The Batavierenrace organisation is suffering from a chronic shortage of members. On top of that, due to corona the race hasn't been able to take place in two years. ‘If no new students come forward, it has no future.’

The organisers of the Batavierenrace hoped for a long time that this year would see a somewhat ‘normal’ edition with thousands of students walking from Nijmegen to Enschede. However, corona has thrown a spanner in the works for the second year running. An online event had to be put together which still managed to attract more than 5,000 participants in April.

‘We’re well known just because of that one race every year’

‘We’re really proud of that’, says Bob Fleer, training to be an economics teacher at HAN (Arnhem and Nijmegen University of Applied Sciences) and organising member of the ‘Bata’, famous for being the largest relay race in the world. ‘It’s fantastic that we still managed it. But in the end, it’s the disappointment over not having been able to organise a real race that stays.’

The fact that there has been no ‘real’ Batavierenrace for the second year running is tough on the student event. ‘We’re well known just because of that one race every year, it gives us our reputation’, says Fleer. ‘There’s now a large group of students who have never experienced a Bata. So we’re worried that the event is in danger of disappearing.’

In 2020, Vox joined a group of Nijmegen participants watching the alternative Batavierenrace.

That concern is also reflected in the low numbers of applicants for committee positions for next year. The driving force behind the Batavierenrace is the organising committee, which normally consists of ten members divided between the student cities of Nijmegen and Enschede. This year, Fleer and his colleagues have had to manage with the four of them. ‘And we only have six applications for next year so far. So I’m thinking of continuing for another year.’

Research

The situation is so critical that the executive committee of the Batavierenrace, which oversees the organising committee, has had research done into the future viability of the event. The conclusions of that research will be discussed in the coming period with organisers and volunteers.

The reason for the research was the decreasing interest among students in joining the organisers, according to Rob Vaessen, head of Student Affairs at Radboud University and member of the executive committee of the Batavierenrace.

‘Whatever happens, next year’s edition is a sure thing’

On top of that, there’s the corona crisis which has meant that the race has been cancelled two years in a row. ‘That’s less than promising for the continuity’, says Vaessen euphemistically. ‘It’s essential that students have run or seen the race at least once before they join the organisation.’

Ageing

But Vaessen suspects that the problems of the Batavierenrace go deeper. He points out that it wasn’t just the last two years that it was hard to recruit enough people for the organisation. There’s a continuing ageing among the volunteers who help on the day of the race (in Bata jargon: ‘permanent staff groups’), people who have long since graduated.

The reason for that? ‘A lack of innovation’, Vaessen believes. ‘The Batavierenrace hasn’t changed in 49 years. You could ask yourself if that’s a good thing.’ The research into the future of the Batavierenrace reveals possible directions that could be taken. Vaessen doesn’t want to go into them just yet, since they have to be discussed with the organisers first.

As Vaessen sees it, in the end, everything will depend on a new group of students coming forward who want to organise the race. ‘If not, that will be the end of it. Which theoretically can also be a solution.’ But before things go that far, the executive committee wants to look at all possible ways of breathing new life into the race.

Whatever happens, next year’s edition is a sure thing. It will be the fiftieth edition. ‘It would be too ridiculous for words if that one didn’t take place’, says Vaessen.