Amsterdam’s youngest and oldest volunteers

How did you get involved in rowing?
Nathan: I played football like my brother, but I wasn’t really good at it. When I was looking for an alternative, I tried canoeing and later rowing, which turned out to be my sport. I started rowing when I was 9 years (almost 10), and I row in different junior boats. It is good fun.
Arvid: I used to row as a schoolboy and student in the Netherlands. After living in Sweden for a long time without touching an oar (playing ice hockey), I came back and have been active in rowing in all kind of ways from 1973 up to now. I row 5 times a week in different teams, mostly in the double with my 79-year-old friend.

You both train quite a lot considering your age: what do you want to achieve in rowing?
Nathan: I really want to row at a championship like this when I am older. I don’t have much time now to see the races, but when I was working as a timer at the 500m mark earlier today I really looked at how these rowers perform.
Arvid: I will row at the World Rowing Masters Regatta in Poznan this year in an eight. We entered the J-category (the so-called octos: 80 years and above).  It is an international team, and I am only a youngster – there is a Swiss guy of 92 years rowing with us as well!

What made you volunteer at this event?
Nathan: Just for fun, most of my teammates are working as volunteers here as well. I already helped at two Koninklijke Holland Beker regattas, the sprint regatta and the national student championships before, so I knew what I would be up to.

For Arvid, working as a volunteer in rowing is kind of a second nature. He was already a volunteer at the World Rowing Championships in Amsterdam in 1977, assisting with the weighing of athletes. At his club Cornelis Tromp he was president, organized the Tromp races many times and has been in all kinds of commissions ever since. His warm and calm attitude clearly originates from heaps of experience.

What is your task as a volunteer here?
Arvid: I am host for the Scandinavian teams. I picked them up from the airport and brought them to their hotels. I speak Swedish, but that is not really needed as most of the teams speak English perfectly. I help them in case of problems, but they are very experienced and don’t ask a lot, so I got some time to look at the races. The only competitor from Finland stays with his family in a camper here. Finnish is very different from Swedish, but they speak English and some Flemish Dutch, because their grandfather apparently was from Belgium. I visited them; they kindly gave little presents like Finnish liquorish.
Nathan: I have to do all kinds of different things. Timing, putting all the signs in place, bringing stuff to people. I sort of like the variation, but I have little time to watch the rowing. Too bad I couldn’t be guard at the grandstand, as was originally scheduled.

So, will you be enjoying the rest of the regatta?
Nathan: I will leave on Saturday for my holidays, so won’t be here the whole time. But I will try to follow everything via the Internet.
Arvid: Certainly, I will cheer for the Scandinavians and a little bit louder for the Dutch, and in case of a complex problem with ‘my’ teams, I have this big instruction book that helps me quickly find an alternative. The only thing that I really regret is that I will miss out on a full week of rowing myself. That is not the way to stay fit!