Kwalleballen 2006

Sunday 23 of April was the start of the season with Kwalleballen in Valkenswaard. It was nice whether, a great number of fresh participants and winning wasn't important as long as everybody is coffered with mud to the end. Technically was everything in good order. At the beginning of the matches the fields are already very muddy. It looks like if the driver of the water car started very early. The participants weren't really aware what should happen that day, because most of them are very well clothed. It is sure, that the name of the sponsor will not be visible for long on this bright white tshirts. Beneath a good view on the state of the clothes to the end. Strange that the organizers did know this in advance.

The best clothed group were the guys from 'Bommel'. It was clear from the very beginning, that they haven't any chance to win the tournament. They drink to little beer, were not big enough and there tshirts are to bright. One of them did really fight for the best result. You can see beneath. He was all the time in the centre of the struggle. Even when this was in the middle of a pond. On the video you see how clean he was in the beginning. The boy with red hear stay reasonable clean to the very end. Until he took a dip in the pond with the others. The guy to the left is on video just at the moment he felt during a heavy struggle backwards in the pond. With the video you have less resolution, but much better timing. All highlights can be made visible image by image...

This year they didn't have groups for juniors and ladies. These participate just with the seniors. The results was predictable. The young group with several ladies were literally pushed with the bag in their pond time after time. At least ten goals happens in the seven minutes of the game. The boy in the orange tshirt was carefully in the beginning. So to the end of the first much he had only some dirt on his jeans. On the video you can observe him almost untouched. Ton was more persistent. So he has pictures of them after some bath in the pond and the mud. The state of his clothes was devastating after the preliminaries.

The boy in black tshirt and jeans can be watched on the video too. At one moment he was so stupid to win the bag and try to keep them. He become surrounded by the opponents. He and his group were slowly but inevitable pushed in the direction of their pond. They fight desperately, but the opposition was to strong. He ends with the bag and the rest of the group backwards in the pond. You can see how the water flow across his black tshirt, while he lies down on the floor of the pond. After standing up he was really soaked after just some moments he was nice, clean, dry and well clothed.

Ton and I divided the work. I wasn't aware of the soaking of the boy in jeans and blue tshirt. It happens probably in just a second. The guy sitting on the shore with the bleu sweeter jumped somewhat later careless in the pond and was wet until his belt. He wear a orange tshirt beneath, what become obvious after he removed his sweeter. On the site Ton you cab some many more pictures. He shoot a great batch from the youth and from me. I have only some of them on this site. Just like him I just don't have more space. After the first preliminaries I was hanging around some pond and very muddy field in the hope that somebody should do what he have to do. They talked, but they doesn't do anything. But the coach of the winning equip approach and ask me to enforce his team. Although I was determined never to play again, it was tempting. So I decided to participate for one time only.

Indeed it was exhausting. I was in my best clothes. But that makes it more exiting. The outside temperature was nice. The temperature of the water less. My trouser showed after some minutes all dirt spots. The opponent tries to push you on the ground. Because then you have to release the bag. My clothes were may be more tempting then the bag. After the first match the state of my clothes was devastating. Not aware of the terrible cold of the water of the pond I jumped in the water to clean somewhat. The next match should be one hour later. So I decided to change in some old and dry clothes, because of the care for my current clothes.

All together I played for matches. Three preliminaries and the half final. In the last match of the preliminaries I managed to make a goal of my own. The opponents were exhausted. So I won the bag and to a sprint to the pond and jumped in the water fully clothed together with the bag. That's the way you have to do it. After the half final I decided to stop. The team gets some fresh enforcement and I was cold, wet and muddy. I changed in my jeans, jacket and leather jacket. I was rather surprised my team was winning the final rather easely. So I have to congratulate. They invited me in the pond. That wasn't a big deal because there wasn't much water in it anymore. That changed when the water car approached and emptied his tank in the pond with the champions. From one moment to the other the clothes with which I have to go home were completely soaked. It become worse, because Ton still clean has to have his mud bath too...

2007