Every coach knows: without a âpool builder,â training doesnât happen. You might squeeze in a dip, but before long, chaos reigns. Without lanes, swimmers scatter to every corner, and collisions become inevitable. Water polo players miss the markâliterally and figuratively. Sure, passing and catching is fun, but a polo player has one goal: to score. To channel that energy, someone has to take the lead and build the pool. And when someone sets the example, others follow.
In the story of Aquamania, Jeroen van Bergen was that Chief Pool Builder.
The Beginning (1990â1991): Swimming, Stiff Caps & Stiff Competition
Studying Industrial Design in Delft didnât bring Jeroen the happiness he was looking for, so in 1990, he swapped the city of bikes for Leiden. That same year, through the Dufterikken, he discovered student swimming at Wave. But something was missing. As a former water polo player, he longed for the feeling of stiff balls, pinching caps, and chlorine-stung eyes.
His roommate Mike felt the same lack. Together they went in search of like-minded people. They hung the university buildings full of bills and within a short time they managed to bring together about 20 enthusiasts. It was a motley mix of water polo fans, but with a significant number of former major league players.
âIt was a maniacal bunch,â Jeroen recalls. “We were total lunatics. In the summer, weâd be training at 7 a.m. in the outdoor pool De Vliet.â
Not exactly your typical student hours. One of the players, Willem Veerman, offered to help Jeroen organize water polo training in a more structured way.
In the summer of 1991, they submitted a project proposal to Hans van Rooijen, head of the University Sports Center. Hans made a quick call to a friend at the municipality to secure pool timeâsomething that had a lot more impact than trying to arrange it as a couple of 20-year-old students. And just like that, the first official student water polo training session became a reality. From then on, student polo players had a dedicated training hour every Wednesday at the Vijf Meibad, from 9:30 to 10:30 â unfortunately, this pool has since become a piece of history itself, since it is now closed… forever.
From Water splashes to Aquamania (1992-1993): Building an Identity
Jeroen still describes 1991 as a âtentative beginning,â but after that year of trial and experimentation, the water polo players were ready to get serious about organizing. One memorable tradition from those early days was the âSermon of the Week,â a regular feature during training sessions. It served as a way to update everyone on the groupâs progress toward forming an official association.
Initially, they floated the name âThe Water Splash,â butâfortunatelyâthat name was already taken. Then came âAquamania,â which hit the mark perfectly. On June 17, 1992, the association was officially born.
âStarting an association isnât all that hard,â Jeroen says. âYou make something up, go to a notary, and thatâs it. The real challenge is keeping people motivated.â
That motivation came in large part from the teamâs coach, Ben Olde Olthof, who led training sessions in those first few years. His efforts paid off quicklyâduring the 1992â1993 season, Aquamaniaâs menâs team finished their first NCS competition as champions, earning a promotion to the second division. The club soon added a second menâs team, as well as a strong womenâs team.
Even now, nearly fifteen years later, Jeroen gets chills thinking back to those days. In the world of student water polo, they were truly the glory yearsâsomething made clear by the many dazzling trophies still on display in the cabinet.
Expansion & Evolution (1994â2000): From Polo Balls to Pool Lanes
The association grew not only athletically. Membership grew steadily and various committees saw the light of day. The Aquactie threw itself into sociability outside the pool and creative minds created a club magazine, the Maniakal. Aquamania flourished, both inside and outside the walls of the Vijf Meibad. In 1996, the polo players decided to make a little room for those who liked to swim between two lines. As a result, the club regained momentum athletically as well. The number of swimmers grew weekly and one lane proved not enough to contain all this enthusiasm. A second and a third lane were also quickly filled, and the swimmers gained more and more rights in relation to the polo boats. Polo balls were no longer allowed in the water during swimming hour from now on. Aquamania was a swimming and water polo club, but swimming was gaining the upper hand. Cautiously the swimmers ventured outside the borders of Leiden, for example for the NSK Swimming.
The Polo Exodus (2000): A New Era
Meanwhile, water polo was slowly but surely running out of steam. One by one, the polo players of old quietly put an end to their student existence and sought refuge in civil society. However, the influx of new polo fanatics lagged far behind the polo exodus that took place during these years. Swimmers took over the club, and with the departure of the last polo coach in 2000, the Aquamania water polo club was really no more.
âThe plug was pulled, and the water drained away,â said then-chair Jacco Kiemel.
Swimming became the core focus. All that remained of the polo days were a few dusty balls and some nostalgic stories from âthe old men.â
Swimming to the Top (2000â2004): From Last Place to the Podium
Meanwhile, Aquamania focused on the swimming competition. Participation in two competitions in the 2000-2001 season earned the club no more than the red lantern (13th), but it made them hungry for more. The following season the Leiden swimmers went to the various competition cities in much larger numbers and this resulted in a place gain. With the competitions the club also grew closer together again. Not only were there more and more activities, these could also count on an enthusiastic turnout. Aquamania showed itself to be more than just a sports club. For many, participation in competitions (and the parties that followed) was no longer the exception, but the rule. In addition to individual successes at the 2001 and 2002 NSZKs, Aquamania also climbed to fifth place in the standings. Aquamania finally shook off its image as an underdog with the organization of the final NSZKs competition in season 2003-2004. The Leiden men failed to break the long-standing hegemony of De Golfbreker from Groningen by just a few seconds. For the first time, Aquamania decided the standings on the honorary podium. After this, the Aquamaniacs never had to explain that they also swim (hard) in Leiden. That third place didn’t turn out to be the end point, because since then they have always competed at the top of Dutch Student Swimming.
The Return of Polo: Aqualliance (2005âPresent)
After the swimming successes, water polo also made a comeback in the new millennium. A new generation of water polo players wanted to do more than play in the Student Water Polo Tournaments. Unfortunately, playing competition at the KNZB did not seem feasible, and other options were busily sought. Then there was the NCS competition, with six matches a year this was a good challenge for the water polo diehards. But because of the eternal rivalry between the KNZB and the NCS, they could not play under the name of Aquamania. Thanks to the efforts and preparations of daddy Wietse and daddy Robert, Aquamania had a little sister on August 25, 2005:
It was a long and sometimes difficult pregnancy. Nevertheless, after a quick delivery, this morning at 10:20 a.m. the club was founded:
The Second Leiden Student Water Polo Association Aqualliance.
We call her
Aqualliance
Founders and association are in good health and hold visiting hours on Monday 22.15-23.15 in De Zijl and Wednesday 21.30-22.30 in the Vijf Meibad. Starting in September, the association will be swimming all of its first strokes!
With this birth card, Aqualliance was officially introduced as a sister association to Aquamania. Represented in two leagues, Aquamania and Aqualliance provide a thriving association.