Kingdom Games
Encyclopedia
Kingdom of the Netherlands
The Kingdom of the Netherlands is a sovereign state and constitutional monarchy with territory in Western Europe and in the Caribbean. The four parts of the Kingdom—Aruba, Curaçao, the Netherlands, and Sint Maarten—are referred to as "countries", and participate on a basis of equality...
. At the last games, these countries were the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, the Netherlands Antilles
Netherlands Antilles
The Netherlands Antilles , also referred to informally as the Dutch Antilles, was an autonomous Caribbean country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, consisting of two groups of islands in the Lesser Antilles: Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao , in Leeward Antilles just off the Venezuelan coast; and Sint...
and Aruba
Aruba
Aruba is a 33 km-long island of the Lesser Antilles in the southern Caribbean Sea, located 27 km north of the coast of Venezuela and 130 km east of Guajira Peninsula...
. How the 2010 dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles will affect the participating teams in the games is currently unknown. Together with creating a sportive atmosphere, respect and fraternization are also the central themes of the Games. The contact between the countries and their cultures is however the main theme. The 2011 games were scheduled to be held in Curaçao
Curaçao
Curaçao is an island in the southern Caribbean Sea, off the Venezuelan coast. The Country of Curaçao , which includes the main island plus the small, uninhabited island of Klein Curaçao , is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands...
, but were cancelled due to the political situation surrounding the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles. There is hope that the games will be held again in 2013.
History
The first ever Kingdom Games were held in 1965. It was a try to bring the several parts of the Kingdom closer together. In these days these parts were the Netherlands, SurinameSuriname
Suriname , officially the Republic of Suriname , is a country in northern South America. It borders French Guiana to the east, Guyana to the west, Brazil to the south, and on the north by the Atlantic Ocean. Suriname was a former colony of the British and of the Dutch, and was previously known as...
and the Netherlands Antilles. In 1975 Suriname became undependant and did no longer take part in the Games. Between 1979 and 1983 the Games were only held between the Netherlands and the Antilles, and after that they were cancelled.. In 1995 the Games were refounded by former swimmer and politician Erica Terpstra
Erica Terpstra
Erica Georgine Terpstra is a retired Dutch freestyle swimmer, theosopher, sports journalist, state secretary and member of parliament. Between late 2003 and 18 May 2010 she was chairperson of the NOC*NSF...
to bring the youth of the separate countries closer to each other.
Locations of the Games
- 1995: ArubaArubaAruba is a 33 km-long island of the Lesser Antilles in the southern Caribbean Sea, located 27 km north of the coast of Venezuela and 130 km east of Guajira Peninsula...
- 1997: CuraçaoCuraçaoCuraçao is an island in the southern Caribbean Sea, off the Venezuelan coast. The Country of Curaçao , which includes the main island plus the small, uninhabited island of Klein Curaçao , is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands...
(Netherlands Antilles) - 1999: Sint Maarten (Netherlands Antilles)
- 2001: RotterdamRotterdamRotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
(Netherlands) - 2003: ArubaArubaAruba is a 33 km-long island of the Lesser Antilles in the southern Caribbean Sea, located 27 km north of the coast of Venezuela and 130 km east of Guajira Peninsula...
- 2005: WillemstadWillemstad, Netherlands AntillesWillemstad is the capital city of Curaçao, an island in the southern Caribbean Sea that forms a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Formerly the capital of the Netherlands Antilles prior to its dissolution in 2010, it has an estimated population of 140,000. The historic centre of...
(Netherlands Antilles) - 20072007 Kingdom GamesThe 2007 Kingdom Games were the seventh edition of the Games after its refounding in 1995. The Games were held from July 21 to July 27, 2007 in Den Haag. After Rotterdam in 2001 Den Haag was the second Dutch city since 1995 to host the Games.-Sports:...
: Den Haag (Netherlands) - 2009: ArubaArubaAruba is a 33 km-long island of the Lesser Antilles in the southern Caribbean Sea, located 27 km north of the coast of Venezuela and 130 km east of Guajira Peninsula...
- 2011: CuraçaoCuraçaoCuraçao is an island in the southern Caribbean Sea, off the Venezuelan coast. The Country of Curaçao , which includes the main island plus the small, uninhabited island of Klein Curaçao , is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands...
– cancelled
Popularity
In the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba the Games are popular. In 2005 the Ergilio Hato-stadion in CuraçaoCuraçao
Curaçao is an island in the southern Caribbean Sea, off the Venezuelan coast. The Country of Curaçao , which includes the main island plus the small, uninhabited island of Klein Curaçao , is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands...
was almost sold out during the opening ceremony. It was much less popular in the Netherlands. In 2007 the opening ceremony was not held in a stadium but at the Spuiplein. Still a few thousand people showed up and the events were visited by several hundreds of people daily.
Sports
- BaseballBaseballBaseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
- BowlingBowlingBowling Bowling Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule...
- FootballFootball (soccer)Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
- JudoJudois a modern martial art and combat sport created in Japan in 1882 by Jigoro Kano. Its most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the object is to either throw or takedown one's opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue one's opponent with a grappling maneuver, or force an...
- SoftballSoftballSoftball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...
- SwimmingSwimming (sport)Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
- TennisTennisTennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
The strength of the team of the Netherlands is adjusted to the strength of the other teams, because normally the level of the Dutch team is much higher compared to the other participants. The Dutch normally participate with regional teams or younger sportspeople to close the gap in quality..
External sources
- NOC-NSF site General info on the Games from the NOC*NSF.