A recent visit hosted by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs saw 17 sports journalists from developing countries witness the story of success of the Netherlands in sports, technology and innovation. The Dutch officials were keen to pass their impressive sports experience to the journalists, who came from Albania, Brazil, Egypt, Estonia, Greece, Israel, Lebanon, Macedonia, Malta, Morocco, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and Turkey. The host country's Netherlands Enterprise Agency planned the tour, and Peter Stoel and Robin de Vogel from the Holland Branding, Netherlands Enterprise Agency, accompanied the journalists. The officials' keenness to pass on to the international journalists the experience they had was the reason why a full and busy schedule had been planned, with the journalists moving between the five major cities of Amsterdam, Eindhoven, The Hague, Rotterdam and Utrecht. The tour leaders did their utmost to ensure that the visitors had the chance to visit the venues and facilities that contribute to producing the best sports in the country. Though the schedule was hectic, the journalists enjoyed every moment of it and were glad to have the opportunity not only to be introduced to the country's sports but also to the natural beauty of this western European country. Often referred to as Holland, the Netherlands has for centuries been one of the world's most open economies. The Dutch engage in all forms of business around the globe. The country's geographical location on the European continent helps to ensure that the Dutch have an open outlook and an international orientation. Holland's sports policy-makers aim high and are very ambitious. They believe that by 2020 the Netherlands will be the world's most sports-minded country and its athletes will have a distinct lead over their competitors abroad, taking full advantage of innovation including advanced knowledge of the methods, products and technology developed by science, trade and industry. They are confident that the Netherlands will be a shining example of how the top can be reached when sport and innovation go hand-in-hand. Their power to innovate will be praised all over the world and their approach will become a new standard. For Holland's policy-makers, not only top-level sports will benefit from innovation: across the board, recreational sports will flourish as well. They foresee that in 2020 the Netherlands will have reached these goals. Since 2006, InnoSportNL has been the platform where sport, science and trade and industry comprise the “golden triangle” that works on the innovations that make the difference. Within this golden triangle, InnoSportNL functions as an intermediary, creating a network that enables athletes, scientists and entrepreneurs to excel, a form of cross-pollination that works to the benefit of all parties. Thus, InnoSportNL is the driving force behind the Netherlands' sports innovation system. Together with the Dutch ministry of health, welfare and sport, the country's National Olympic Committee and the Olympics for 2028 Organisation, an action plan has been drawn up to make the system even more effective. At InnoSportNL, the Dutch deliberately go for the highest level. They have noticed an increasing interest in and response to sport innovation in society. In addition to sports organisations, participating businesses as well as science institutes benefit from this collaboration. Innovation lets athletes achieve better results and makes it easier and more enjoyable for them to practise sport. Scientists can test their innovations in top-level environments, and more and more businesses are prepared to make their knowledge and experience available for sports innovation purposes. They have discovered the sports world as an excellent developing environment for new products, both for the sports market and for other markets. The Dutch have much to be proud of in their country. Not without reason they believe that it will be in the top ten medal winners in the 2028 Olympics. They remember and cherish unforgettable moments when Dutch swimmers, skaters, judo players, football and hockey players and other athletes performed exceptionally well. Such events are indelibly engraved in their memories. Moreover, sport stimulates, and achievements in top-level sport encourage and therefore lead to increased vitality and public health on a national scale. The trade and industry and science sectors also wish to excel, and they are increasingly aware of the opportunities that exist in sports innovation. This creates public support, which will lead to the progress needed for the Netherlands to become the world's most sports-minded country. So what has been achieved so far? InnoSportNL has grown into an authority and a matchmaker in the area of sports innovation. It not only facilitates various projects, but also offers support in taking steps to the market place: after all, it is the commercial success of innovative products and technology that creates new opportunities. Currently, there are six so-called InnoSportLabs in the Netherlands, providing testing and research facilities for innovation in practical sports environments in skating, swimming, sailing, gymnastics, top-level sports and sports promotion. The recent media tour visited all six sports labs and was much impressed by the technology and results that had been reached in swimming and skating. In swimming, a turning point analysis had enabled long-distance swimmer Job Kienhuis to improve his performance on turning points by 0.3 seconds, which had led to an overall improvement in his time on the 1,500 m freestyle event of nine seconds: the difference between first and sixth place. Turning point analysis had also enabled other swimmers to improve their performance by around 0.3 seconds. In skating, 50 per cent of recent performance improvements can be attributed to technological innovations such as the construction of indoor ice-skating stadiums, improved ice quality, (aero-dynamics) skating outfits and the new clap skate. There are also more InnoSportsLabs in the making. These breeding grounds for innovation create environments where sports, businesses and science stimulate each other to attain unprecedented heights in a joint effort to make progress and gain an advantage over Dutch competitors. In addition to the InnoSportsLabs, the media tour also visited other sports facilities. The visit started in Amsterdam, where the journalists were entertained by the vibe of football supporters as they watched Holland's Ajax Amsterdam beat their opponents Heerenveen 3-0 in front of a full-house stadium in a league match. The following day, the tour visited the historic Olympic Stadium of Amsterdam, home of the 1928 Olympic Games. They were stunned to see that a temporary ice-skating oval had replaced the football pitch. The Royal Dutch Skating Association has designated this outdoor ice-skating rink at the Olympic Stadium in Amsterdam as the venue for the all-round and sprint event that was scheduled to take place from 28 February to 2 March. Then, the group moved to visit the basketball hall at the Sports Hall Zuid to witness major renovation, the hall now having a new wooden basketball floor with special sensors and “knee motion.” This system provides trainers and coaches with the ability to see back competition and training images within 15 seconds on an iPad or laptop. In Hoofdorp on the outskirts of Amsterdam, a modern 30,000-seat baseball stadium is being built that is scheduled to host major Baseball League games played in the Netherlands. According to Robert Eenhoorn, technical manager of the Netherlands National Team and former player for the New York Yankees, the games, called the Amsterdam Series, will be played in the future complex. Eindhoven is being called “the Brain City,” as indeed it is. It was the only city in which the group stayed for two nights. The visit started at the Philips Stadium, home to football club PSV Eindhoven. At the Fontys University of Applied Sciences, School of Sport Studies, the group met with representatives of the City of Eindhoven, including alderman (vice-mayor) Joost Helms, who has responsibility for mobility, the environment, sports and events, and Florence Bongers, who spoke about how the University was unique in playing a major role in producing sports-sciences innovation. The group also visited the swimming lab, the University's High Tech Campus, the Eindhoven University of Technology, the ProFit Field Lab for sports innovation, the Urban Sports Complex and the InnoSportlab for Gymnastics, home of the training of the Dutch National Selection in Gymnastics, where innovations have been implemented on the smart rings, turn coach cockpit and in neurological feedback. A pilot study has revealed that this has a positive effect on top-level athletes' mental and physical shape and their sleeping patterns, all of which can improve their performances. The Hague, seat of the Dutch government and embassies, was the third city visited, and for the group it started with visiting the Kyocera Stadium, home of the football club ADO Den Haag. Interestingly, after the end of the football season, the pitch will be transformed from soccer to field hockey in three days for the 2014 Hockey World Cup, according to Frank van der Peet, project manager for World Champion Hockey. During the Rabobank Hockey World Cup 2014, which will take place at The Hague from 31 May to 15 June, the best hockey players in the world will be in the Netherlands. No fewer than 76 games and countless music and cultural events will take place outside the stadiums. After the World Cup, the pitch will return to soccer, though on new grounds. Before leaving the Kyocera Stadium, the group met with Karsten Klein, deputy mayor and The Hague's alderman for youth, welfare and sport, who spoke about the sports policy of the city. The Hague has great sports facilities and hosts several international events. The group also visited a street-hockey court in the Johan Cruijff Foundation located in one of the poorest communities in the city. Children, youth and adults train throughout the day for free on the court. The complex also includes a football pitch as well as tennis courts. The tour of The Hague concluded by a visit to another InnoSportLab, the International Sailing Centre Den Haag. Rotterdam is the city of sports, as alderman Antoinette Laan, responsible for sports, recreation, art and culture, described it when she met with the group at the City Hall. This is the only old building that survived World War Two, when the city was largely destroyed. New modern buildings have replaced the old ones, except for the historic City Hall. The deputy mayor was proud that Rotterdammers take more exercise than ever. “We have been using the implementation Programme Sport in collaboration with Rotterdam Top Sport and Rotterdam Sportsupport since 2011,” he said. “Our goal is to live up to our reputation as Rotterdam City of Sport even more in 2016. There are projects in neighbourhoods to get the elderly exercising, schools are joining in to help introduce children to sports, in addition to helping families on low incomes join a sports club. Everything we can do to achieve our goal is being done.” The group then checked the venue of the 2015 Beach Volleyball World Championship 2015, which will be played in the Netherlands. Unique to the Dutch concept is that the event is spread over four cities. In addition to The Hague there will be Amsterdam, Apeldoorn and Rotterdam. The Sport Plus Club Sperwers was next on the programme. This helps sports clubs that do something extra for the City of Rotterdam and is all about the use of sport as a means of achieving goals in the social sphere. The group then moved to the Top Sport Centre of Rotterdam before visiting the Stadium De Kuip, home of the football club Feijenoord Rotterdam. The tour concluded at the ice-skating rink, an annual ice rink on a sports field where in spring, summer and fall hockey matches take place. The group reached the city of Utrecht in the evening and headed directly to the SoccerClub Faja Lobi KDS, which is a multicultural Utrecht amateur club with 15 senior teams. Formed in 2009, the Club is a unique location for soccer on the roof of a new parking garage. Many great players started their soccer career in Utrecht, including Wesley Sneijder, Marco van Basten, Ibrahim Affelay, Ismaël Aissati, Hans van Breukelenand and Jan Wouters. At the sports and medicine department of Utrecht University the group was introduced to the treatment of sport injuries and especially the prevention of hamstring injuries. The tour culminated with a visit to the Royal Dutch Sport Horse Breeding Association (KWPN) and the Royal Dutch Equestrian Federation (KNHS) where the group gained insight into the world of breeding horses and the development of riders to the highest level. Holland is number one in the world in horses, with a total of 450,000 horses, 466,000 equestrians, 6,600 companies, 1,100 equestrian facilities, 12,500 jobs, and 7,424 events a year and about 201 million Euros earned from the export of horses. Then it was back to Amsterdam, where the media tour had begun. During those six sleepless days, one had not only had the chance to witness the Dutch excellence in running sports, but also to discover the land of windmills, cheese and tulips. The Netherlands is the country the Dutch created in the delta of three large rivers flowing into the North Sea, where two-thirds of GDP are now earned below sea level and where there used to be a lake almost two million acres in size where Amsterdam Airport Schiphol is today. The Netherlands is a country where innovative and daring solutions for water control protect half the country against the risk of flooding. Living in a densely populated delta below sea level, the Dutch were forced over centuries to develop knowledge and experience in finding high-quality, sustainable and affordable solutions to protect delta areas and enable life. It is a country that was in need of more land for agriculture and where land was reclaimed from the sea and kept dry in the shape of the famous “polders”. It is a country that is supposedly too cold to grow certain vegetables and flowers, and so greenhouses were invented as a solution to this problem and Dutch farmers now produce 2.5 times more food per acre than EU farmers produce on average. It is a country that is the gateway to Europe, connecting nearly half a billion consumers in the European hinterland to the world's producers. It is also a country with an open and cooperative attitude, whose residents have always felt the need to explore what lies beyond its borders. Al-Ahram Weekly was given the privilege to explore this country and to wonder how and when Egyptian sports policy-makers will learn from the Dutch experience. It is to be hoped that they won't have to wait until 2020, when the Netherlands seems sure to be declared the world's most sports-minded nation.
