Roger Cuijpers about a new association to be founded: ‘We want to keep top athletes in Limburg together’

There has been a lot going on in and around the National Triathlon Training Center (NTC) in recent years and this has led, among other things, to the departure of several athletes. Now Roger Cuijpers, together with a number of others, has put their heads together and intends to set up a new association with the aim of keeping as many top athletes as possible together in Limburg.

The future of the NTC has been under heavy pressure since all the troubles and it will become clear in the coming period whether the province is willing to provide enough subsidy to maintain the NTC. However, according to Cuijpers, this has nothing to do with the new initiative that should be launched shortly. “We spent an hour together with a number of people, including several top athletes, trainers and administrators. We asked ourselves what we would actually want, looking to the future. Ultimately, we concluded that we want to keep top triathletes in Limburg. That is the first step we want to take.”

Cuijpers himself attended the meeting as a director, and entrepreneur Joop van Watersley also joined, who, according to Cuijpers, must be an ‘important partner’ now and in the future. Athletes attending the meeting included Niek Heldoorn, Menno Koolhaas, Olaf-Jan Bosscher, Gjalt Panjer and Jesse Cuijpers, as well as coaches such as Jordi Meulenberg and Dennis Looze. The fact that Meulenberg of all people was present is disappointing to a number of uninvolved athletes, who are aware of the plans. The former national coach frequently emerged as a major disruptor in the investigation reports into abuses at the association, was dismissed and subsequently went to work for the Swiss association. Not much later, several athletes indicated that they did not want to work with Meulenberg, but he continues to work there to this day.

Several Dutch athletes now say that it would be undesirable if Meulenberg became more active in the Netherlands again and possibly came into contact with athletes who never wanted to work with him again. “But it is not the case that Jordi suddenly starts training athletes,” Cuijpers explains. “He was only present during our conversations for an hour. We have brought together as much knowledge as possible.”

Anyway; the initiative to retain as many top athletes as possible in Limburg is admirable. He refers to the realm of myths about the fact that Cuijpers is aiming for the subsidies with the new association that are currently reserved for the NTC. “That is not the case at all; We try not to make any claim on that. If the NTC disappears – and that is pure speculation, because we know nothing about that – then I do not rule out that we will try to obtain that subsidy. We’ll see that again. We have coordinated all our plans with the association and they have let us know that they view our plans very positively,” says Cuijpers, who has discussed this with ‘pathway manager’ Marcel ten Wolde.

While the first real steps are being taken, for example the articles of association are now with the notary, the plans are already quite big. “We are working on a multi-year framework with Platform Limburg Triathlon (all parties involved in triathlon sport within the province of Limburg, ed.). Of course, this also involves a subsidy. That is something we do for the benefit of the sport of triathlon in general.”