Batavierenrace
Encyclopedia
The Batavierenrace is a student
relay race
organized in the Netherlands
each year in April. It is a 185 km race starting off at the Radboud University Nijmegen
in Nijmegen and it takes the up to 8000 participants in 25 stages (17 men's stages and 8 women's stages) through Germany
to the campus
of the University of Twente in Enschede
. It was listed in 2006, in the Guinness World Records
as the relay race with the highest number of participants. On April 24 2010 the 38th edition of the race was held.
Although mainly a Benelux
event, teams from all over the world participate. The start is at the midnight hour on a Friday and ends late in the afternoon of Saturday. All participants wear a slipover, which functions as the baton and also hosts a transponder
that registers the stage times. The stages range between 3–12 km in length, over paved and unpaved terrain. Due to the large amount of participants the start is divided in six groups and there are three restarts along the way, in Ulft
(Dinxperlo
till 2011), Barchem
and in the city centre of Enschede
. As much as it is sports event, it is a social happening, with the athletes and teams ranging from highly trained to those participating "just for the fun of it". Saturday night is host to one of the largest student parties in Europe with over 12000 visitors.
. They were so enthusiastic about this event, that they decided to organise a similar event in the Netherlands
. They chose to follow the route the Batavians
had followed some 50 years BC, descending down the river Rhine: from Nijmegen to Rotterdam
. In 1973 around 600 students participated in the first edition. This is the namesake for the event, but the track was moved in 1974, because organizing an event on the original course proved to pose too many infrastructural and organizational problems. Since 1974 the athletes run from Nijmegen through Germany to the campus of the University of Twente and this course has remained largely unchanged throughout the years. The prize for the winning team is a wooden Swedish horse and refers back to the SOLA-relay.
The race was cancelled in 2001 due to an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease
in the rural area in which the race is organized.
Student
A student is a learner, or someone who attends an educational institution. In some nations, the English term is reserved for those who attend university, while a schoolchild under the age of eighteen is called a pupil in English...
relay race
Relay race
During a relay race, members of a team take turns running, orienteering, swimming, cross-country skiing, biathlon, or ice skating parts of a circuit or performing a certain action. Relay races take the form of professional races and amateur games...
organized in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
each year in April. It is a 185 km race starting off at the Radboud University Nijmegen
Radboud University Nijmegen
Radboud University Nijmegen is a public university with a strong focus on research in Nijmegen, the Netherlands...
in Nijmegen and it takes the up to 8000 participants in 25 stages (17 men's stages and 8 women's stages) through Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
to the campus
Campus
A campus is traditionally the land on which a college or university and related institutional buildings are situated. Usually a campus includes libraries, lecture halls, residence halls and park-like settings...
of the University of Twente in Enschede
Enschede
Enschede , also known as Eanske in the local dialect of Twents, is a municipality and a city in the eastern Netherlands in the province of Overijssel and in the Twente region...
. It was listed in 2006, in the Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...
as the relay race with the highest number of participants. On April 24 2010 the 38th edition of the race was held.
Although mainly a Benelux
Benelux
The Benelux is an economic union in Western Europe comprising three neighbouring countries, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. These countries are located in northwestern Europe between France and Germany...
event, teams from all over the world participate. The start is at the midnight hour on a Friday and ends late in the afternoon of Saturday. All participants wear a slipover, which functions as the baton and also hosts a transponder
Transponder timing
Transponder timing is a technique for measuring performance in sport events. A transponder working on a radio-frequency identification basis is attached to the athlete and emits a unique code that is detected by radio receivers located at the strategic points in an event.Prior to the use of this...
that registers the stage times. The stages range between 3–12 km in length, over paved and unpaved terrain. Due to the large amount of participants the start is divided in six groups and there are three restarts along the way, in Ulft
Ulft
Ulft is a town in Oude IJsselstreek in the Achterhoek province in Gelderland, Netherlands.The town has over 10.700 inhabitants and is the biggest town in Oude IJsselstreek. Until 1 January 2005, Ulft was part of the municipality Gendringen...
(Dinxperlo
Dinxperlo
Dinxperlo is a town and former municipality in the eastern Netherlands , situated directly at the border with Germany. Since 1 January 2005, Dinxperlo is a part of the municipality of Aalten....
till 2011), Barchem
Barchem
Barchem is a village in the Dutch province of Gelderland, located in the municipality Lochem, about 15 km east of the city of Zutphen.Barchem has about 1800 inhabitants....
and in the city centre of Enschede
Enschede
Enschede , also known as Eanske in the local dialect of Twents, is a municipality and a city in the eastern Netherlands in the province of Overijssel and in the Twente region...
. As much as it is sports event, it is a social happening, with the athletes and teams ranging from highly trained to those participating "just for the fun of it". Saturday night is host to one of the largest student parties in Europe with over 12000 visitors.
History
In 1972 a group of students of Nijmegen returned from the SOLA-relay in SwedenSweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. They were so enthusiastic about this event, that they decided to organise a similar event in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. They chose to follow the route the Batavians
Batavians
The Batavi were an ancient Germanic tribe, originally part of the Chatti, reported by Tacitus to have lived around the Rhine delta, in the area that is currently the Netherlands, "an uninhabited district on the extremity of the coast of Gaul, and also of a neighbouring island, surrounded by the...
had followed some 50 years BC, descending down the river Rhine: from Nijmegen to Rotterdam
Rotterdam
Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
. In 1973 around 600 students participated in the first edition. This is the namesake for the event, but the track was moved in 1974, because organizing an event on the original course proved to pose too many infrastructural and organizational problems. Since 1974 the athletes run from Nijmegen through Germany to the campus of the University of Twente and this course has remained largely unchanged throughout the years. The prize for the winning team is a wooden Swedish horse and refers back to the SOLA-relay.
The race was cancelled in 2001 due to an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease
Foot-and-mouth disease
Foot-and-mouth disease or hoof-and-mouth disease is an infectious and sometimes fatal viral disease that affects cloven-hoofed animals, including domestic and wild bovids...
in the rural area in which the race is organized.