Smoke damage at rowing club greater than expected: ‘We try to cherish the Vidar feeling’

A fierce fire destroyed a small part of the club building of student rowing club Vidar in Hilvarenbeek in December. More than a month after the fire, chairman Jasper Los oversees the havoc caused by the fire. And he looks ahead.

The fire was quickly extinguished, so that the rest of the association building was spared, but due to the extinguishing water and especially due to smoke damage, the building is still not in use. ‘Everywhere in the building, soot affected furniture and decoration,’ chairman Jasper Los recalls.

‘We can only enter the building to get some things. We are still waiting for the cleaning crews to clean the interior. The boat shed was not affected by the fire, fortunately we can go there.’

Relics

In the clubhouse, Vidar keeps many trophies and memories of an illustrious club past. ‘On the wall hung old cardigans and jackets, certificates, photos and other memories of beautiful events. We immediately stored those relics the day after the fire and later restored them as best we could.

‘Some objects were easier to clean than others. That’s why some parts may still smell a bit like the smoke,’ said a relieved chairman, ‘but most of it has been saved.’

Smoke damage

The club does not yet know what the damage will have for financial consequences. Los: ‘We had to wait a long time for an insurance investigation and that is now in a final phase. It was a fairly large fire, but the damage seemed to be relatively minor at first.

‘Until we found out that the smoke caused much more damage than the fire itself. Because the smoke penetrated the entire building. And the soot has been precipitated and penetrated everywhere. That’s a shame, but of course we are very happy that there have been no accidents with our people and not with the boats.’

Fine neighbor

Vidar is not alone, but is supported by other associations. Due to the soot damage, all activities have been moved to other locations. The rowing club was able to go to student corps Olof for a number of celebrations and the door was also open to the aggrieved club at a partner of the association, café Brandpunt in the center of Tilburg.

The rowing activities are now partly supported by the Tilburg Open Rowing Club (TOR). Those are the neighbors along the canal. Vidar is allowed to use the changing rooms, the strength and sports rooms and the boardroom: ‘We are very grateful for that and it is very nice to feel that support. We couldn’t have wished for a better neighbour in that respect,’ says Los.

Support

Support also comes from the rest of the country. ‘You suddenly notice that there is a lot of support from all sides, within Tilburg and also from rowing in the Netherlands,’ says Los. ‘Rowing clubs ask what they can do for us. That is very special to experience and we are going to make use of it.’

‘It’s nice that we have a very close-knit group of members,’ Los adds. ‘Of course it is strange that we cannot organize our activities in our own place. But with some patience and some creativity, we try to find ways to cherish the Vidar feeling.’

Fund

The association is looking ahead again. Los: ‘We are in the process of setting up a fund with which we hope to raise money for the repair of the damage.’ Who doesn’t want to wait for that is former board member Federico Spiertz. With a personal initiative, he wants to support the association and raise extra money.

‘To contribute to the reconstruction, I am going to run the Ringvaart Regatta (100 kilometers) on May 13,’ Spiertz writes on Instagram. ‘Not rowing, but running — to show that Vidrats always find a way to achieve their goals, even with limited resources.’

Challenge

‘The ‘Ringvaart’ is one of the more famous rowing competitions in the Netherlands,’ says Los. ‘Federico took the initiative for the collection together with the new board. He wants to run those hundred kilometers in one day. That’s bizarre, but a very cool plan.’

The club’s sights are now set on the spring. Los: ‘We have planned a big training weekend in February and we want to organize our own competition, the Heineken Opening Tournament, on March 20. This is the opening of the competition season for all student rowing clubs in the Netherlands. We hope that we will have the necessary equipment and changing rooms in order by then. That’s a great challenge for the new year.’

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