The speed skating season is here again: Reggeborgh speed skating team presented in Rijssen
On Thursday 3 October, the Parkgebouw building in Rijssen was the venue for the team presentation of the Reggeborgh speed skating team. The Green Team, or Reggeborgh's long track and marathon skaters, presented themselves to the public this evening.
Well prepared for the qualifiers
The speed skating team consists of 16 long track speed skaters and nine marathon skaters. Over the summer, the skaters have been preparing for the new speed skating season, which starts for the long track skaters at the so-called ‘WCKT’, the qualifying tournament for the World Cup on 8, 9 and 10 November. For marathon skaters, the season starts at the Jaap Eden ice rink with the Marathon Cup on 19 October.
Elite sport and volunteering
Reggeborgh Foundation believes it is important for the skaters to be involved on a social level as well. Elite skaters are fully committed to their sport, but it is about more than just winning. Besides performing on the ice, they also perform various forms of voluntary work.
Stefan Westenbroek has been a member of Team Reggeborgh for four years and says that it is especially the dynamics between the younger and older skaters that make the team atmosphere so good. He also volunteered his time, giving ice skating training at his own skating club and doing his bit to organise the Diepe Hel Holterbergloop run.
‘It has given me a better understanding of how important volunteers are; without them there is no club, no event and no competition’
- Stefan Westenbroek
The newcomers to the Reggeborgh speed skating team, Antoinette Rijpma-de Jong and Gert Wierda, called Reggeborgh a warm nest where they receive a lot of personal attention. With Rijpma-de Jong joining the team, Reggeborgh now also competes in the women's allround event. This means that Reggeborgh now competes on all distances for the first time.
World Cup gold medal winner Jennette Jansen in the limelight
Jennette Jansen was also put in the limelight between all the skaters. Last summer, she won silver at the Paralympics in Paris and in September she successfully defended her World Cup title in Zurich. In recognition of her fantastic feats, Jennette, who is also sponsored by Reggeborgh, was given a special helmet with all the titles she has achieved in her career on it. The helmet was presented by Femke Kok.
Reggeborgh Foundation will remain the main sponsor of the long-track speed skating team through to the 2030 Winter Olympics.
