- Sports
- 25/09/2025
Sports spotlight | Hajraa’s favorite number is 70
TU/e boasts a total of 38 student sports associations. And every one of them offers its own unique experience: from slamming aces to skimming across the water. Cursor wants to put every one of these associations in the spotlight. The first question is “What is your favorite number?” At volleyball club Hajraa, that number is 70. Because that's how many boards this longest-running TU/e sports club has had.
We drink two cans of beer in the shower. To drown our sorrows or to celebrate our victory.
Warming-up
If you want to describe the Hajraa volleyball club, you can do so with a few key words, as becomes clear after talking to current chairman Tjerk Wisse and Chris Smeets, candidate board member and possibly the next chairman. Doings lots of things together, the Lawaaicie (or noise committee) and a penalty jar per team are definitely part of them. The terms refer to the fact that the members are there for each other, cheer on other teams, and wish for everyone to follow the rules. And then we could also talk at length about “shower beer” for players and the songbook for supporters.
The shower beer is a bit of a thing though. “We drink two cans of beer in the shower. To drown our sorrows or to celebrate our victory,” Wisse says. He is a player of Men's 1, and only there is the beer supplemented with Jägermeister, but the idea remains the same. “We do that only after away games, by the way, because the SSC prefers us not to. And we want to stay on good terms with the sports center, so we really do not do it anymore.” They cannot vouch for visiting teams though
The songbook is a tool for supporters to cheer on volleyball players. “There is a text to sing or chant for absolutely every situation,” Smeets says. “For example: It's red, it's white, and you know it's there, antenna, antenna, antenna.” Perhaps needless to say: touching the antennae (there are two on either side of the net) with the ball means losing a point.
The booklet is available in the stands during matches, but you won't need it more than once; the lyrics are super easy to learn. Hajraa is currently working on translating the songs into English.
Wisse and Smeets choose 70 as Hajraa’s favorite number because “we are now dealing with the seventieth board.” Hajraa is the oldest student sports association in Eindhoven. It was founded a year and a half after this educational institution was established—the first lectures were given on September 23, 1957. However, only recently a new logo has been introduced for the very first time. Besides, the name Hajraa was only established in 1959 and comes from a Hungarian cheer.
Scores
- Members must adhere to 45 minor rules. These include: not arriving late, not making mistakes, and not spilling beer. For each violation, they contribute 1 euro to the penalty jar, which is used for the team weekend.
- Hajraa has 280 members, 115 of whom do more than just play volleyball.
- 20 teams, including 10 men's teams and 10 women's teams
- 0 mixed teams
- 12 players per team
- 1 Hajraahouse (in the Kerkstraat)
- 35 committees
- 200 reünisten alumni who make a small financial contribution each year
- 2 Hajraa alumni became directors of SSCE: Wim Koch and Max van Veen.
- The large Outdoor Tournament has been organized 45 times (and now has its own board).
- Then there are 120 grass fields in use at the same time by more than 5,000 participants.
Analyses
The Lawaaicie and the Totocie are two of the 35 committees. The first ensures that the lower teams of the club also receive plenty of encouragement. For example, it puts the songbooks in the stands.
At the Totocie, there's something to be won. “On Friday evening, you can predict the results the teams will achieve that weekend. About fifteen teams play matches. Sometimes we have a “Big Home Day,” when half of the SSC is filled with volleyball players and eighteen teams play at the same time.”
This article was translated using AI-assisted tools and reviewed by an editor
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