are friendly and cheerful after a rowing match – everyone wants to have a beer with you.” He also says rowers are extroverted people who possess the “fuck it mentality”, while adding that, “in a rowing race you’re dependent on perfect coordination with your team. It’s so intense, tiring and painful, but you can’t give up because your mates are counting on you. And that aspect creates a special bound.”
Last year, Lambrinos participated in the ‘Head of the River Race’ on the Thames, a classic race over 6.8 km, but this year he’s forgoing long distance racing, preferring instead to concentrate on his studies. For international students interested in getting a taste of this, the quintessential student sport, Lambrinos says that shorter races over 500 or 750 meters are within anyone’s reach. “And if you can’t commit fully to the rowing, Proteus has enough events to fill your social agenda,” he adds with a wink.

Those interested in joining Proteus or just eager to experience the rowing world are encouraged to contact the board via info@proteus-eretes.nl. Newcomers are especially welcome during the Spring Introduction, held next month from April 6-9.