Welcome to the website of Qravel, the students’ tennis club in Leiden!

Welcome also to our lovely city and university, where hopefully you will have an inspirational and fun time studying, exploring, and socializing. If you enjoy playing tennis, you might want to join our club. If you want to signup, you can find a subscription form HERE.

About Qravel

We play on the plexipave hardcourts at the University Sports Centre (USC, www.sport.leidenuniv.nl). We accommodate all levels of play, from beginners (<1 year) to very advanced players (started in their cradle). For all involved, the most important thing is to have fun together, on and off the courts.

Together we organize many social and tennis-related activities. A good point to start at and introduce yourself to us is the weekly ‘rackettrekken’ on Thursdays from 8pm at the USC. Don’t forget your tennis gear, because the evening is all about partnering random people in a fun game of doubles!
On Tuesday every fortnight we meet at the pub ‘De Branderij’ to have a drink and discuss our progress in tennis and studies, debate the weaknesses of the Federer backhand, make appointments to play more tennis, and party.

Once you have been there, you will definitely be in on all the things going on: join us in a Saturday afternoon training session, make your way to the top of the ladder competition, wear orange and scream your lungs out during a Davis Cup match, compete in the table-tennis or beach-tennis tournaments, show your skills with a BBQ or on a snowboard…there’s always something to do!

Due to bad weather, tennis in the Netherlands is a seasonal activity. If it is not raining or snowing, our courts can be played on during the Winter, but it will be cold, and we might prefer a work-out indoors. During Autumn and Winter we will organize a few one-afternoon indoor doubles tournaments (purely for socializing), but otherwise, we just work on our fitness-level (or not, some of us hibernate and dig up their racket out of the closet when the sun starts shining again…) There are other activities during those dark months such as a Christmas diner, a ski-trip to the French Alps, a poker tournament, and a Davis Cup match.

Competition

Of course, the most important thing is the tennis team competition. In the Netherlands, we do not have an intercollegiate championship, so we compete in the national and regional championships organized by the Royal Dutch Lawn Tennis Association (KNLTB). These championships are for tennis players of all levels and ages, and you could meet a twelve-year-old prodigy or a forty-year-old, sweaty local with a beer-belly and an excellent slice backhand (of course our technical committee will make sure all players are placed in a team that matches their skills). Anyhow, the days are filled with healthy competition and a lot of support, sunshine and laughter. When you are placed in a team or join up as a reserve player, Qravel will provide an extra hour of training every week.

Unfortunately, the tennis season and the academic year do not match. The Dutch habit of organizing things many months in advance means you will have to enroll for the Spring Championships (seven Saturdays or Sundays in April and May) already in November, and in June for the Autumn Championships (five Saturdays in September and October). International students usually arrive in the Netherlands and get familiar with Qravel too late to enroll. But this is not a real problem. We prefer international students to register as reserve players.
This has advantages for all sides: You will not have to commit to a complete schedule (a Championship day takes up your whole day and you will be tired afterwards!, not to mention having this commitment seven weekends in a row…), and if you want to do some traveling during the weekend, you can leave. We will call you every week to ask you whether you are available the next Saturday/Sunday and whether you would like to join a team that is one man/woman short. This way you are free to leave when you want to travel, but we still have back-ups to fill free spots. You will definitely meet many people and still be able to train, play and enjoy the sun!

We have had some experiences with international students who did not really understand the commitment they were making by enrolling for a whole championship, and who let us down on the first day of play. This caused us a lot of unnecessary stress! So please, consider well the level of commitment you want to make; there will be many tempting opportunities once you arrive in the Netherlands!

Membership

Many international students complain that they meet very few Dutch students during their stay in Leiden. Joining Qravel means you will meet plenty. We value enthusiastic people who share our love for the combination of tennis and socializing, and welcome you with open arms!

Membership of Qravel only costs € 25 a year. There are some added costs for activities and competitions, but we try to keep them as low as possible. In any case you will need a University Sports Card, which can be purchased at the USC. If you do not yet play tennis, we advise you to enroll in the tennis lessons offered by the USC. We do not offer tennis lessons, but once you have started and are enjoying it, then is the right time to join us!

If you arrive in August you are welcome to join in the activities in September.

Let us know that you are interested in joining us by sending an email to our Executive Board at qravelplexus.leidenuniv.nl You can find a subscription form HERE.


Become a ‘Qravelaar’ and we will meet soon!

Niels Stecher, here at the Botanical Gardens in his hometown Sydney, Australia, joined us in the Spring of 2007, played a lot of tennis as a reserve player, and also traveled with us to Birmingham, UK, to cheer on the Dutch team in the Davis Cup match against Great Britain.

Excerpt from the column Niels wrote for our magazine: ‘Although there is an abundance of good points about Qravel – the coaching, the traveling, the various social activities, there is one thing that stands above all. In my opinion, its members are the nicest people one could possibly meet. Given the rich experience I have had in Leiden, I am sure to leave with a big grin on my face.