Volunteers in Action

15 June 2025

“New young people always join, and that’s really necessary”

More than 300 volunteers are active over the three days of the Marveldtoernooi — and in many cases, also during the days, weeks, and months leading up to it. From the youngest volunteers operating the scoreboard to those supervising the bike parking area, calling them essential is an understatement. It’s fascinating to see how every volunteer performs their tasks with such passion, commitment, and a strong sense of responsibility.

Offsite Events MT
Niek Schovers has been one of those volunteers for years. He describes himself as a jack-of-all-trades. “What’s special about this event is that when you’ve been helping for so long, you develop a real bond with the regular staff of the participating teams. Not just now, but all year round you keep in touch. Also with the referees — Alex Bos, for example — and Björn de Beer, team coordinator at PSV, I’m still in contact with them.” When asked how long he’s been volunteering, Niek answers, “Gosh… I couldn’t even tell you.” So — a long time!

One key group among the volunteers is known as “Offsite Events MT.” This team takes on a wide variety of tasks. It all starts with setting up and organizing the tournament grounds — a massive job. They’ve been doing this for years with more or less the same team. “New young people always join, and that’s really necessary.” At the end of each day, the group cleans up everything — the fields, the containers, and yes, even the toilets if something unpleasant happens there. Respect to those who handle that! The group consists of no less than 44 volunteers. “Stijn Beerten and Sven Meekes make the work schedules and divide the tasks. It’s a rotation system, so everyone gets a different job at some point.”
“I make the schedules in advance,” says Stijn, “because if I had to do it in the morning, it just wouldn’t work.” “Then we’d still be working on it next year,” Niek adds with a laugh.

Raffle

A fixed part of the tournament is the raffle, also organized by a group of volunteers. Around the grounds, Jordy Geelink, Martijn Rooks, and Bas Berentsen walk around selling tickets — essentially all day long. And even the raffle has moved with the times: tickets can now be bought via QR codes for a set amount. Of course, there are great prizes to be won. “We stop selling just before the final,” says Martijn. “That’s when we do the draw.” “Right before the last match ends, people can check if they’ve won,” adds Jordy.

Almost Done

As the tournament winds down, the members of Offsite Events MT begin gathering outside. One last big job awaits them: clearing out and cleaning the sports hall. This is done at breakneck speed — in no time at all, the hall is back to being a regular gym, and the Marveldtoernooi is nearly over…